Plagiarism comes from the Latin word "plagium," which translates to "kidnapping." Essentially, plagiarism is the theft or use of the writing, content or ideas of another person's work by portraying it as your own. The original author owns the songs, art, compositions and ideas and should be recognized or cited as such. The courts go as far as to recognize plagiarism as a violation of copyright law, the theft of another person's intellectual work.
Plagiarism is a significant violation in universities. You will probably receive a 0 for the project, test or paper on which you have cheated. The instructor will consult with the department chair and decide on the appropriate penalty if you are caught. The minimum penalty is usually failing the course. You could also be suspended, dismissed or expelled from the university.
You can plagiarize accidentally or intentionally. Errors that are unknowingly made by students are paraphrasing or quoting without attribution, misquoting, not documenting interviews and footnoting paragraphs without indication of origination. Students sometimes plagiarize because of time and grade pressures, professor leniency, lack of awareness of plagiarism or lack of competence to do original work.
You can prevent plagiarism by incorporating a few tips toward writing papers or using another person's work. Develop your topic around ideas that have already been stated or expressed, but write an original version of it. You can use experts' and authorities' opinions and statements, but you should improve upon or disagree with the idea. You must also give credit to previous researchers, experts and authorities, but you should also contribute your own expressions to the topic. Finally, use your own voice and ideas.