Chapter 7

            Chapter 7 is all about avoiding plagiarism. What is plagiarism? There are multiple types of plagiarism. There is unintentional plagiarism, intentional plagiarism, and plagiarism in group projects. All types should be avoided at all costs. Writers are encouraged to have research ethics as in using ethical research practices, but be aware that there is such a thing as common knowledge. Sometimes information is free use, but other times you should ask permission to use a source. Avoiding plagiarism is more simple than it sounds. Take steps like conducting a knowledge inventory, take careful notes, as you draft, distinguish between your ideas and ideas in your source, identify sources in your document, and understand WHY some writers choose to plagiarize. Some writers will plagiarize because it’s easy, some do it because it’s quick, some do it because they simply don’t care about the assignment, others do it out of a lack of confidence in their own writing skills, lots of writers will do it simply because they don’t think they will get caught, and some think that everyone cheats so why not join in. Some writers plagiarize because they believe the course they are in is a waste of time. The bottom line is that any form of plagiarism will cause you to loose your credibility as a writer.