What Is Plagiarism?

In instructional settings, plagiarism is a multifaceted and ethically complex problem. However, if
any definition of plagiarism is to be helpful to administrators, faculty, and students, it needs to be
as simple and direct as possible within the context for which it is intended.

Definition: In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone
else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledg-
ing its source.

This definition applies to texts published in print or on-line, to manuscripts, and to the work of
other student writers.