Syracuse University considers plagiarism a serious offense. Refer to the Academic Integrity Office for current University policies and procedures concerning plagiarism and other violations of academic integrity.
The use of ChatGPT or other AI tools in assignments should be discussed with your instructor. As a general rule, if you are incorporating any information from an AI tool into your research assignments, you must cite the AI tool or the information that the tool is directing you to.
For more information about ChatGPT and AI, please visit the Libraries' Artificial Intelligence guide.
For faculty/instructors looking for further teaching support and development around ChatGPT and AI, contact CTLE at CTLE@syr.edu.
For anyone with questions about ChatGPT / AI and academic integrity, contact CLASS at aio@syr.edu.
Official APA, MLA, and Chicago style guidance on how to cite ChatGPT:
If you would like to practice identifying plagiarism, then try out this exercise worksheet!
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the official source for APA Style. With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, it is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, nursing, communications, education, business, engineering, and other fields. Known for its authoritative, easy-to-use reference and citation system, the Publication Manual also offers guidance on choosing the headings, tables, figures, language, and tone that will result in powerful, concise, and elegant scholarly communication. It guides users through the scholarly writing process-from the ethics of authorship to reporting research through publication. The seventh edition is an indispensable resource for students and professionals to achieve excellence in writing and make an impact with their work. The seventh edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect best practices in scholarly writing and publishing. All formats are in full color, with a new tabbed spiral version Improved ease of navigation, with many additional numbered sections to help users quickly locate answers to their questions Resources for students on writing and formatting annotated bibliographies, response papers, and other paper types as well as guidelines on citing course materials Dedicated chapter for new users of APA Style covering paper elements and format, including sample papers for both professional authors and student writers New chapter on journal article reporting standards that includes updates to reporting standards for quantitative research and the first-ever qualitative and mixed methods reporting standards in APA Style New chapter on bias-free language guidelines for writing about people with respect and inclusivity in areas including age, disability, gender, participation in research, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality More than 100 new reference examples covering periodicals, books, audiovisual media, social media, webpages and websites, and legal resources More than 40 new sample tables and figures Expanded guidance on ethical writing and publishing practices, including how to ensure the appropriate level of citation, avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism, and navigate the publication process Guidelines that support accessibility for all users, including simplified reference, in-text citation, and heading formats as well as additional font options
MLA Handbook by
Relied on by generations of writers, the MLA Handbook is published by the Modern Language Association and is the only official, authorized book on MLA style. The new, ninth edition builds on the MLA's unique approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements--facts, common to most sources, like author, title, and publication date--that allows writers to cite any type of work, from books, e-books, and journal articles in databases to song lyrics, online images, social media posts, dissertations, and more. With this focus on source evaluation as the cornerstone of citation, MLA style promotes the skills of information and digital literacy so crucial today. The many new and updated chapters make this edition the comprehensive, go-to resource for writers of research papers, and anyone citing sources, from business writers, technical writers, and freelance writers and editors to student writers and the teachers and librarians working with them. Intended for a variety of classroom contexts--middle school, high school, and college courses in composition, communication, literature, language arts, film, media studies, digital humanities, and related fields--the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook offers *New chapters on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, numbers, italics, abbreviations, and principles of inclusive language *Guidelines on setting up research papers in MLA format with updated advice on headings, lists, and title pages for group project *Revised, comprehensive, step-by-step instructions for creating a list of works cited in MLA format that are easier to learn and use than ever before *A new appendix with hundreds of example works-cited-list entries by publication format, including websites, YouTube videos, interviews, and more *Detailed examples of how to find publication information for a variety of sources *Newly revised explanations of in-text citations, including comprehensive advice on how to cite multiple authors of a single work *Detailed guidance on footnotes and endnotes *Instructions on quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, and avoiding plagiarism *A sample essay in MLA format *Annotated bibliography examples *Numbered sections throughout for quick navigation *Advanced tips for professional writers and scholars
The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition by
Technologies may change, but the need for clear and accurate communication never goes out of style. That is why for more than one hundred years The Chicago Manual of Style has remained the definitive guide for anyone who works with words. In the seven years since the previous edition debuted, we have seen an extraordinary evolution in the way we create and share knowledge. This seventeenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style has been prepared with an eye toward how we find, create, and cite information that readers are as likely to access from their pockets as from a bookshelf. It offers updated guidelines on electronic workflows and publication formats, tools for PDF annotation and citation management, web accessibility standards, and effective use of metadata, abstracts, and keywords. It recognizes the needs of those who are self-publishing or following open access or Creative Commons publishing models. The citation chapters reflect the ever-expanding universe of electronic sources--including social media posts and comments, private messages, and app content--and also offer updated guidelines on such issues as DOIs, time stamps, and e-book locators. Other improvements are independent of technological change. The chapter on grammar and usage includes an expanded glossary of problematic words and phrases and a new section on syntax as well as updated guidance on gender-neutral pronouns and bias-free language. Key sections on punctuation and basic citation style have been reorganized and clarified. To facilitate navigation, headings and paragraph titles have been revised and clarified throughout. And the bibliography has been updated and expanded to include the latest and best resources available. This edition continues to reflect expert insights gathered from Chicago's own staff and from an advisory board of publishing experts from across the profession. It also includes suggestions inspired by emails, calls, and even tweets from readers. No matter how much the means of communication change, The Chicago Manual of Style remains the ultimate resource for those who care about getting the details right.
We've all heard the warning to not "plagiarize" and we know it is bad, but what does it exactly mean?
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines plagiarizing as "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; and to use (another's production) without crediting the source," (Merriam-Webster, 2021).
Research projects require us to find evidence outside of our textbooks to support the arguments we make; however, we cannot just plug in the evidence we find without crediting those who create that evidence. It is important to cite all of the sources you use in your projects - after all, you would not want someone to pass your work off as their own.
Direct quoting is when you quote a piece of information word-for-word from the original author's work.
Tips:
You must make sure you are following the appropriate citation style. For ENRM 345, you need to use APA, 7th ed. (please refer to the APA tab on this guide).
In general, when you cite with direct quotations, you must:
Paraphrasing is when you explain what you learned from the article in your own words; however, you are still using someone else's original idea that you cannot pass off as your own.
When paraphrasing correctly, you need to change the wording and sentence structure from the original work, but never the original meaning.
Reminder: Do not twist the meaning of the author's original words to fit your narrative. The author's meaning should not change.
Common knowledge is generally information that the average person would accept as fact and reliable without having to look it up. This is can be a tricky concept when applied to specific fields because what may be common knowledge in the nursing field may not be common in the environmental sciences field.
First, you should ask yourself a series of helpful questions:
In general, a basic rule to keep in mind when using common knowledge is: If you can find the same information, stated in the exact same way in multiple sources (approximately 3-5 sources), then you can consider it to be common knowledge.
More information about common knowledge:
Turnitin at SU Library is the Library hosted version of Turnitin software whereby students can submit drafts of papers to check for possible instances of plagiarism before they submit final drafts to their course instructors.
Please be aware that Turnitin now includes a feature to detect if any submitted papers are AI generated. This feature will only be viewable for instructors on their course Turninit, and not through the Libraries' version of Turnitin.
Warning: Automated plagiarism detection systems like Turnitin offer some accuracy in comparing the percentage of your content against other sources in order to arrive at a determination at originality. Academic writing that is loaded with text copied from other sources is easily detected using systems like Turnitin. However, such systems do not evaluate the extent and quality of your use of academic citation formats, proper attribution and referencing techniques, etc. Sloppy practice in that area can also lead to accusations of plagiarism. In addition, such automated systems do not cross-check against millions of pages of content held in hundreds of library subscription databases, nor do they cross-check against millions of pages of off-line books, manuscripts, etc. Some have also raised privacy and copyright concerns regarding Turnitin to the extent student papers are saved in the Turnitin system. Papers submitted to Turnitin via the SU Library Turnitin Blackboard space are not saved in the more global Turnitin database.
Have additional questions about plagiarism and how to avoid it?
Browse the following resources from Purdue OWL to help:
Below is Cornell University's tutorial regarding plagiarism, including written and video explanations, and practice exercises: