It's easy to understand most types of cheating because we learned about them as children. It's harder to understand plagiarism though.
Take a look at McLennan Community College's Academic Integrity policy to learn how the college defines cheating and plagiarism and discover the penalties for each.
Afterward, visit Purdue OWL's Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing or its Best Practices to Avoid Plagiarism to make sure you know how to avoid accidental plagiarism. (Yes, you can accidentally commit plagiarism!)
The video below also offers some useful information on plagiarism and tips for avoiding it.
Not sure what the difference is between paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting?
Paraphrasing: "Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly." from Purdue Owl
Summarizing: A summary is "much shorter that the original source. If your aim is to summarize a long passage, look for the author's most important ideas." from The Curious Writer
Quoting: A quote contains the exact words from a source. Don't forget to use quotation marks and cite the source.
If you need further help, try these websites:
To learn about McLennan Community College’s expectations regarding academic integrity and the consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty, please review Academic Integrity: A Student’s Responsibilities.
