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Many Franklin University courses use TurnItIn, an online service which helps instructors make sure that student assignments properly cite references and don't contain plagiarism. For information about this service, see the library's Turnitin Research Guide.
"In college courses, we continually engage with other people's ideas: we read them in texts, hear them in lecture, discuss them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing. As a result, it is very important that we give credit where it is due. Plagiarism is using others' ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information." [Writing Tutorial Services. (2024). Plagiarism: What it is and how to recognize and avoid it. Indiana University. https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/plagiarism.html]
You can commit plagiarism -- and be found to have violated academic conduct standards -- even if it was done unintentionally. Follow these tips to avoid knowingly or unknowingly committing plagiarism.
Remember you took the time to find the research, read it, and incorporate it into your writing – show that work by citing your sources.
Paraphrasing is when you present information (ideas, opinions, concepts, theories, facts, etc.) that you found from a source and incorporate that information into your own paper, presentation, or project. When you paraphrase, you are not just re-arranging the original wording or swapping out a few words with synonyms. To correctly paraphrase, you should re-write the information in your own words, which requires you to understand that information and connect it with your own ideas and with information from your other sources.
We call this process of understanding and connecting information synthesis. It can be difficult to synthesize information but it is an important part of the research and writing process. Synthesis makes your arguments, positions, research, etc. stronger and helps organize your writing.
Reference: Harris, R. A., & Lockman, V. (2001). The plagiarism handbook: Strategies for preventing, detecting, and dealing with plagiarism. Pyrczak Pub.
See Franklin University's Academic Misconduct Policy for additional information about what constitutes plagiarism, strategies for avoiding academic misconduct, and the consequences/procedures if you do commit plagiarism.
The use of AI, and whether it is considered plagiarism, is governed by the University's Academic Misconduct policy. Review the policy before using AI to find out whether the use of AI would be considered plagiarism. If in doubt, check with your instructor before using AI.