Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. (IGI-Global 2017)
While plagiarism in scholarship has a centuries old history, the development of the internet, where articles appear as electronic text, has made the physical act of copying the work of others much easier, simply by copying and pasting text from one web page to another.
Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work as if it were your own, whether you mean to or not. The Institute does not tolerate plagiarism of other peoples work.
Citing authoritative and appropriate sources not only gives more weight to your argument, it also provides evidence that you have read widely and can represent a wide range of views. It is important to follow a formal system of citing or referencing to avoid plagiarism and to ensure that your reader can easily locate the original sources of your citation.
'Plagiarism by students can be deliberate or accidental, where a student fails to use appropriate citation and referencing in their work or is unaware of what constitutes plagiarism' (IT Sligo, 2019, p.1)
IT Sligo. (2019) Plagiarism Procedure. Sligo.
Library staff can help you with referencing tools such as Cite them Right and EndNote
The Academic Writing Centre can assist you with paraphrasing and summarising
Your lecturer will advise which style to use and why it is necessary.