"One of my friends got busted for cheating on a paper and failed his class. How do I avoid doing that?"

What do you think is the top reason why students plagiarize?
a. They didn't give themselves enough time to write the paper
b. They didnt know how to cite the information they found
c. It was easier than doing research

Every year students knowingly and unknowingly commit plagiarism. Plagiarism is...

• Copying someone else's words without using quotation marks and citing the source.
• Restating or summarizing someone else's original or specialized ideas without citing the source.
• Pretending someone else's work is your own.

CSULB defines plagiarism as "the act of using the ideas or work of another person or persons as if they were one's own, without giving credit to the source." Check out CSULB's Plagiarism Policy and Penalties.