Preventing plagiarism

You are not allowed to summarize or edit the texts and ideas of others and then present it as your own original work. This is what is known as plagiarism. Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property. 
Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional.

Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty. In addition to plagiarism, cheating, mistaken identity and joining group activities without contributing anything are also considered to be academic dishonesty.

How do you avoid plagiarism?

If you have consulted relevant literature and other sources for your essay you are allowed to incorporate information gathered from these sources these into your work. By clearly marking and listing the source reference, you clearly indicate which parts of your work have been taken from other sources. Through this reference, a lecturer, or any other reader, will know:

  • which sources you have consulted (reliability) 
  • whether you used more than one source 
  • if the source has been used correctly, and 
  • if important sources have been consulted and used.

You can incorporate parts of the work of others in your own work in two ways: 

  • by paraphrasing 
  • by using citations (always placed between double quotation marks)

Paraphrasing:
express the meaning of (something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity

Citation:
a quotation from or reference to a book, paper, or author, especially in a scholarly work (Oxford English Dictionary)

  • To discuss certain aspects of a text
  • To directly quote and illustrate someone's point of view
  • In support of your own argument 

At the end of your essay you should include a list of all the sources that you have consulted. This is your bibliography which will contain a list of all sources that have been paraphrased or cited in your work. The references in your bibliography should be organized in alphabetical order by the surname of the authors.

Text: Guidelines for referencing sources from the LWSVO (National Organization for School Librarians in Secondary Schools)

A correct source reference is necessary for both forms of usage.
Also take a look at the Information Literacy Portal of Zuyd Library.