Presentation: A Guide to AMA Style & Plagiarism
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's words without fully attributing them. Plagiarism can be both intentional and unintentional.
- Intentional Plagiarism: Intentional plagiarism happens when you are knowingly claiming someone else's words, text, or images and claiming them as your own. Some examples of intentional plagiarism might include lifting text from a book without attributing the author, or using or purchasing a paper that someone else has already written.
- Unintentional Plagiarism: This is the most common form of plagiarism. You may unintentionally plagiarize if you forget to cite key information or mistake an author's idea for your own.
Tips for Avoiding Unintentional Plagiarism
- Familiarize yourself with the basics of AMA Style.
- Learn the difference between paraphrasing an author and directly quoting the author.
- Cite an author both within the body of your work and on the references page.
- Place direct quotations in double quotation marks.
- Organize your notes so that you know exactly when you are quoting an author, paraphrasing an author, or writing your own ideas.
