Resources for International Students

Definitions of academic integrity and plagiarism are culturally determined. One important aspect of academic writing in the United States is that when you use someone else’s ideas or words, you must give credit to the original source. Citation is the process of acknowledging the use of another’s work in your own. If you fail to cite a source, this is referred to as plagiarism.

At UCF, a document called The Golden Rule defines your rights and responsibilities as a student and includes a section on plagiarism. The Golden Rule defines plagiarism as occurring when "another's work is used or appropriated without any indication of the source, thereby attempting to convey the impression that such work is the student's own."

Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional. Intentional plagiarism is a deliberate attempt to pass off another's work as your own. Purchasing a paper online and cutting and pasting sections from other sources with no citation are two examples. Unintentional plagiarism can be the result of inaccurate or incomplete acknowledgement of one's sources. This could include paraphrasing a source too closely or failing to identify the author of a quotation. 

For a more detailed discussion of cultural differences in definitions of plagiarism see "Cultural Differences in Plagiarism.”

A citation style is set of established rules and conventions for documenting sources, and it determines the format of your paper and citations. Using a citation style helps you to avoid plagiarism. The two most common citation styles are APA and MLA. APA is commonly used in the sciences and social sciences, while MLA is often used in the humanities

Regardless of which citation style you are required to use, citation is a two-part process that includes both in-text citations and a works cited or references page.

1. In-text citations are brief references in the body of the paper to indicate to your reader where that information is coming from. The in-text citation directs your reader to your works cited/references entries.
2. Works cited/references are citations that contain the complete information about the sources that you have cited in your in-text citations. Your in-text citations must match your references and vice versa.

If you have questions about how to cite and what types of information needs citations, you can ask your instructors and professors. The University Writing Center is also a great resource for questions related to citation and writing.