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When writing an essay, a story, or composing any type of document, the information we research, that is included in the piece of text itself, plays a predominant role of being more important and critical compared to the source of where the information is coming from. After researching many different websites and articles for the information, the first thing on my mind is finding the information that I am looking for, not the source of where it is all stemming from. With this type of mind-set, I am bound to get in trouble for plagiarism. The word plagiarism has a significantly negative connotation because of the serious consequences an individual can end up with; however, plagiarism can be both intentional and unintentional. It is intentional if the writer is purposefully using other author’s words and ideas within a text and claiming them as their own. This type of intentional plagiarism can happen in a written document, verbal presentation, etc. Plagiarism is viewed as unintentional if quotation marks are missing, the author’s name isn’t stated in parenthesizes after the quote, or the source is not stated in the works cited aspect of the document. Whether or not the writer meant to plagiarize, the consequences and penalties are still the same. Plagiarism can be avoided very easily if certain steps and precautions are taken while researching and composing an essay, a document, a presentation, etc. Students shouldn’t be afraid to integrate sources into their essays because if certain steps are followed, they have nothing to worry about! First, always create a “Works Cited” page before starting to research. When skimming through an article or finding useful information on a presentation, copy the link, write down the information or screen-grab the URL in order to later reference the information and not forget where the research came from. Secondly, use quotes! It is always better to cite something or have too many citations, than not enough. Lastly, if you are summarizing or paraphrasing the author’s words or ideas, go back and reread what you wrote in order to make sure it is individualized and doesn’t steal his or hers thoughts and ideas. If it does, just add a citation.