If you only repeat information from others without showing sources, it might mean that you:

• know the material but don’t know how to rephrase it,
• you don’t want to rewrite or think it is too hard to write in your own words., or
• you are taking a shortcut because no one will notice anyway.

It is difficult for the person who assesses you to know why you have chosen to repeat information.

Plagiarism is:

… copying sentences or parts of text that someone else has written, without citing the sources.

… copying anything word for word.

… rewriting a text or sentences, but it still, very much like the original text, or copied directly.

… copying information straight from the internet without citing the source.

Plagiarism is:

… using a classmate’s notes to write your text.

… copying pictures, diagrams, graphs, and similar images without saying where they came from.

… using data, statistics, and facts that someone else has gathered without providing the source.

… using quotes from texts, videos, and lessons without citing the source, even if the information is something that you wrote down in your own notes.

If for example your teacher gives you a really good quote, you can’t use that quote, even if you wrote it down yourself, unless you also cite the source.

If you plagiarize, you might:

• not get credit for your work
• need more time to complete your studies
• get kicked out from your school permanently or for a period of time.

Plagiarism often happens when:

• you “borrow” information from others because you are in a rush;
• you are afraid that you can’t write well enough and “borrow” information;
• you find the right answer on the Internet and copy it word for word and use it as your work;
• you don’t understand what you need to do for the assignment and just copy information from class materials;
• you want to sound like you know more than you actually do.