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Citation Guide: Plagiarism and Copyright

A guide to citing sources in MLA, APA, Chicago and CSE style.

Why Cite Your Sources?

Proper source citing is critical for all research papers. Failure to do so can lead to plagiarism accusations. C-GCC's student handbook defines plagiarism as:

"The use of material or ideas without crediting the original author, so that it appears to be your work. This can be written material, theories, ideas, art work, photography, recorded material, music, statistics, computer programs, etc. The copying does not need to be exact to be considered plagiarism and is illegal."

Plagiarism penalties are severe, as outlined in the college's Academic Catalog.

"All students must do their own work; cheating, plagiarism, abuse of college computers, and other forms of academic dishonesty can result in a failing grade or other penalties under the college’s judiciary procedures."

Avoiding Plagiarism

This video will help viewers understand what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, and the proper way to cite sources. To access this video from off campus, log in with your Brightspace credentials. 

Plagiarism Detectors

Understanding Copyright

Understanding Plagiarism