HIST 5141 North Carolina and Joyner Library Special Collections Resources: Cite Your Sources

Plagiarism is a serious offense at East Carolina University. The ECU Student Handbook defines plagiarism as "Copying the language, structure, ideas, and/or thoughts of another and adopting same as one's own original work." For more information see Section II: Code of Conduct, Penalties, and Hearing Procedures for Students in the handbook.

Tips for avoiding plagiarism The First Year Writing Studio at ECU offers the following suggestions for avoiding plagiarism:

• Place quotation marks around direct quotes.
  
• Paraphrase your source information. This means more than rearranging the structure of a sentence or changing a few words. A good way to do this is to figure out what the source means to you and then writing this down without looking at the source.
  
• Document all quotes and paraphrased information, and provide a Works Cited page at the end of your paper.
  
• In your notes, record quotes, paraphrases, and summaries in an orderly manner so that the page number, source, author/editor, and publication information are carefully noted.

Links for more information

How to Avoid Plagiarism: An Online Tutorial
From Rutgers University

You Quote It, You Note It
From Acadia University

Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
From Duke University

KnightCite
(Hekman Library, Calvin College)

NCSU Citation Builder

Simply enter the citation information in an online form and, Presto!, your citation is automatically generated

The ECU Writing Center offers students, faculty, and staff instruction in basic writing skills and assistance with specific writing assignments in any discipline.  Their website provides a virtual place where those same members of the university can find resources to help them with writing. The menu provides links to various resources, such as writing guides for students and instructors, information about face-to-face tutoring, and the opportunity for Distance Education students to submit writing for online consultation.