Avoiding Plagiarism: Understanding Plagiarism

Self-plagiarism is possible and it's just as serious.

Self-plagiarism, or "double-dipping," is deception and goes against the core principles of ethical writing. Papers are assigned for you to demonstrate what you have learned in a particular class. If you reuse a paper you wrote for a previous class, you are not demonstrating new learning.

Examples of self-plagiarism:

• Turning in a paper for a current class that you already submitted as an assignment for a previous class
• Using a substantial amount of a paper written for another course as content for a new assignment
• Treating anything you've previously written as if it were new material

Ten Types of Unoriginal Work:

Source: TurnItIn.

Why do we reference other's work?  Read Why Reference? in the Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism (2010).  

You are welcome to reuse the content of this Guide as long as you attribute Butler University Libraries.