A more modern interpretation is stealing someone else's work or ideas and presenting them as one's own. This information can be in many forms e.g. books, music, presentations, lecture notes.
Note: Images within a work may have a separate source who will need credit.
UCC Academic Integrity for Examinations and Assessments
This policy sets out UCC’s definitions of academic integrity; signposts supports for staff and students; and, outlines the procedures for the investigation of alleged cases of academic misconduct or plagiarism for examinations and assessments.
See UCC Academic Integrity for Examinations and Assessments Policy
This does not require citation but what is it? It's something that you can expect your audience to know.
"The sky is blue" - no need to explain further. The fact that something is freely available on the web doesn't automatically make it "common knowledge".
Context matters:
Murder is wrong but if using in a legal context, you might have to quote your source.
Plagiarism is often just being careless. Scholarship demands high academic standards and attention to detail is paramount.
When in doubt cite! Crediting your sources eliminates any possibility of plagiarism.
Use quotations and use "in-text citing". Don't over use quotes or use lengthy ones as it can disrupt the flow of your assignment causing a reduction in your own work.
Turnitin
Turnitin is software used to assess how original your work is and checks it for plagiarism. You submit your assignment electronically and it is compared to other work in a large database. You get a percentage similarity score based on how original your work is. If the percentage is high, it might indicate that you have used too many quotes so some editing will be necessary.
Anything as long as you give credit.
You must not use too many quotes - this must be your work.
You may not use another student's work, without credit, even if they give you permission. This is called Collusion and both of you will be guilty of plagiarism.
"Express the meaning of (something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity." (Oxford English Dictionary)
Paraphrasing can be fine but do it carefully and always credit the source.
