the extent of the use of the source material, then the paper is plagiarized. Commonly heard but unacceptable defenses of plagiarism "As an undergraduate student, I am just starting to learn about a particular subject. I wouldn't necessarily know enough about it to come up with original ideas, so I copied everything from books and web sites. How is that plagiarism?" &gt;&gt; Plagiarism doesn't depend on the use of other people's words and ideas per se; it depends on not acknowledging your use of them appropriately. "If I'm working with source material which was specified and required by the assignment, or was written by the course professor, I don't have to give citations/use quotation marks. The professor already knows what the source material is." &gt;&gt; No. The professor's knowledge in no way eliminates the student's responsibilities towards the source material. "I took this material from the course text - it doesn't need to be cited the way you have to cite other sources." &gt;&gt; No. All works must be appropriately acknowledged, no matter where they come from. "I've included a bibliography. That covers me, and I haven't committed plagiarism. I'm not required to do anything more than that. If for some reason the professor really wants to know how I used my sources, then s/he can use my bibliography entries to check things out." &gt;&gt; No. The student's responsibilities toward the source material have not been fulfilled unless, in addition to the List of Works Cited (bibliography), s/he has also