D. Plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise. To avoid plagiarism, every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or by appropriate indentation and must be properly cited in the text or in a footnote. Acknowledgment is required when material from another source stored in print, electronic or other medium is paraphrased or summarized in whole or in part in one's own words. A footnote acknowledging only a directly quoted statement does not suffice to notify the reader of any preceding or succeeding paraphrased material. In addition to materials specifically cited in the text, only materials that contribute to one's general understanding of the subject may be acknowledged in the bibliography.
Plagiarism can, in some cases, be a subtle issue.
Any questions about what constitutes plagiarism should be discussed with the faculty member. It is a violation of academic integrity to deny others access to scholarly resources, or to deliberately impede the progress of another student or scholar. Any violation of academic honesty is a serious offense and is therefore subject to an appropriate penalty. Violations at Rutgers University are classified into four levels according to the nature of the infraction. For each level of violation a corresponding set of sanctions is recommended.