Most students understand that it is unethical to copy and paste text from outside sources without giving credit to the original author. However, some students are genuinely surprised to find out that paraphrasing (putting into your own words) another person’s ideas without attributing them to the original author is also a form of plagiarism. Even if you pull a brief fact or statistic from an online source to support a point you make in a discussion forum, you need to acknowledge your source. In academic writing, if you use words or ideas from a source, you must give that source credit. See the section on avoiding plagiarism in your handbook to familiarize yourself with different types of plagiarism, and ask your instructor if you are unsure about how to cite any sources you have used for an assignment. Check your syllabus to make sure you understand your school’s academic integrity policies and to learn about the penalties for plagiarism.