The Dankness
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In professional academic circles, plagiarism is avoided by learning and using the agreed citation style; such as MLA style, Chicago style, or APA style. Students will also be expected to learn and adopt the style that has been adopted by the university they are attending.
Generally speaking, facts that are common knowledge (for example, the date that WWII ended) need not be referenced, while facts that are not considered common knowledge in ones field must be cited. Similarly, a quote from any source, words or information, even if paraphrased, or any ideas not ones own must be cited. For instance, while it is acceptable to copy several paragraphs of text from a book and place them in a paper, if the source of the text (the authors name and title of the work) is not identified, even if the text is well known (for example, an excerpt from Lewis Carrolls Jabberwocky), it is considered plagiarism.
Similarly, it is considered plagiarism to take someones idea and then present it as ones own work. However, it is not plagiarism when two (or more) people independently come up with the same new ideas. This is commonly termed simultaneous inspiration, and comes about as the result of people exposed to the same source and interpreting it similarly. This commonly occurs in the sciences, for example Newton and Leibniz seemingly independent invention of calculus.
There is some difference of opinion over how much credit must be given in non-academic settings, such as when preparing a newspaper article or historical account. Generally, reference is made to original source material as much as possible, and writers avoid taking credit for others work. The use of facts in non-academic settings (e.g. journalism, speeches), rather than works of creative expression, does not usually constitute plagiarism. However, if those giving a speech (e.g. politicians) have power over the lives of others, then they usually have