Plagiarism

Plagiarism is not crediting others for their thoughts and ideas whether on purpose or accidently.

I don't think many people at this level intentionally plagiarize but it can definitely become confusing when you're researching a topic and learning so much new material. I think it becomes tricky to make sure everything is properly cited unless you do it as you go. Otherwise I think I would start to think I already knew these things and not give proper credit. The DK Handbook suggested having a friend highlight in 2 colors what's your thoughts and what comes from others so you can see if everything is properly credited. I'd never really thought of a paper as a collection of your thoughts + outside people's thoughts but that's really what composes one.

Something that helps me with citing outside information is using online sites that generate a works cited page in MLA form and just adding each source as I find it so nothing will get left out.