What is Unintentional Plagiarism

1.

Also called accidental plagiarism. This refers to an instance in which it appears that a piece of work has been plagiarized when in fact the person who wrote the piece of work did not intentionally set out to commit an infraction. This could occur because the writer did not understand that everything that comes from an outside source must be cited, that paraphrases must be rewritten in the writer’s own words, or did not understand the concept of common knowledge and thought a piece did not need to be cited, or thought that what was cited was sufficient when more information about the original author needed to be included. Learn more in: Education Can be Gained from Errors: Why Plagiarism Should Be Used as a Learning Opportunity for College Students

2.

The use of text with inappropriate or lack of attribution to the original source or author that is unknowingly or unwittingly conducted by students. It is generally assumed to be done without mischievous intent, often simply because the student does not know how to properly cite or paraphrase. Learn more in: Academic Misconduct and the Internet