Plagiarism
The following is UNC's approved definition of plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of appropriating the written, artistic, or musical composition of another, or portions thereof; or the ideas, language, or symbols of same and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind. Plagiarism includes not only the exact duplication of another’s work but also the lifting or a substantial or essential portion thereof.
Regarding written work in particular, direct quotations, statements which are a result of paraphrasing or summarizing the work of another, and other information which is not considered common knowledge must be cited or acknowledged, often by listing author(s) and year of the cited source. Quotation marks or a proper form of indentation shall be used to indicate all direct quotes.
As long as a student adequately acknowledges their sources and as long as there is no reason to believe that the student has attempted to pose as the originator, the student will not be charged with plagiarism even though the form of the acknowledgement may be unacceptable. However, students should be aware that most professors require certain forms of acknowledgement and some may evaluate a project on the basis of form.