Proper citation

I believe it to be very important to give credit where credit is due.  Plagiarism is a serious problem, and some don't even realize they're doing it.  Everyone should be taught the correct ways to cite their references.  I would have to assume that if you gave an idea, someone else took that idea to your boss and said they come up with it, you'd be rather irked with that person, right?  So why would you do the same to someone else, such as an author?  What if you quote someone, but don't properly state who you got the information from, only to find later that the information was wrong, then what?  If you'd properly cited the information you had, you would not be taking the blame for incorrect information!  It wouldn't look very good for your defense to blame someone after the fact.

My husband and I have managed several properties over the years and have found our ideas being taken and claimed as others, all the time.  It really ticks us off when this happens, but really, what proof did we have to say it was ours in the first place?

You also must be certain that you are not typing word for word from our text books.  It is better to read the information and then write what your just read in your own words, then cite it correctly with a reference.  I hate to say this, but all too often I read discussion posts that seem (or are) word for word from our books.  This is very wrong, and upsetting.  It is so simple to paraphrase and cite/reference, we all just need to take the time to do so.  :)

Happy writing class!!

~Misty