Plagiarism Prevention Resource Kit:

Plagiarism Prevention Checklist

Why is it important to cite sources? Citations are critical to scholarly writing. As a member of the academic community, you will understand, reorganize, and synthesize ideas from other sources to support the new understanding you offer as a scholar. This checklist will help you follow the best practices of research and citation, ensuring proper attribution of ideas and adherence to the principles of academic integrity.

• I took careful notes.
• I wrote down the source (author and page number) for each idea I might use in my work. (Advice on prewriting and note taking.)

• I immediately included citations for all my sources in my paper when I paraphrased or quoted other authors. I did not wait until later to add citations. (Information on citing your sources properly.)
• I paraphrased by using my own words and sentence structure when I used evidence or ideas that came from other authors. I did not rely on other authors’ words to speak for me. (Advice on paraphrasing effectively.)
• If I directly quoted a source, I included page numbers and used either block quote style (if over 39 words) or quotation marks (if under 40 words) for those direct quotes. (Advice on integrating direct quotations.)
• If I used any previous content that I wrote, I made sure it follows Walden’s policy for Reuse of One’s Own Content. If I did reuse my past work, I cited myself. (Advice on reuse of one’s own content.)

• I read through my draft to ensure that all material that came from other sources was clearly and accurately cited. (Tips on proofreading and revising.)
• I submitted my work in the SafeAssign Drafts section of my course. (SafeAssign tutorial.)
• I used the SafeAssign Originality Report to double check that all words and ideas that were not originally my own had clear citations. (Information on SafeAssign Originality Reports.)