Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use
Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use all have similar meanings, but yet they are all three totally different. Copyright grants the creator of a work several rights, including the right to copy the work. If someone has a copyright on that work, only the one with the copyright can allow permission for someone to copy the work.
Plagiarism is when you claim credit for the work that someone else has actually don't. It is a form of theft and academic dishonesty. At best plagiarism in the classroom could result in a failing grade on the work in question, at worst you could be tried for a violation of the copyright law (works under copyright). Schools may also have something in place and you could get kicked out of school for plagiarism.
With fair use, students may copy portions of the work without permission. Usually this means one just uses a short amount for the purpose of review or for criticism.
Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
There are many different styles and times that you need to cite sources. Sometimes it is in a paper when you have quoted what someone has said from a website or article, and also at the end of a paper on your reference page. To avoid plagiarism always cite your references on a reference page at the end of a paper or work. A couple cites that are very useful in showing how to properly cite sources are citationmachine.net and owl.english.purdue.edu. In these websites all you have to do is select what style you want to cite (APA or MLA), collect the information asked for, and input the information. It will create your citation and you just copy it to your reference page. On the Purdue OWL website there is also an ample amount of information provided on copyright and plagiarism.
When do I need to cite information?
APA Citation