Documentation means giving appropriate credit to others whose words or ideas you have used. In American and many other cultures, a failure to give such credit, even if the failure is unintentional, is considered plagiarism and is a serious violation of the rules of scholarship. Plagiarism can result in penalties ranging from a failing grade on the paper to a failing grade in the course or even expulsion from school. See also The Research Paper, especially the discussions of note taking, paraphrasing, and summarizing.

 

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