Citing sources correctly.

The definitions and rules associated with plagiarism and copyright infringement can be difficult to interpret. In fact, it is possible to plagiarize or commit copyright infringement unknowingly simply because an author does not understand how to properly cite another person’s original idea or credit someone’s photograph. Authors can avoid these critical writing pitfalls by familiarizing themselves with some basic but essential rules concerning plagiarism, proper citation, and copyright law. This article introduces important rules of citation and copyright, but is not a comprehensive guide.