Plagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas in your paper without properly indicating the specific source from which you got those words or ideas.

It is expected that you will use other sources to support your paper. No scholar writes in isolation from other scholars. You just have to be careful in how you handle your sources and give credt where credit is due. 

From the TEDS / TGS Academic Handbook:

"A student found to break the standard of academic integrity by cheating or plagiarizing will be confronted by the faculty member involved and will be reported to the Dean of Students. This will result in a 'zero' grade for that particular paper or exam, which may result in an 'F' for the course (e.g. depending on the normal weight of that particular assignment, as articulated on the syllabus, the student may fail the course). Such an assignment cannot be 'made-up' or a substitute assignment made. It may also lead to expulsion from the institution, or a revocation of a degree already granted by Trinity."

Intentional plagiarism - To copy a paper from another student, or to copy from some other source (without proper citation), and submit it as your own.

• This must never be done. Every paper you write at Trinity must be your original work.

• Most instances of plagiarism come from not properly handling sources you use in your paper.
• Whenever you use someone else's words, or even ideas, you must give proper attribution for that source. We refer to this as "citing your sources," and is done with either parenthetical references or footnotes, depending on your style requirements. See the "Citing Your Sources" tab for help.
• Watch our video on avoiding plagiarism.

Paraphrasing plagiarism - To closely paraphrase another author's words, that is, to change just a few key words, even if you cite the source for the idea.

• You must either reproduce the original words exactly and indicate it is a direct quotation, or summarize the idea in your own words.
• In both cases you will need to indicate the source for those words or that idea.
• All the words in your paper not in quotes you are claiming as your own.