Ask Us! National University Library

The National University Writing Center describes it as:

...the presentation of someone else’s ideas or words as if they were your own. Viewed as a form of academic dishonesty, it carries potentially severe penalties ranging from failing the assignment and failing the course to expulsion from the University. You are responsible for the writing you submit; you are also accountable for representing the work of others fairly and accurately. Taking the words or ideas of someone and presenting them as your own constitutes theft, whether you meant to plagiarize or not.

Learn more about plagiarism on the NU Academic Integrity Guide.