Page 297

Avoiding Plagiarism

Have you ever come up with a hilarious meme and posted it, waiting for your friend to like it? Hours later, no likes appear. Then you notice that your friend has posted your meme with no credit and has gotten dozens of likes!

That’s plagiarism: presenting another person’s ideas as your own. It’s basically stealing someone else’s thinking.

Imagine if your friend had reposted your meme so others could see who came up with it. Then those dozens of likes go to you and your friend.

It’s easy to avoid plagiarism. Just show what ideas came from someone else, and tell who that person is. It’s common courtesy, but it’s also what’s legally right. This chapter will keep you from being a meme pirate.