Plagiarism

What is Self-Plagiarism?

Self-plagiarism may be the form of plagiarism that is least recognized. Self-plagiarism occurs when writers present their own previously produced work as new. This includes:

• Re-using a paper (or parts of a paper) written for one class for a different class without citation. Students often wonder why this is a problem. After all they were the author of the original, right? If they went to an instructor and asked if they could simply submit a paper they did last semester for this semester's work they should expect a cool look and a lecture on why this would not fulfill the current course's requirements. 
• Using sections of a previously prepared work in a new one without citation. If you want to refer to prior work, cite it as you would any other source. (Students discuss this with your instructor in advance.)

This concept may be most easily understood if you think about your reaction if you bought a book by your favorite writer and discovered that he or she had simply plunked in large parts of an earlier work you'd previously paid for (or a songwriter simply re-used the chorus of an earlier song in a new one). You'd feel cheated and angry that you spent money a second time for something you'd already read. Our expectation is that new works are just that -- new. If we learn otherwise, we think less of the creator and devalue the work and their future efforts.