Plagiarism is defined as: vaporizing and passing off another's ideas or words as one's own. Use other people's production without citing the source. Committing literary theft. Presenting an idea or product from an existing source as new and original (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Why Students Plagiarize Plagiarism occurs among college students for many reasons. Create a research paper, book review, etc. well written requires a lot of time and discipline. Many students don't manage their time very well and find themselves facing a rapidly approaching deadline. Under time pressure, students look for quick fixes such as "copy and paste" techniques which can lead to plagiarism. In other situations, students simply fail to take adequate notes that include correct citations, paraphrases, and citations. Lack of confidence in their writing abilities can lead some students to borrow information from other sources because they feel they are unable to come up with original thoughts and ideas. Not learning how to use the correct citations can cause a lot of confusion during the writing process. This confusion causes many students to use improper citations, which can be seen as plagiarism. Intentional vs. unintentional Many of the reasons for plagiarism already discussed are examples of "unintentional" plagiarism. Most students do not intend to plagiarize, but are often overwhelmed by deadlines and multiple assignments. This leads them to look for a quick way to fulfill requests, so they quickly throw together an assignment and fail to cite their sources correctly. Also, as mentioned, some students don't understand how to use the correct citation, so they commit plagiarism without meaning to. However, students who do not m...... middle of paper ......rism.Conclusion Plagiarism is a problem that should be taken seriously by all students. While most cases of plagiarism are unintentional, most can be easily avoided. Students can avoid making mistakes that lead to plagiarism by managing their time well, taking notes that include all bibliographic information from the source, asking questions when in doubt, and following writing guidelines for their specific field, such as those in the Handbook publication of the American Psychological Association. ReferencesAmerican Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Plagiarism Prevention for Students (n.d.). Retrieved August 25, 2011, from http://library.csusm.edu/plagiarism/PlagiarismdotORG (n.d.). Retrieved August 25, 2011, from http://www.plagiarism.org