What is the difference between copying and referencing in academic writing?

What is the difference between copying and referencing in academic writing?

Copying involves taking someone else's work or ideas and presenting them as your own, while referencing means acknowledging the original source.

Can you give me an example of copying?

Sure! If a student takes a paragraph from a book and includes it in their essay without quotation marks or citation, that's copying.

And what about referencing?

Referencing would be including that same paragraph but adding a citation to the original book, showing where the information came from.

Why is referencing important?

Referencing is crucial because it gives credit to the original authors, helps avoid plagiarism, and allows readers to verify sources.