This week of Unit 4 I will discuss plagiarism with the need to cite the sources we use properly. 
When I started Composition I and started talking about plagiarism, I became so overwhelmed with the thought of doing it by accident.  I do not ever want to take someone elses' words for my own, as I simply appreciate the depth, meaning and feeling that go into creating thoughts with meaning and words.  I use a "Quote Journal" for keeping quotes, authors, and the date I wrote them.  An example is, "The first, and perhaps most important of all, rituals is to define and reflect each day on a vision and mission anchored to ones' deepest values.  This ritual powerfully fuels motivation, passion, and focus by drawing on targeted thinking, visualization, and mental rehersal." ~ Jim Loehr, LGE ~(2010, March 19). 
Above is an example of someone elses' words, and I would be stealing them as my own if I did not place them in quotes and then identify the author.  As students and business people, we must continually work on our own thoughts and ideas for writing.  Each university has their own particular style guidelines that they follow, such as APA, MLA, and Bluebook.  It is important that you know which one your university is following by simply asking your professor.  Citing information correctly involves showing information about books, articles, and other sources (Carlson, et al., 2010, p125-126).  This is to show credit to the original author and to provide the reader with information to do their own research if they choose (Carlson, et al., 2010).  There are two types of citation, in-text citation, which can vary with the type of style you are using to write, and full citation, which has all the information that is needed to research the information personally, and is written on a resource page (Carlson, et al., 2010).
Source:  Carlson, S., Martinez, D., VanDam, K. (2010).  "Basic Citation Guidelines".  The Kaplan Guide To Successful Writing (pp121-142).  New York, NY:  Kaplan Publishing.