5.4 Plagiarism and its Boundaries

1. The definition: the others' words-or-ideas presented as one's own — the theft of both the sentence and the thought.2. The grey zones: the close paraphrase (the source's structure followed with synonyms — still plagiarism); the patchwork paper; the self-plagiarism (the own earlier work's reuse without note); the AI-assisted drafting's new questions (the institution's policies — the disclosure's duty).3. The defences' absence: ignorance, time-pressure, "everyone does it" — none avails; the university's codes and the professional's duty (the lawyer's integrity — the Professional Ethics course's bridge, LAW5903).4. The safe practice: the notes clearly separating the source's words, the summaries and your ideas; the citation's habit from the first note; the draft's citation check before submission.