Perspectives on plagiarism are offered by a university writing teacher, who also gives examples from students' papers. A number of plagiarists genuinely do not understand that they are plagiarizing; they do not understand the basics of footnoting or when it is required. While identifying a piece of writing as plagiarism may be easy, finding the source is not always simple, and evidence is required to show the student's guilt. Responses to plagiarists may vary from no punishment to turning all plagiarists in to the dean, or treating individual cases differently. It is noted that while the university community speaks strongly against plagiarism, it does not always follow through on the principles it advocates. A handout on plagiarism at Northwestern University identifies two major reasons for citing sources: to give the credit that is due the writer whose ideas are used; and to provide references for the reader who wants to pursue the subject further. However, some scholarly books are scarce with footnotes: a writer may cite references only when using quotes and not when paraphrasing. At times, references are almost impossible to find, since they are not numbered, nor is there a list of works cited. Finally, teachers might be more scrupulous about acknowledging lecture and handout sources, even verbal sources. (SW)