There is a sacred bond between teacher and student that involves a mutual trust.  Just as your teacher has an obligation to be honest with you, so do you have an obligation to your teacher.  Your teacher must at times demand and at other times simply trust that you are working not only to your fullest ability, but also to your fullest integrity. 

Consider Plagiarism is a commission of two sins: 

(1)  It is a theft of a person's mind.  Scholars crafted the pieces on this site with thought and passion.  There is an implicit trust that the visitor to this site will give the writer the proper acknowledgment for such an achievement. 

(2)  It is a theft compounded by a lie.  Your teacher assumes that the words placed under your name, unless properly cited, are your own.  Obviously, taking an article (or part of an article) from this site and passing it off as your own thoughts and words is plagiarism. 

But what about incorporating ideas or phrases and weaving them into your own work?  When properly cited, this is an essential tool for all scholars.  Then what exactly constitutes a "proper" use of material contained on any web site?  There is something about the Net -- the novelty, perhaps -- that causes many students to ask this question.  But this dilemma should be no more mysterious than questioning an article obtained from a magazine in the library.  In fact, the only difference is that it is far easier to plagiarize an article from a web site.  From the comfort of your own home, you summon forth the words, press Print, and they materialize onto paper in the privacy of your own den of iniquity.  If you are still not sure what constitutes plagiarism, or if you are not sure how to correctly incorporate and cite sources, ask your teacher or check the latest edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.