<p>Technically, using the same ideas is plagiarism, even if they are not copied word for word. For example, if an English teacher assigns an essay about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The Scarlet Letter, you might note that there are many, many resources online with the information you need. However, hopefully you’ll see that using your excuse is not applicable in such a situation. If you are honest about it though, I’m pretty sure your teacher won’t give you a 0.</p>