PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism- What is it?

“Plagiarism? I’d define it as an easy A if you don’t get caught, and an easy F if you do.” Anton-age fourteen (Gilmore 9)

“Plagiarism – the appropriation or imitation of the language, ideas, and thoughts of another author, and representation of them as one’s original work.” The Random House Dictionary of the English Language

Plagiarism – What’s the Big Deal?

“Plagiarism defeats the main point of writing assignments: learning to think critically and analyze.”

“When a student fails to cite, it destroys trust in the academic setting. It’s a lot harder to regain trust than it is to lose it.”

“Plagiarism and the failure to attribute material cheat the reader; they make it impossible to follow a trail of sources and to track down ideas.”

“Plagiarism and the failure to cite, of course, have consequences, often punitive, for students who are caught.”

“A plagiarized source is often impossible to track down again when the author wants to find more information.” --from Plagiarism by Barry Gilmore (87)

Top Ten Reasons Students Give for Plagiarizing

Confusion about the procedure Procrastination Pressure Avoidance Confusion about the assignment Student culture School culture Self-doubt Disdain for the assignment Collaboration

(Gilmore 37)

Plagiarism Defined

“Many students think of plagiarism only as copying an entire essay and handing it in as one’s own, when in fact the term refers to appropriating any material—ideas, writings, images, or portions of those—and claiming to be the original creator.”

“The word itself is interesting; its most immediate root is the Latin word plagiarius, meaning ‘kidnapper, ‘. . . .” Don’t be a kidnapper of ideas and thoughts! (Gilmore 2)

Student Tips for Avoiding Plaigiarism

“Know the definition of plagiarism at your school.” “Take good notes.” “Paraphrase carefully.” “Learn to attribute correctly.” “Leave plenty of time.” “Make sure you understand the assignment.” “Research wisely.” “Make your bibliography as you work.” “Double-check your papers.” “Make the assignment personal.”

(Gilmore )

Works Cited “Capital Idea”

The following anagram will help you remember the information you will need to prepare a works cited page properly. Being prepared helps you avoid plagiarism.

“City – the city where the work was published”

“Author of the work” “Page – page number of specific part of a

site where the information can be found” “Information – the salient quotation, fact,

or idea that will be used by the student”

“Title – again, of print source or web page” “Annotation – personal notes about the source, its

usefulness, and how it might help the student.” “Location – where was the source found?” “Internet Host – or publisher of a print source” “Date – when was the source published or last

updated?” “Edition – or volume number of a journal or

magazine” “Access – the date on which a website was

accessed” (Gilmore 81)

Research Check List

“Have I included enough evidence to support my points?” “Have I cited all of the sources that deserve credit for the

ideas I’ve presented?” “Are my sources varied, reputable, and balanced?” “Would a reader see a trend in my sources that might

raise questions about my process?” “Are my sources evenly distributed throughout the

section? If not, is there a valid reason why not?” Have I clearly and sufficiently explained the quotations

and sources I used, including establishing a context for each source’s authenticity or relationship to the topic?”

“Are there types of sources (or specific sources) that a reader would expect to see in my paper that aren’t there?” (Gilmore 84)

Values and Ethics!

Plagiarism rules and honor codes are important to develop a community of integrity. The following goals come from an article, “Individual and Contextual Influences on Academic Dishonesty: A Multicampus Investigation” (McCabe and Trevino 1997)

“realizing and affirming academic integrity as an institutional core value”

“promoting a commitment to lifelong learning” “establishing the role of teachers as both

guides and mentors”

“assisting students in understanding how the Internet can help and also hurt them”

“encouraging students to take responsibility for academic integrity”

“providing assurance that students know and understand expectations”

“creating and using fair forms of assessment” “decreasing the opportunities students have to be

academically dishonest” “dealing with academic dishonesty when it happens” “assisting with defining and supporting campus wide

academic standards for behavior” (Gilmore 122)

Don’t Risk Your Grade, Your Reputation, Your Integrity

Don’t fall “down the rabbit hole” of plagiarism. It’s is no “Wonderland.”

Works Cited

Gilmore, Barry. Plagiarism: Why It Happens; How to Prevent It. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008.

“Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.” Google Images. Web. 18 Dec 2009.

Urland, Laurence. “Plagiarism.” The Random House of the English Language. College Edition. New York: Random House, 1968. Print.