HONOR CODE: Plagiarism
(From the MaryWashingtonCollege Honor Council)
Plagiarism -- Consists of copying or imitating the language, ideas and thoughts of another author and presenting this material as one's original work.
The following standards shall apply in determining whether a document has been plagiarized in violation of the Honor Code.
a.Common Knowledge -- Consists of information quickly accessible to the reader of a given document. The reader need not actually know the information, but he or she must be able to check its accuracy quickly in any good library without citations from the author of the paper. Usually, the reader should also be able to check or pursue the information in a variety of published sources. Such common or readily available information does not require documentation. But if the reader does need to use a particular source to follow up or verify the information, a reference to that source is necessary.
b.Paraphrasing -- Consists of complete rewording, using one's own sentence structure. Any paraphrased facts or ideas that are not common knowledge must also be documented.
c.Quoted Matter -- When the writer borrows what belongs to another, he or she must indicate the source by internal reference or footnote. The writer must enclose another's words, phrases or ideas in direct quotations. All direct quotations of more than three consecutive significant words (this is only a rule of thumb) should be indicated by quotation marks. It is the student's responsibility to use a recognized source, as Seeber's A Style Manual for Students or the MLA Style Sheet as a guide for making footnotes and bibliography unless otherwise instructed by the professor.
It is the student's responsibility to find out all the requirements of any course from the professor. If a student is in doubt concerning paraphrasing and common knowledge, he or she should consult the professor for instructions.
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM: HOW TO PARAPHRASE
(Adapted from an exercise created by Professor Del Fleming)
You should use your research material in a variety of ways—the quoted phrase or clause or brief passage or extended passage, the summary (or précis), and the paraphrase. All require documentation.
Of all these ways the paraphrase is undoubtedly the most misunderstood. When you paraphrase a passage, be certain to employ your own words and your own sentence structure. If you simply change a few words or rearrange some phrases, you are plagiarizing.
Below are three passages. The first is the original; the second, a faulty, plagiaristic version; the third, a satisfactory paraphrase.
(1)Many Triangle enthusiasts lean to the theory of a time-warp. In other words, the pilots flew into a sort of fourth dimension and, hopefully, they'll fly out again someday—still youthful and agog at the progress the world has made since their time-locked imprisonment.
[Clive Cussler, "Who's Afraid of the Bermuda Triangle?" Ladies Home Journal,
January 1978, p. 103.]
(2)A great many Bermuda Triangle enthusiasts lean to the hypothesis of a time-warp. More simply, the pilots went into a fourth dimension and hopefully they will emerge from it—still young and amazed at the progress the world has made since their imprisonment in time.
(This version obviously constitutes plagiarism. First the sentence structure is unchanged. Although some words and phrases have been altered, this passage loudly echoes the original. Note, too, the absence of documentation. But even with documentation, this version still constitutes plagiarism).
(3)As Clive Cussler notes, the paranormal concept of a time-warp attracts many Bermuda Triangle fanatics. While this concept seems to make the lost pilots captives in a fourth dimension, there is always the hoped for return when they will stand unchanged in a world of change (103).
(In this version the phrasing and the sentence structure have been changed, but the ideas remain the same. The passage is also documented. Notice that the author of the passage makes clear that he/she is borrowing information by prefacing the paraphrase with reference to its source: "As Clive Cussler notes . . .")
Resource for students: The OWL at PurdueUniversity
Resource for faculty: Center for Writing, University of Minnesota
You may make a hyperlink to this tutorial for your students.
IndianaUniversity at Bloomington, School of Education