Universitiesplaceahighvalueonoriginalworkandthought.Mostuniversitystudents understandthat"copying"isnotallowedinschool. However, therequirementforacademichonestygoesbeyondnotpeekingatsomeoneelse'sanswersonaquiz.
A person who claims to have written something thatwas the work of another person commitsplagiarism. This is a serious form of cheating.
Therefore, students mustnot:
- Copyall or part of another person's writing word-for-word into an assignment.This includes both printed and onlinematerials.
- Copymanyphrasesfromasource,stringingthemtogetherwithafewadditionalwordsinthestudent'smanuscript.
- Paraphrase, which means to go through a passage making minor alterations in wordingbutkeepingmostoftheessentialorderandmeaningintact,whilefailingtoidentifyitssource. This is theft of the idea, if not of thewording.
- Fail to cite with foot/end notes and bibliographic or “sources cited”entries
- Use someone else's unusual, original idea without giving the originator credit forit.
- That is: Write your own thoughts in your ownwords.
If you use words from an outside source, mark them with bothpunctuation and identification of the source.This is usually done with “quote” marks and a footnote, but there are some other methods—but in any case, be sure that both indications are present in your work.
Penalties for plagiarism will depend on the severity of the offense. You will not earngradepoints for plagiarized portions of any assignment. Instances of plagiarism may bebroughtto the attention of universityauthorities.
"I forgot" is not an excuse for failing to follow theserules.
Some helpfultips:
A simple version of the rules on usingquotations:
- Enclose all quoted matter in "quotation" marks. Remember they come inpairs!
•Ifthequotationfillsthreeormorelinesinyourmanuscript,presentitasablockquote--single-spaced and double indented. No quotation marks are required here.
- Also required: identify the source, either in the text or in a footnote orendnoteand any “Sources Cited” orBibliography.
- The reader should be able to look up the original passage withoutdifficultly. Attach afootnote:
- To the end of a paragraph to identify the sources of itscontents. (You can combine several sources in the note for one paragraph.)
- To the end of any quotation in the next space after itends.
- To any statistic, at the end of thesentence.
- To an extremely unusual bit of information, at the end of thesentence.
Some practical advice: When you sit down to write, read your research material and then put it outof sight. As you write, imagine that you are telling what you have learned to another person. If youdo nothave the model of another writer's work in view, you are more likely to use yournatural vocabulary and organize according to your own understanding. When you have finished, rereadyoursource materials to check for accuracy of facts. Remember to identify your sources and punctuateyourquotes!
Pitfall: To copy / paste from web pages is very dangerous. Copying big chunks of text and thentuningthem up with a few word changes and a sentence or two to connect them is plagiarism-even if youciteyoursource.
Advice: Even when a paper’s quotes are “legal”, if a large portion of the manuscript is quoted, it won’t satisfy an assignment—the paper should be the author’s work. In particular, avoid quoting your textbook.