February 5, 2009

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Your student has turned in a final project that was not entirely their own
work. Plagiarism is the act of using another person’s work or ideas and not
giving credit to the original author of the idea.

Plagiarism is not allowed in any form in any academic arena. Plagiarism is

addressed in the LAUSDParent/Student Handbook on page 16 under School
Code of Conduct. The handbook states:
Any student found to have committed any of the acts below will be subject to a full
investigation and, if applicable, all appropriate disciplinary actions, which may
include suspension, expulsion, and/or referral to law enforcement.

In a university setting, the consequences of plagiarism are severe.

Universities can reverse scholarship money, force the student to repay any
gifted funds, and even expel a student for breaking this strict code of
academic ethics. Below are two examples of local universities and their rules
for students committing plagiarism:

California State University Northridge has the following policy:

Cheating or plagiarism in connection with an academic program at a campus is listed
in Section 41301, Title 5, California Code of Regulations, as an offense for which a
student may be expelled, suspended, or given a less severe disciplinary sanction. .
..

UCLA has a similar policy stating:

If you admit culpability, and if the Dean concludes that there is sufficient evidence to sustain a finding of culpability,
the Dean may impose, or impose and suspend, one or more of the sanctions listed in the UCLA Student Conduct Code.
Sanctions for violation of University policies regarding academic dishonesty include suspension or dismissal.

It is my job as your child’s high school English teacher to help them learn
proper academic etiquette. This being the case, I am offering your child the
opportunity to re-do their final writing project for a maximum possible
grade of 70%. Should your child be caught breaking these rules again, a
more severe consequence will occur as stated in the LAUSD Parent/Student
Handbook.

I____________________________understandthat in order to receive any credit on

my final assignment for American Literature, I must re-do both written
portions of the assignment. I will use only information that is my own and,
should I do research on line, I will properly site and give credit to the original
author. Mrs. Cogan has explained to me that copying and pasting full
paragraphs or excerpts is not acceptable as this assignment is supposed to
be my own work.

Parent Signature__________________________________Date___________

This form must be stapled to the front of the re-submitted assignment in

order to receive credit. If the assignment is not re-done, your student will
receive a 0 on this assignment.