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Definition of Plagiarism
Plagiarism is:
To steal the words or ideas of another
person
To pass off the words or ideas of
another person as ones own
It doesnt matter whether the theft is
intentional or accidental. Either way, it
is plagiarism.
Jacks Situation
Jack has an English paper due tomorrow.
He read the book and paid attention
during class, but he has no idea what to
write about.
Jack logs onto the Internet just to get some
ideas about topics for his paper.
He finds a great idea and begins writing his
paper using the topic he found. He is very
careful to avoid copying any text or words
from the Internet article he found.
Is this plagiarism?
Yes
No
You said
Jack did plagiarize.
You are right. Jacks actions constitute
plagiarism.
By taking the ideas of the source
without citing them in the paper, Jack is
committing plagiarism.
Even though he put the ideas in his own
words, Jack is stealing the intellectual
property of the source.
You said
Jack did not plagiarize.
You are wrong. Jacks actions constitute
plagiarism.
By taking the ideas of the source without citing
them in the paper, Jack is committing
plagiarism.
Even though he put the ideas in his own
words, Jack is stealing the intellectual property
of the source. You are wrong. Jacks actions
constitute plagiarism.
He could avoid plagiarism if he cites the source
of the ideas in his paper.
Jills Situation
During history class, Jill is asked to
find some background on Fidel
Castros rise to power.
Jill does a Google search and arrives at
Wikipedias article on Fidel Castro.
Without using quotation marks, Jill
cuts and pastes several sentences
from Wikipedia into her assignment.
Is this plagiarism?
Yes
No
You said
Jill did plagiarize.
You are right. Jills actions constitute
plagiarism.
By taking the words from the Wikipedia
article, Jill is committing plagiarism.
She could avoid plagiarizing if she
quotes the article in her assignment and
includes an entry describing the source
in a bibliography at the end of her
paper.
You said
Jill did not plagiarize.
You are wrong. Jills actions constitute
plagiarism.
By taking the words from the Wikipedia
article, Jill is committing plagiarism.
She could avoid plagiarizing if she
quotes the article in her assignment and
includes an entry describing the source
in a bibliography at the end of her
paper.
Gretels Situation
Gretel is a freshman who feels
overwhelmed by the high school.
When her science teacher assigns a
short worksheet on quarks, Gretel is
confused and frustrated.
During lunch, Gretel borrows her
friends paper and copies the
answers onto her own paper.
Is this plagiarism?
Yes
No
You said
Gretel did plagiarize.
You are right. Gretels actions
constitute plagiarism.
Even if Gretels friend gave permission
for Gretel to copy her work, it is still
plagiarism.
Gretel is guilty of plagiarism. She tried
to take credit for the words and ideas of
another person.
You said
Gretel did not plagiarize.
You are wrong. Gretels actions
constitute plagiarism.
Even if Gretels friend gave permission
for Gretel to copy her work, it is still
plagiarism.
It is plagiarism when a student tries to
take credit for the words and ideas of
another person without acknowledging
the original source of the work.
Hansels Situation
Hansel is a senior who has already
been accepted to college.
When his teacher assigns a paper on a
subject that Hansel wrote a paper on
as a sophomore, Hansel decides to
turn in his old paper again.
Is this plagiarism?
Yes
No
You said
Hansel did plagiarize.
This example does not have a clear
right or wrong answer. Although it
may not technically be plagiarism,
Hansels reuse of his own paper is
prohibited by the rules of academic
integrity.
So, if caught, Hansel would be in trouble
for his actions.
You said
Hansel did not plagiarize.
This example does not have a clear
right or wrong answer. Although it
may not technically be plagiarism,
Hansels reuse of his own paper is
prohibited by the rules of academic
integrity.
So, if caught, Hansel would be in trouble
for his actions.
Jacobs Situation
Jacob is a sophomore who is creating a
digital story using images from the
internet.
Without giving the source and the
name of the photographer, Jacob
uses photographs found doing a
Google Image search.
Is this plagiarism?
Yes
No
You said
Jacob did plagiarize.
Although this is not technically
plagiarism, Jacobs actions are
wrong. The use of images or
drawings created by anyone other
than you requires citation of the
artists name and the source of the
image.
So, if caught, Jacob would be in trouble
for his actions.
You said
Jacob did not plagiarize.
Although this is not technically
plagiarism, Jacobs actions are
wrong. The use of images or
drawings created by anyone other
than you requires citation of the
artists name and the source of the
image.
So, if caught, Jacob would be in trouble
for his actions.
Faking a citation
OK, I get it
there are lots of ways to
plagiarize.
And, yes,
I know that it is wrong.
But,
if I am not caught,
I wont be penalized.
OK, fine
So:
(1) What do I need to cite?
Did you
think of
it?
Yes.
No.
Is it
common
knowledge?
Yes.
No.
Cite it.
Did you
think of
it?
Yes.
No.
Is it
common
knowledge?
No.
Cite it.
Yes.
Did you
think of
it?
Yes.
No.
Is it
common
knowledge?
Yes.
No.
Cite it.
Test Case #1
Jack isnt sure if he needs to cite the source of the
information below. He found the fact online.
Abraham Lincoln was our 16th president.
What do you think? What should Jack do? Pick one of
the answers below.
Test Case #2
In her paper on Affirmative Action, Jill found one source that
explained that Affirmative Action evens the field of play by
wreaking equity on all players.
In her paper, Jill uses the phrase wreaking equity but she puts
all the other parts of the source into her own words.
What should Jill do? Pick one of the answers below.
Cite the source.
Test Case #3
Gretel found a very helpful article in an online
database. She very carefully made sure that she
rewrote the content of the article using her own
personal style; she changed the authors syntax and
organization so that it fit seamlessly into her paper.
What should Gretel do?
Cite the source.
Test Case #4
Jacob found a photograph online that shows
the historical period hes discussing in his
paper. He wrote his own caption and placed
the image on the title page.
What should Jacob do?
Cite the source.
This means he will:
Either:
a) Put the artists name and
source directly beneath
the image, or
b) List the source in a
bibliography
If you find yourself just changing a word here or there, ask yourself if a
direct quotation would work. If it would work, then use a direct quotation.)
Provide the page number (or another citation) after the closing
quotation marks.
EXAMPLE:
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Students Text:
Voters in Pennsylvania believed that the Republican nominee,
Barbara Hafer, opposed abortion rights, but the Democratic
governor, Robert Casey, favored a right to abortion. But the
reverse was true, even though Democrats are more likely to be
pro-choice. In general doesnt apply to this specific.
Students Bibliography:
No references given.
CHOOSE ONE:
Acceptable Use
Plagiarism
Original source:
In 1954, Albert Hastorf and Hadley
Cantril published a classic study
about how a Princeton and Dartmouth
football fans saw a penalty-ridden
game in which the Princeton
quarterback was taken off the field
with a broken nose and a mild
concussion and a Dartmouth player
later suffered a broken leg. They
found that 86 percent of the
Princeton students said that
Dartmouth started the rough play, but
only 36 percent of the Dartmouth
students saw it that way.
Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall
Jamieson. Unspun: Finding Facts in a
World of Disinformation. New York:
Random House Trade Paperbacks,
2007. (74)
Students Bibliography:
Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall
Jamieson. Unspun: Finding Facts in a
World of Disinformation. New York:
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007.
CHOOSE ONE:
Acceptable Use
Plagiarism
Example 3
Students Text:
Students Bibliography:
CHOOSE ONE:
Acceptable Use
Plagiarism
The student
paraphrases
Youadequately
are correct!
by changing the words and the
syntax. He provides the source in
his bibliography.
So, to review
Final Directions:
Sources Consulted
DeSena, Laura Hennessey. Preventing Plagiarism:
Tips and Techniques. National Council of
Teachers of English: Urbana, IL, 2007.
Harris, Robert A. The Plagiarism Handbook:
Strategies for Preventing, Detecting, and Dealing
with Plagiarism. Pyrczak Publishing: Los Angeles,
2001.
Valenza, Joyce Kasman. What is Plagiarism? (And
Why You Should Care). Springfield High School
Media Center Information Literacy Lessons.
Springfield School District.