According to the definition given in the 1997 New Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, plagiarism is "the unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own" (508).
To avoid plagiarism, all students must document sources properly using Footnotes, Endnotes, or Parenthetical References, and must write a Bibliography, References, or Works Cited page and place it at the end of the research paper to list the sources used. Of the three ways to document sources - Footnotes, Endnotes, and Parenthetical References, the simplest is using Parenthetical References, sometimes referred to as Parenthetical Documentation or Parenthetical Citations.
If you use Parenthetical References you only need to put a short reference enclosed in parentheses immediately after the citation, then list the sources cited in your Bibliography, Works Cited or References page at the end of your paper. See Chapter 9 for Parenthetical References Examples as well as Parenthetical References Sample Page.
If you use Footnote references, you must have numerically superscripted Footnote references at the foot of the same page where your citations are located, plus you must add a Bibliography, Works Cited, or References page at the end of your paper unless instructed otherwise by your teacher. Do not be tempted to get someone else to write your research paper, hand in the same essay to two or more different teachers, or purchase instant essays from the Web. Do not download information from CD-ROMs or someone else's original work off the Internet and directly incorporate such information into your essay without paraphrasing and acknowledging its source. Apart from being unethical, dishonest, and learning nothing in the process, your teacher probably knows you and your writing style too well for you to plagiarize successfully. Most secondary schools, colleges, and universities take a dim view at plagiarism which is becoming more rampant with prevalent use of the Internet. Technology has made it too easy for students to search and click for an essay and simply pay with a valid credit card for an instant download online. Consequences may be severe when students are caught plagiarizing. What is more, detection services now exist such as MyDropBox.com, Glatt Plagiarism Services and Turnitin that are capable of catching culprits guilty of plagiarism.
A page entitled Works Cited, References, or Bibliography at the end of your paper is an absolute MUST for any serious research paper.
To avoid plagiarism, all students must document sources properly using Footnotes, Endnotes, or Parenthetical References, and must write a Bibliography, References, or Works Cited page and place it at the end of the research paper to list the sources used. Of the three ways to document sources - Footnotes, Endnotes, and Parenthetical References, the simplest is using Parenthetical References, sometimes referred to as Parenthetical Documentation or Parenthetical Citations.
If you use Parenthetical References you only need to put a short reference enclosed in parentheses immediately after the citation, then list the sources cited in your Bibliography, Works Cited or References page at the end of your paper. See Chapter 9 for Parenthetical References Examples as well as Parenthetical References Sample Page.
If you use Footnote references, you must have numerically superscripted Footnote references at the foot of the same page where your citations are located, plus you must add a Bibliography, Works Cited, or References page at the end of your paper unless instructed otherwise by your teacher. Do not be tempted to get someone else to write your research paper, hand in the same essay to two or more different teachers, or purchase instant essays from the Web. Do not download information from CD-ROMs or someone else's original work off the Internet and directly incorporate such information into your essay without paraphrasing and acknowledging its source. Apart from being unethical, dishonest, and learning nothing in the process, your teacher probably knows you and your writing style too well for you to plagiarize successfully. Most secondary schools, colleges, and universities take a dim view at plagiarism which is becoming more rampant with prevalent use of the Internet. Technology has made it too easy for students to search and click for an essay and simply pay with a valid credit card for an instant download online. Consequences may be severe when students are caught plagiarizing. What is more, detection services now exist such as MyDropBox.com, Glatt Plagiarism Services and Turnitin that are capable of catching culprits guilty of plagiarism.
A page entitled Works Cited, References, or Bibliography at the end of your paper is an absolute MUST for any serious research paper.
Plagiarism in College
Although I’m sure most university students all get that flyer at the beginning of the semester outlining what plagiarism is and why it’s wrong, the majority of students don’t actually know what happens to you if you are caught plagiarizing. I’ll start by defining how plagiarism is confirmed. Other than using software which can scan papers for plagiarized content which is illegal in some schools, there are three steps.
Step 1: Your professor or TA suspect’s plagiarism while marking your paper and throws the suspected content into the search engines (google scholar, journal databases etc) to find if the content is directly copied.
Step 2: If the content is not found online but plagiarism is still suspected, the paper is given to a second reader (usually a TA) who is told to look over the paper for inaccuracies.
Step 3: If the 2nd reader comes to the same conclusion then the paper is officially suspected of plagiarism and the best punishment is decided.
There are three possible outcomes once plagiarism is suspected and confirmed:
Outcome 1: The student is confronted, if he/she confesses then the matter is dealt with unofficially with either the student taking a failing grade on the paper or even the entire course but not permanent mark is left on the final transcript.
Outcome 2: The student confesses but it is not his/her first offence. In that case formal charges may be brought against the student where the student can be suspended for the semester and in most cases a permanent record of plagiarism is placed on the student’s transcript. (Just as a side note, if this happens to you, grad schools won’t accept you, you won’t be able to get a government job and you’re all around screwed, so don’t do it)
Outcome 3: The student says they are innocent, a formal investigation is levied and a tribunal of professors and sometimes student representatives is formed to investigate the accusation. If the student is found guilty (I haven’t heard of many cases that have found the student innocent) they usually have the year or degree completely taken away from them. The lesson here is to confess, you’ll get off much easier if you do.
Step 1: Your professor or TA suspect’s plagiarism while marking your paper and throws the suspected content into the search engines (google scholar, journal databases etc) to find if the content is directly copied.
Step 2: If the content is not found online but plagiarism is still suspected, the paper is given to a second reader (usually a TA) who is told to look over the paper for inaccuracies.
Step 3: If the 2nd reader comes to the same conclusion then the paper is officially suspected of plagiarism and the best punishment is decided.
There are three possible outcomes once plagiarism is suspected and confirmed:
Outcome 1: The student is confronted, if he/she confesses then the matter is dealt with unofficially with either the student taking a failing grade on the paper or even the entire course but not permanent mark is left on the final transcript.
Outcome 2: The student confesses but it is not his/her first offence. In that case formal charges may be brought against the student where the student can be suspended for the semester and in most cases a permanent record of plagiarism is placed on the student’s transcript. (Just as a side note, if this happens to you, grad schools won’t accept you, you won’t be able to get a government job and you’re all around screwed, so don’t do it)
Outcome 3: The student says they are innocent, a formal investigation is levied and a tribunal of professors and sometimes student representatives is formed to investigate the accusation. If the student is found guilty (I haven’t heard of many cases that have found the student innocent) they usually have the year or degree completely taken away from them. The lesson here is to confess, you’ll get off much easier if you do.
Discussion Questions
1. Define plagiarism in your own words and give 3 examples of what is considered plagiarism.
2. Why do you think students plagiarize?
3. What are the consequences for plagiarizing @ SOJO?
4. What are the possible consequences for plagiarizing in college?
5. Why do you think the consequences are so severe?