What is plagiarism? (And why you should care!)

Definition: Plagiarism is the act of presenting the words, ideas, images, sounds, or creative expression of others as your own.

You Have Plagiarized If: you have used the words and/or ideas of others, and you didn’t give them credit. you have had help you wouldn’t want your teacher to know about.

Two types of plagiarism: Intentional Copying a friend’s work Buying or borrowing papers Copying blocks of text from electronic sources without documenting Unintentional Careless paraphrasing Poor documentation Quoting excessively

Rationale for academic integrity (i.e. Why you shouldn’t Plagiarize) When you plagiarize, you cheat yourself. You limit your own learning. Education is not an “us vs. them” game! It’s about learning to learn! Plagiarism is unethical behavior. Plagiarism is LYING! People who have worked so hard to create something deserve credit for their work. The consequences are not worth the risks! What if... Your architect cheated his way through math class. Will your new home be safe? Your surgeon cheated his way through medical school? Do you really want him or her cutting you open?

Real Life Consequences: You could lose your job. Boston Globe journalist Mike Barnicle was forced to resign for plagiarism in his columns. Jayson Blair, a reporter for the New York Times, plagiarized many articles and faked quotes in high-profile stories. He was forced to resign. Your reputation can be permanently damaged. Vice President Joseph Biden was forced to withdraw from the 1988 Democratic Presidential nominations when it was revealed that he had failed a course in law school due to plagiarism. It was also shown that he had copied several campaign speeches, notably those of British Labor leader Neil Kinnock and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. You could lose honors and privileges you hold. Doris Kearns Goodwin was forced to step down as a Pulitzer Prize judge for plagiarizing 50 passages for her 1987 book The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys.

Real Life Consequences (continued) You could be denied entrance into a college. Moorestown, New Jersey, high-school student Blair Hornstine had her admission to Harvard University revoked in July 2003 after she was found to have passed off speeches and writings by famous figures as her own writing in articles she wrote as a student journalist for a local newspaper. You could be kicked out of school and lose degrees. After a plagiarism probe at the University of Virginia, 45 students were dismissed and 3 graduate degrees were revoked. Marks Chabedi copied nearly verbatim a doctoral thesis written by Kimberly Lanegran at the University of Florida. Chabedi was fired from a professorship at University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, and his Ph.D was revoked.

Possible School Consequences: “0” on the assignment Parent notification Referral to administrators Suspension or dismissal from school activities--sports and extracurricular Note on student record Loss of reputation among the school community

How do you avoid plagiarism? Do the Work Yourself: Take the time research, write notes, ponder the information, and write it in your own words. We’ll talk more about this later. Citation: A citation is how you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source. We’ll talk more about this in a few class periods.

What to Cite You must cite... Quotation (when you use the EXACT words of an author, copied directly from a source, word for word) Paraphrasing (when you REWORD the original source) Summarizing (when you give a brief overview of the entire thought, chapter, or work) You don’t have to cite... Your own experiences, opinions, observations, or reactions. Common Knowledge (facts that are widely known) Examples The sky is blue.. Germany is in Europe. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Shakespeare was a writer.

Avoiding Plagiarism = Good Note Taking Good note taking while researching helps you to avoid plagiarism. Tip #1: Do not write sentences or paragraphs down word for word. Tip #2: Write down “fast fragments.” Tip #3: Paraphrase the information WHILE you are taking notes.

Avoiding Plagiarism Practice Step #1: Fast Facts Read the paragraphs below and record 4 fact fragments in the note-taking section. Example: half of population lives in Chicago area Illinois has more people than any other state in the Midwestern region of the United States. About half of the people of Illinois live in and around Chicago, one of the world’s leading industrial and transportation centers. In addition, millions of Illinoisans live in the smaller cities and on the farms that dot the state’s gently rolling plains. These plains cover most of Illinois, and have given the state one of its nicknames, the Prairie State. (Source: World Book Online)

Avoiding Plagiarism Practice Step #2: Sentences Now, use your fact fragments to create complete sentences. Remember, you are putting the information in your own words. Example: Half the people in Illinois live near Chicago.

Avoiding Plagiarism Practice Step #3: Paragraph Now you will use the sentences you created to write a paragraph about Illinois. 1. Look at your sentences closely. 2. Write a topic sentence that will introduce the main idea of your paragraph. 3. Decide which of your sentences will be first, second, third, etc. in your paragraph. 4. You may include the example sentence in your paragraph.

Plagiarism Checkers There are many websites you can use to check for plagiarism. WARNING—free plagiarism checkers are not very sophisticated. Will only pick up on word for word plagiarism. Here are the best free plagiarism checkers: Duplichecker (requires an account sign-up) Plagiarism Detect Plagscan (only gives you limited free scans per day)

Plagiarism Checker Examples Bad Paraphrase: All in all, medicine remained mostly medieval in Elizabethan times. Many physicians based their ideas on the teachings of Aristotle and Hippocrates. These beliefs were widely accepted during the middle ages. However, the emphasis on magic and astrology lessened in Elizabethan times. Still, some physicians believed that if the planets were out of alignment, an individual would get sick, according to his or her own sign

Plagiarism Checker Examples Slightly Better (but still not Great): Medicine in Elizabethan times remained mostly medieval. Many doctors based their ideas on the teachings of Aristotle and Hippocrates, whose beliefs were widely accepted during the middle ages. Even though the emphasis on magic and astrology lessened in Elizabethan times, some doctors still believed that if the planets were out of alignment, an individual would get sick, according to his or her own sign

Works Cited Bachman, Ron. “Reaching for the Sky.” Dial. May 1990, pg. 15. “Boston Columnist Resigns Amid New Plagiarism Charges.” CNN.com 19 Aug March 2003 Fain, Margaret. “Internet Paper Mills.” Kimbal Library. 12 Feb Lathrop, Ann and Kathleen Foss. Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the Internet Era. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Lewis, Mark. “Doris Kearns Goodwin And The Credibility Gap.” Forbes.com 2 Feb “ New York Times Exposes Fraud of own Reporter.” ABC News Online. 12 May, Sabato, Larry J. “Joseph Biden's Plagiarism; Michael Dukakis's 'Attack Video' – 1988.” Washington Post Online March 2002.