Passing Judgment on Plagiarism: Balancing Pedagogical and Institutional Concerns in a Syllabus Statement Marion Wolfe CCCC 2013, Las Vegas March 16, 2013

Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of the words or ideas of another person. It is a serious academic offense that can result in referral to the Committee on Academic Misconduct and failure for the course. Please remember that at no point during the writing process should the work of others be presented as your own. It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term “academic misconduct” includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed, illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule ). For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct.

“The statutes were carefully drafted to reduce ambiguity and vagueness… clearly prohibit some conduct, clearly permit other conduct, and reduce to a reasonable minimum the types of conduct for which their policy provides no clear guidance” (Berry, “Plagiarism: The Legal Landscape” 130-1). “I think we do an injustice to students by overlooking the genuinely contentious nature of citation. By pretending that the standards are firm and fixed… we reject an educational opportunity and force students to conclude, on their own, that the rules don’t make any sense. That makes it easier for them to disregard them entirely” (Blum, My Word! 15).

Academic honesty is an important part of learning how to write in the context of the university. In this class, we’ll discuss all parts of the writing process, including strategies for using sources appropriately, engaging in scholarly conversations, and giving credit to the authors whose words or ideas you use. Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of the words or ideas of another person. It is a serious academic offense that can result in referral to the Committee on Academic Misconduct and failure for the course. Please remember that at no point during the writing process should the work of others be presented as your own. It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term “academic misconduct” includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed, illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule ). For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct.

“Plagiarism is the representation of another's work or ideas as one’s own; it includes the unacknowledged word-for-word use and/or paraphrasing of another person's work, and/or the inappropriate unacknowledged use of another person's ideas” (Ohio State Code of Student Conduct 3) "College writing often requires you to cite the ideas of others while acknowledging all your sources. The term plagiarism refers to the unacknowledged use of another individual’s work. This definition of plagiarism covers both blatant and unintentional misuse of other people's ideas“ (Writing Center at the CSTW, Ohio State, “Plagiarism”) “In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge material) without acknowledging its source…. Most current discussions… conflate plagiarism with the misuse of sources.” (CWPA Statement on Best Practices )

Academic honesty is an important part of learning how to write in the context of the university. In this class, we’ll discuss all parts of the writing process, including strategies for using sources appropriately, engaging in scholarly conversations, and giving credit to the authors whose words or ideas you use. Plagiarism is a type of academic misconduct that involves the unauthorized use of the words or ideas of another person. It is a includes direct copying from a source as well as quoting or paraphrasing without appropriate citations. Learning to appropriately paraphrase, summarize, quote, and cite the sources you use in any academic piece of writing will help you to avoid inadvertent plagiarism. More serious academic offense that can forms of plagiarism, such as buying or copying a paper written by someone else, may result in referral to the Committee on Academic Misconduct and disciplinary sanctions, including failure for the course, academic probation, or expulsion. Please remember that at no point during the writing process should the work of others be presented as your own. It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term “academic misconduct” includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed, illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule ). For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct.

Academic honesty is an important part of learning how to write in the context of the university. In this class, we’ll discuss all parts of the writing process, including strategies for using sources appropriately, engaging in scholarly conversations, and giving credit to the authors whose words or ideas you use. Plagiarism is a type of academic misconduct that involves the unauthorized use of the words or ideas of another person. It is a includes direct copying from a source as well as quoting or paraphrasing without appropriate citations. Learning to appropriately paraphrase, summarize, quote, and cite the sources you use in any academic piece of writing will help you to avoid inadvertent plagiarism. More serious academic offense that can forms of plagiarism, such as buying or copying a paper written by someone else, may result in referral to the Committee on Academic Misconduct and disciplinary sanctions, including failure for the course, academic probation, or expulsion. Please remember that at no point during the writing process should the work of others be presented as your own. It is the responsibility of At the Ohio State University, the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigates or and establishes procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term “academic misconduct” includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed, illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule ). If you have questions about what constitutes plagiarism, how you can avoid academic misconduct, or how to properly use sources in your research and writing, see the expanded statement on plagiarism, “Understanding Plagiarism and Academic Honesty,” which can be found on our course webpage, talk to me in office hours or by , or For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct.

“In instructional settings, plagiarism is a multifaceted and ethically complex problem. However, if any definition of plagiarism is to be helpful to administrators, faculty, and students, it needs to be as simple and direct as possible within the context for which it is intended” (WPA Statement on Best Practices). “A workable plagiarism policy must recognize the Foucauldian assertion that the text is a contested site. Instead of fruitlessly trying to solve all ambiguities involved with plagiarism, it must acknowledge the complexities of the issue and offer guidelines for negotiating what will continue to be contested terrain. It must acknowledge the terms of that contest and urge all participants – writers and readers – to engage it as openly as possible” (Howard 165).

Academic honesty is an important part of learning how to write in the context of the university. In this class, we’ll discuss all parts of the writing process, including strategies for using sources appropriately, engaging in scholarly conversations, and giving credit to the authors whose words or ideas you use. Plagiarism is a type of academic misconduct that involves the unauthorized use of the words or ideas of another person. It is a includes direct copying from a source as well as quoting or paraphrasing without appropriate citations. Learning to appropriately paraphrase, summarize, quote, and cite the sources you use in any academic piece of writing will help you to avoid inadvertent plagiarism. More serious academic offense that can forms of plagiarism, such as buying or copying a paper written by someone else, may result in referral to the Committee on Academic Misconduct and disciplinary sanctions, including failure for the course, academic probation, or expulsion. Please remember that at no point during the writing process should the work of others be presented as your own. It is the responsibility of At the Ohio State University, the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigates or and establishes procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term “academic misconduct” includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed, illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule ). If you have questions about what constitutes plagiarism, how you can avoid academic misconduct, or how to properly use sources in your research and writing, see the expanded statement on plagiarism, “Understanding Plagiarism and Academic Honesty,” which can be found on our course webpage, talk to me in office hours or by , or For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct.

Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of the words or ideas of another person. It is a serious academic offense that can result in referral to the Committee on Academic Misconduct and failure for the course. Please remember that at no point during the writing process should the work of others be presented as your own. Faculty Rule states, “It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term ‘academic misconduct’ includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed,; illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee.” (Faculty Rule ) For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct.

Works Cited Berry, Robert. “Plagiarism: The Legal Landscape.” Stop Plagiarism: A Guide to Understanding and Prevention. Vibiana Bowman Cvetkovic and Katie Elson Anderson, eds. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc Print Blum, Susan D. My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, Print. “Code of Student Conduct.” The Ohio State University. 7 December Web. Council of Writing Program Administrators. “Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices.” January Web. Howard, Rebecca Moore. Standing in the Shadow of Giants: Plagiarists, Authors, Collaborators. Stamford: Ablex Publishing Company, Print. Writing Center at the Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing, The Ohio State University. “Plagiarism.” Web. 1 March