Plagiarism A review of what NOT to do

Definition 1 From Dictionary.com pla·gia·rism [pley-juh-riz-uhm, -jee-uh-riz-] Show IPA noun1. an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without language authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author

Definition 1 From the Council of Writing Program Administrators – Definition: In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common- knowledge) material without acknowledg­ing its source; submitting someone else’s text as one’s own or attempting to blur the line between one’s own ideas or words and those borrowed from another source – This definition applies to texts published in print or on-line, to manuscripts, and to the work of other student writers.

Definition 3 From the Oxford Dictionary an_english/plagiarism – NOUN: The practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.

From Plagiarism.org (emphasis mine) Each of the 10 most common types of plagiarism are defined below. The types are ranked in order of severity of intent. #1. CLONE Submitting another’s work, word-for-word, as one’s own #2. CTRL-C Contains significant portions of text from a single source without alterations #3. FIND - REPLACE Changing key words and phrases but retaining the essential content of the source #4. REMIX Paraphrases from multiple sources, made to fit together #5. RECYCLE Borrows generously from the writer’s previous work without citation #6. HYBRID Combines perfectly cited sources with copied passages without citation #7. MASHUP Mixes copied material from multiple sources # ERROR Includes citations to non-existent or inaccurate information about sources #9. AGGREGATOR Includes proper citation to sources but the paper contains almost no original work #10. RE-TWEET Includes proper citation, but relies too closely on the text’s original wording and/or structure 1 %20part1.pdf

Types of Plagiarism From There are different types of plagiarism and all are serious violations of academic honesty. We have defined the most common types below and have provided links to examples. Direct Plagiarism Direct plagiarism is the word-for-word transcription of a section of someone else’s work, without attribution and without quotation marks. The deliberate plagiarism of someone else's work is unethical, academically dishonest, and grounds for disciplinary actions, including expulsion.

Self-Plagiarism From Self-plagiarism occurs when a student submits his or her own previous work, or mixes parts of previous works, without permission from all professors involved. For example, it would be unacceptable to incorporate part of a term paper you wrote in high school into a paper assigned in a college course. Self-plagiarism also applies to submitting the same piece of work for assignments in different classes without previous permission from both professors.

Accidental Plagiarism Accidental plagiarism occurs when a person neglects to cite their sources, or misquotes their sources, or unintentionally paraphrases a source by using similar words, groups of words, and/or sentence structure without attribution. Students must learn how to cite their sources and to take careful and accurate notes when doing research. Lack of intent does not absolve the student of responsibility for plagiarism. Cases of accidental plagiarism are taken as seriously as any other plagiarism and are subject to the same range of consequences as other types of plagiarism

Mosaic Plagiarism (this is the one that got many of your classmates in trouble) From Mosaic Plagiarism occurs when a student borrows phrases from a source without using quotation marks, or finds synonyms for the author’s language while keeping to the same general structure and meaning of the original. Sometimes called “patch writing,” this kind of paraphrasing, whether intentional or not, is academically dishonest and punishable – even if you footnote your source!

Mosaic Plagiarism Example honesty/examples/mosaic/index.shtml honesty/examples/mosaic/index.shtml Click on link then follow directions on page for explanations Student Writer B:Source:Only two years later, all these friendly Sioux were suddenly plunged into new conditions, including starvation, martial law on all their reservations, and constant urging by their friends and relations to join in warfare against the treacherous government that had kept faith with neither friend nor foe.friendly Sioux were suddenly plunged into new conditionsstarvationmartial law on all their reservationsconstant urging by their friends and relationsto join in warfare against the treacherous government that had kept faith with neither friend nor foe "Contrast the condition into which all these friendly Indians are suddenly plunged now, with their condition only two years previous: martial law now in force on all their reservations; themselves in danger of starvation, and constantly exposed to the influence of emissaries from their friends and relations, urging them to join in fighting this treacherous government that had kept faith with nobody--neither with friend nor with foe." 1 1 Helen Hunt Jackson, A Century of Dishonor, a Sketch of the United States Government's Dealings with Some of the Indian Tribes (New York: Harper, 1881) 178.

From Indiana University (emphasis mine) Here’s the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.: The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centers of production as well as of commerce and trade. Here’s an UNACCEPTABLE paraphrase that is plagiarism: The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centers of commerce and trade as well as production. What makes this passage plagiarism? The preceding passage is considered plagiarism for two reasons: the writer has only changed around a few words and phrases, or changed the order of the original’s sentences. the writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts.

Consequences Bowdoin University: Students who plagiarize or otherwise engage in academic dishonesty face serious consequences. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, failure on an assignment, grade reduction or course failure, suspension, and possibly dismissal. Faculty members should consult with the Judicial Board Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs to determine if a formal complaint should be filed. The Advisor will guide the faculty member through the process of bringing a formal complaint as well as guide the student through the process of a Judicial Board hearing. honesty/consequences-of-plagiarism.shtml

At Baylor …intentional plagiarism is a clear-cut matter at Baylor. Teachers turn in any students they believe have willfully plagiarized. The Honor Council hears each case, and students found guilty suffer these consequences: 1) They receive a 0 on the work in question. 2) They are suspended, most often for two or three days. The length depends largely on the student's behavior before the Honor Council; truthfulness and contrition are appropriate when the evidence is compelling. Ordinarily the student misses a day of school for the first day of suspension (and receives a 0 on all work that day). Remaining days are "reverse suspension"; students serve these during the next vacation. 3) Students who are convicted of plagiarism also receive specific final warning and will suffer expulsion if they are convicted of a further honor offense.

More from Baylor “The honor committee [at the University of Virginia], made up entirely of students, can expel current students if they are found guilty [of plagiarism]. It also could recommend that the students who have already graduated lose their diplomas." --"Computer Program Targets 122 Virginia Students for Plagiarism" Penalties in college and beyond Colleges and universities take plagiarism every bit as seriously as Baylor does, and they assume that students know, or should know, how to avoid it. Students may be suspended or expelled from college for plagiarizing. As the passage at left notes, they may also have their diplomas revoked after they have graduated.

From ASU For more information, go through the above tutorial located on ASU’s Academic Integrity Policy ntegrity/students#avoid_plagiarism

SO what now? Those of you who plagiarized will receive a “0” on this assignment, a phone call home, and a referral to your file. If you demonstrate academic integrity for the rest of the year, that is the end of it. If you are caught plagiarizing, cheating, or participating in any other behavior that constitutes academic dishonesty, you will be suspended.

Final Words Thank you to all of you who DID complete your assignment honestly. Sorry to say, but DO NOT EVER sent a file containing your work to a friend. You lose control over how it is used from there, and you may end up in trouble for plagiarism although you were the original author. You may not even know the person who ultimately uses your work, but you are no less culpable. I hope that any misconceptions concerning what constitutes plagiarism and academic dishonesty have been clarified. See me if you have further questions or concerns.