Plagiarism on the Internet What is plagiarism and when is copying acceptable? By Yvette Schmitt

Definition of Plagiarism “Plagiarism is the practice of claiming, or implying, original authorship, or incorporating material from someone else's written or creative work in whole or in part, into ones own, without adequate acknowledgment.” Source:

What is plagiarism and why is it important? Plagiarism is stealing someone’s ideas and presenting them as your own. It is important for several reasons It protects the author from being stolen from. A persons thoughts and ideas are important to them. It protects the author from being stolen from. A persons thoughts and ideas are important to them. It is stealing It is stealing It is cheating It is cheating Disciplinary action may be taken if you do plagiarize Disciplinary action may be taken if you do plagiarize

Correct Usage of Information Lets visit the following website and review the some examples of plagiarism. Look at the example shown. They show two plagiarized paragraphs with an explanation as to why they are plagiarized. Finally, they show a correct usage of the information by pointing out the footnote the person used at the end of their paragraph.

Fair Use Doctrine “Fair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as use for scholarship or review.” Source:

When is it acceptable to copy from a website? When you properly cite the website where you got the information from with quotations around the words that you’ve copied. When you use a picture for a school report and name the website where you got it from.

Example of Plagiarism Daniel is doing a report on Algonquian Indians and he finds several websites with the exact information he needs for his paper. He copies and pastes excerpts from these articles and puts them directly into his report. He does not put the information in quotes and does not identify a webpage. Is this plagiarism? Yes! If Daniel had read the information, closed the webpage and wrote down in his own words what he remembered, this would be all right. Or if he correctly quoted and documented this information that would be fine, as well.

Example of plagiarism Daniel finds a picture on a website that would be a great cover for his Indian report. He copies it and uses it. He does not give credit to the person who created the website. Is this plagiarism? Yes! If he had given credit to the person who did the work, then it would be all right. Copying pictures for schoolwork is fine but you must write down the name of the person that created the website.

Consequences of Plagiarism Getting a failing grade Getting expelled from school Getting suspended from school

Summary Just remember, with all of the information available at our fingertips, it is easy to forget the plagiarism laws. Protect yourself and follow the law. Always double check yourself by looking at reputable websites that explain plagiarism laws.