PLAGIARISM
A bad plan.
Start from the beginning:
What is your working
definition of plagiarism?
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Where did it come
from?
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Plagiarism Defined
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Using the words and/or ideas of another without
properly giving credit to the source(s)
Unintentional plagiarism is still plagiarism
nonetheless.
Other acts such as "making up" sources, turning in
work done in fulfillment of another course, or
receiving excessive assistance are all forms of
academic dishonesty, and subject to the penalties
for plagiarism.
Excessive Collaboration
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Excessive Collaboration may be a good idea gone
bad; or more correctly, perhaps it is a good idea
merely misused. Students collaborate excessively
when the end result of all the idea swapping,
sharing, brainstorming, and conferring has been to
obliterate one student’s voice and replace it with
that of another. Student writers collaborate
excessively when they abandon, wittingly or
unwittingly, their own words and adopt, claiming
them as their own, the ideas or exact phrasing of
their collaborator.
Plagiarism Penalties
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Each incidence of plagiarism is subject to review
and consideration by the instructor, and is subject to
a range of penalties including but not limited to
failing the assignment, failing the course, and
referral to the disciplinary review board (which
may ultimately result in the expulsion, suspension, or
disciplinary removal of the student).
Bottom line: DON’T DO IT!!!!
If this isn’t enough to consider…
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Software exists that can be utilized to detect
plagiarism and originality!
 Make
sure you are aware that professors and
instructors have these tools at their disposal. True, they
have their intuition and experience, but other resources
help recognize plagiarism as well.
Let’s practice:
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If a fact is general knowledge, like the
boiling point of water or the years of
Queen Elizabeth’s reign, you
[need/don’t need] a citation and you
[need/don’t need] the source in your
References.

If you’ve changed the words of a
sentence or passage but preserved
the main idea, you [need/don’t
need] quotation marks, and you
[need/don’t need] a citation.
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If you are presenting your
interpretation of another writer’s
ideas, you [need/don’t need] a
citation for your thoughts, and you
[need/don’t need] a citation for
what came from the text.
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If a fact is not general knowledge, like
the population of a town in Albania or
the number of trashcans on campus,
you [need/don’t need] a citation and
you [need/don’t need] the source in
your References.

If you’ve listed a source in your
References/Works Cited/Bibliography,
and you quote directly (word for word)
from it, you [need/don’t need] to use
quotation marks, and you [need/don’t
need] a citation.
Another important point…
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Many students like to include summary in their
essays/written assignments. While providing
summary often gives clarity, be sure to give credit
to the source from which you summarized.
Also, remember to consult your professor/instructor
before including summary in your assignment-many
will find it acceptable in certain cases, while others
will not want it included.
A few final tips:
Be aware of what you read and,
subsequently, what you choose to use in
your paper.
 If in doubt, cite! (also, do not hesitate to
check with professor(s), peers,
handbooks, tutorial services, etc).
 Remember: it is better to be safe than
sorry!

Where can I go to get help?
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/r
esource/930/01/ (great website
for assistance with writing)
 Professor, peers, tutoring services
(UWC)
 http://irc.uconn.edu/PlagiarismMod
ule/intro_m.htm
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Questions?
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Duane Theobald
Manager, University Writing Center
dtheobal@westga.edu
www.westga.edu/writing
678-839-5312
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