Plagiarism
Learning Enrichment
Plagiarism
• We know that plagiarism is bad because
it's like cheating. But what exactly is
plagiarism?
• In this presentation, we hope to make
clear the definition of plagiarism, identify
examples of plagiarism, and use strategies
to avoid plagiarism.
Identifying Plagiarism
• In the following slides, we will present you
with some scenarios in which you will
identify whether or not what the student
Is This Plagiarism?
• You read this sentence in an online article by
Mark Crester and decide to use it in your paper:
• "Federal statistics show that 42% of Latinos drop
out of high school."
• But your professor says that she wants you to
paraphrase rather than quote, so you change it
a bit:
• "National statistics demonstrate that 42% of
Hispanics drop out of high school."
The Answer is...
• YES
• Changing a few words from the original
quote STILL counts as plagiarism!
• Let's look at another example.
Is This Plagiarism?
• You read this sentence in a book (Incredible
Science by Jones and Hughes) and decide to
use it in your paper:
• "Nikola Tesla invented Alternating Current, or
AC Power, in the late 19th century."
• This time, you choose not to paraphrase and
instead use the quote in your paper:
• "Nikola Tesla earned a number of prizes
because he 'invented Alternating Current, or AC
Power, in the late 19th century.'"
The Answer is...
• YES
• Though you used quotation marks around
the information you took directly from the
source, you didn't give credit to the book
or the author.
Is This Plagiarism?
• You find the perfect source through a database
(an article by Hector Rodriguez) and decide to
use this sentence:
• "Kate Chopin used short stories as a way of
comminucating her feminist ideology."
• Here's what you came up with:
• "According to Hector Rodriguez, Kate Chopin
revealed her 'feminist ideology' in her short
stories."
The Answer is...
• NO
• By giving credit to the author,
paraphrasing accurately, and quoting any
information you took directly from the
source, you've avoided committing
plagiarism.
Definition
• According to MLA, plagiarism is "using
another person's ideas, information, or
expressions" without giving credit to him or
her.
Consequences
• Plagiarism can result in a number of things
for students:
•
Failure on the assignment,
•
Expulsion from class, or even...
•
Expulsion from school!
• And plagiarism also reflects your
institution!
Consequences
• And if you think you can get away with it,
think again.
• Your professors have access to a plethora
of resources that allow them to locate
instances of plagiarism IN LESS THAN 10
SECONDS.
Safe Assign
• Safe Assign is a program designed by
Blackboard that allows BOTH students and
faculty to compare their own work against other
sources online.
• The program looks at phrases and key words in
a document and compares them with other
phrases and key words in other documents.
• Safe Assign then gives a percentage of how
much information matches a selected source
AND highlights that information.
Safe Assign
• Do NOT be surprised if the program says
you have 7% matching.
• That 7% can be information that you
quoted AND cited correctly.