Mrs. Howlett’s Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism means using another’s work without giving credit. If you use others’ words, you must put them in
quotation marks and cite your source. You must also give citations when using others’ ideas, even if you have
paraphrased those ideas in your own words.
Work - words and ideas of others, as well as art, graphics, computer programs, music, and other creative
expression. The work may consist of writing, charts, data, graphs, pictures, diagrams, websites, movies, TV
broadcasts, or other communication media.
Source - includes all published & non published work-- books, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, websites,
movies, photos, paintings, plays ,materials from a research service, blogs, class handouts, lectures, notes, speeches,
or other students’ papers
(http://sja.ucdavis.edu/files/plagiarism)
Using words, ideas, computer code, or any work without giving proper credit is plagiarism. Any
time you use information from a source, of any kind, you must cite it. Please see me for any assistance or for any
questions you may have.
When in doubt ALWAYS cite references!
My Policy:
The St. Marcellinus Student Handbook clearly addresses Academic Honesty on pg. 23. I strongly encourage you to
read this section and be advised that my policy regarding plagiarism/cheating is:
Any form of plagiarism, intentional or otherwise, will result in an overall
mark of ZERO on the entire piece of work. This applies to any/all student(s)
who take part or assist in the practice of cheating.
I will discuss various citation styles (MLA, APA) with the class, however, in the event you are uncertain of format,
it is always better to use references incorrectly that to omit them completely. You can also access the St.
Marcellinus Student Writing Guide at www.dpcdsb.org/MARC.
ALL work that requires you to consult outside sources must have references/citations.
Please use the following as a guideline for all assignments/submitted work
 Take notes as you work. Instead of just writing down (or copying and pasting) quotes, read
actively: Summarize main points, write questions, and jot down ideas for other sources or ideas to look
up.
 Keep track of sources as you use them. If you cut and paste a passage from a source into a draft, use a
system that will help you distinguish the source’s language from your own. For example, change the
source text to bold or a different color so that the source’s words will be easier to distinguish.
 Create a research portfolio. In addition to saving your drafts in stages (see suggestion 2), you should also
keep a research portfolio to help you manage your project and to provide an accurate record of your
work. A portfolio should include:
 A copy of every source you use. This includes photocopies of print articles and key passages from books.
If you use online sources, print them out or save them on disk. E-mail yourself copies of articles from
databases.
How can I tell whether I've plagiarized?
You need to cite your source, even if:
 you put all direct quotes in quotation marks.
 you changed the words used by the author into synonyms.
 you completely paraphrased the ideas to which you referred.
 your sentence is mostly made up of your own thoughts, but contains a reference to the author's ideas.

you mention the author's name in the sentence
(http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/plagiarism.html)
Mrs. Howlett’s Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism