PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism: Intentionally or knowingly representing the words or
ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise; failure to
attribute direct quotation, paraphrase, or borrowed fact or
information.
(Plagiarism is an often-misunderstood kind of cheating. It is a form of theft in which
another person’s ideas or words are presented as one’s own. In its most
blatant form it involves copying material word for word from a book
or article and failing to use quotation marks and proper
documentation. Most plagiarism, however, is not as blatant.
If one borrows phrases, even key words, from a written
source, these must be quoted and documented with a
footnote. In like manner, ideas or sequence of ideas which
one borrows from a written source require documentation
with either footnotes or textual references to the source.
These latter forms of plagiarism often result more from
carelessness than deliberate dishonesty; however, plagiarism in
any form is a serious offense.)1
1. Any words quoted directly from a source must be footnoted and in quotation
marks. Similarly, in oral presentations, attributions must be clear.
2. Any ideas or examples derived from sources that are not in the public domain
or of general knowledge must be clearly attributed.
3. Any paraphrasing or rephrasing of the words and/or ideas of a source must be
footnoted. In oral presentations, attributions must be clear.
4. All papers and presentations must be the student’s own work. Papers or
presentations authored by others, even with their consent, constitutes
plagiarism unless such authorship is made known to the instructor.
5. Any graphic representations - charts, graphs, pictures, photographs or other
images, must be captioned and/or footnoted.
Most students are careful to avoid blatant plagiarism, the unacknowledged
copying of exact words of the source. However, students must also be aware
that the concept of plagiarism extends not only to wording but to patterns or
sequences of ideas, and to graphic images. Paraphrasing a section from a book
without acknowledgement, using the same sequence or structure as the original
author, using unacknowledged images, all constitute plagiarism.2 SEC 8/00 Revised 07/02
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From Towson University Undergraduate Catalog, 2002-2003, p. 278
Adapted from TU COFAC Department of Mass Communication and Communication Studies Memorandum on
Plagiarism and Cheating.