Using Sources Ethically
Plagiarism
UIS Academic Integrity Policy – Part I
• “Academic integrity is at the heart of the University's
commitment to academic excellence. The UIS community
strives to communicate and support clear standards of
integrity, so that undergraduate and graduate students can
internalize those standards and carry them forward in their
personal and professional lives. Living a life with integrity
prepares students to assume leadership roles in their
communities as well as in their chosen profession. Alumni
can be proud of their education and the larger society will
benefit from the University's contribution to the
development of ethical leaders.”
• “Violations of academic integrity demean the violator,
degrade the learning process, deflate the meaning of
grades, discredit the accomplishments of past and present
students, and tarnish the reputation of the University for
all its members.”
UIS Academic Integrity Policy – Part II
• Plagiarism
Submitted work should be one's own work and it should properly
acknowledge ideas, facts, the progression of thought or reasoning
and words from others. Plagiarism is intellectual theft: the plagiarist
presents work done by others as his or her own, in writing or orally.
Plagiarism is the failure to properly and appropriately reference and
acknowledge the ideas and words of others. This includes website
material used in written, oral, or multi-media presentations.
•
Examples of plagiarism include:
–
–
–
–
–
Using direct quotation without the quotation marks or citation –
Paraphrasing without proper citation
Making only minor changes to an author's words or style
Insufficient acknowledgment of sources (partial citation) –
Using the pattern, structure or organization of an author's argument or ideas
without proper citation –
– Failing to cite sources for uncommon facts or knowledge
– Working with another student on a project but failing to put both names on the
final product
– Having someone else re-write or heavily edit a paper
UIS Academic Integrity Policy – Part III
• Sanctions permitted under informal resolution procedures include
one or more of the following:
– Formal warning
– A reduction in grade for the assignment and/or reduction in the grade
for the course
– A failing grade for the assignment and/or reduction in the grade for
the course
– A failing grade in the course
– A failing grade in the course with a transcript notation of academic
dishonesty
– Rescinding or changing a grade for a past course in which a violation
occurred
– Successfully completing a university sponsored non-credit seminar on
academic integrity
– Other sanction(s) as appropriate and agreed to in writing
UIS Academic Integrity Policy – Part IV
• Sanctions permitted under formal resolution procedures include one or
more of the following:
– Removal of the privilege of representing the university in any official
function or leadership position. Sanctions that suspend a student's
privileges shall have a set time of duration indicating when and under what
conditions the student may regain the privilege. Examples include but are
not limited to intercollegiate athletics, peer mentors, student organization
leadership positions, student ambassadors, cheerleaders, committee
membership or officer position, and residence assistants.
– Disciplinary suspension from the University for one or two semesters,
excluding summer terms. Students suspended for academic dishonesty
must apply for readmission according to the Board of Academic Standards
guidelines. Students suspended for academic dishonesty cannot transfer
into UIS any credits earned during the suspension. Readmission
applications by students suspended for academic dishonesty must be
approved by the Academic Integrity Council.
– Dismissal from the university.
Benefits of Academic Integrity
• Provides credibility to your
work when you “name
drop”
• Puts your work in context
• Shows when/who put an
idea forth
• Allows reader to access
your sources for further
study
Plagiarism – Part I
• Plagiarism- writer’s
deliberate
misrepresentation of
another’s writing or ideas
as his/her own.
• Reproducing another’s
work as your own
• Allowing another to alter
substantially one’s written
work
• Failing to acknowledge
someone else’s ideas in
your work
• Using other material
without indicating where
the material is found
Plagiarism – Part II
Common Knowledge
Plagiarism
• Dates of events in History
•
– Independence Day: July 4, 1776
–
• Well-known phrases
– “To be or not to be” by
Shakespeare
•
• Geographical information
– Washington D.C. is the capitol of
The United States of America
• Names of famous people
•
– Snow is cold.
“The day is coming when a single carrot,
freshly observed, will set of a revolution.”
by Paul Cézanne
Unique geographical information
–
•
The liberation of Mauthausen
Concentration Camp was on May 5, 1945
by the US 11th Infantry Division.
Uncommon phrases
–
– Mark Twain wrote Huckleberry
Finn
• Information gathered through the
senses
Specific dates of events in History
The Amazon River starts in the Andes
Mountains in Peru.
Names of less known people
–
The name of bank robber and outlaw Jesse
James’ wife was Zee.
Ways to Avoid Plagiarism
•
•
•
•
Cite all quotations
Include all source information in your notes
Cite all summaries/instances of paraphrase
Include a page number with all quotations before
sentence ends
• Don’t place citation too early
– Signals the end of another person’s point
• Cite experts, not friends
• Do not submit one work to multiple classes
– Rethink/modify the work to fit each particular discipline
Summary
Summary- Part I
• Summary- concise restatement of main ideas of a source,
written in your own words.
• When to Summarize:
• Quotation or paraphrase would give unneeded or
distracting detail
• Several different kinds of information from same
source/author are provided over several pages
• Two types of Summary:
• Descriptive: explains source from a reader’s perspective“blow by blow” description
• Informative: provides content of source in highly
condensed manner
Summary- Part II
• How to write a summary:
– Read original for understanding
– Identify major ideas
– Write one sentence that captures main idea; add
supporting sentences as needed
– Check summary against source to ensure usage of your
own words
– DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR OPINION
– Document summary with author’s name, title of work,
publishing information (including page numbers of source)
– MAIN GOAL: WRITE A SUMMARY THAT SOMEONE
UNFAMILIAR WITH THE MATERIAL WILL UNDERSTAND!
Paraphrase
Paraphrase – Part I
• Paraphrase- detailed restatement of source,
written in your words.
• Unlike summary
– Restates ideas in their entirety and reflects source’s
order of ideas, emphasis, and tone
• When to paraphrase:
– Need to discuss details from source
– Author’s ideas/facts are more important than language
used to describe them OR quotation might be
distracting
– When original text uses language that differs greatly in
style, tone, or voice from your own writing
Paraphrase- Part II
• How to paraphrase:
– Read source until you understand its
ideas/tone/emphasis
– Write ideas in own words
– Compare your paraphrase with original
– DO NOT USE YOUR OWN IDEAS
– Cite the paraphrase
Quotations
Quotation – Part I
• Quotation- direct use of a source’s words and
punctuation, exactly as they appear in source
• Act as witness- testify precisely to validity of your
writing
• When to quote:
– Exact language will support your ideas better than
summary/paraphrase
– Language- striking/nuanced
– Plan to spend time analyzing quotation
– Demonstrate thoughts/feelings of others
– Highly respected authorities support your view point
Quotation- Part II
• How to quote:
– Read source carefully
– Copy quotation exactly
• If already quoted, quote using single quotation marks
• Enclose entire quote in double quotation marks
– Do not insert any words unless in brackets
– Cite quotation
Quotation – Part III
• Explain every quote:
– Explain what quote means to you and why is it
important for your argument
• Provide at least one sentence of explanation
for every sentence of quoted material
• Make relationships clear:
– Introduce
• Relevance is clear
• Tone consistent with yours
• DON’T OVER QUOTE!
Ways to Avoid Plagiarism – A
Reiteration
• DO NOT LET FRIENDS COPY
YOUR WORK
• Protect your documents
• Encourage friends to discuss
problems with instructors
• Cite ANY outside source
material (summaries,
paraphrases, & quotations)
• Refer friends to writing
center
– CTL – BROOKENS 460: M-Th
8:30am-7pm; F 8:30am-4:30
pm
Works Cited
• “Academic Integrity Policy.” Uis.edu.
University of Illinois at Springfield, 2012. Web.
24 Sept. 2012.
• Blakesley, David, and Jeffrey L. Hoogeveen.
“Using Sources Ethically.” Writing: A
Manual for the Digital Age. 2012 ed. Print.