CHEATINGWe all know that its wrong to cheat on tests, but some may not know that sharing homework also qualifies as cheating. If your teacher has NOT given you prior permission to exchange information (in any way, including via hard copy, computer, text, photography, etc.), then you must complete it independently.Otherwise, expect

Ramifications for cheating in ANY class at PPCHS:For first offense:A zero on the assignmentParent contactReferral to administrationFor second offense (in ANY class throughout the year):A zero on the assignmentParent contactReferral to administrationA Saturday detentionFor third offense:A zero on the assignmentParent contactReferral to administration1-2 day suspensionFor fourth offense:A zero on the assignmentParent contactReferral to administration3-5 day suspension

In additionEven one offense will affect your standing with The National Honor Society, resulting in removal for members, and ineligibility for potential members.Your record stays with you! Be careful not to tarnish your reputation.

But there may still be some GRAY AREA that needs to be cleared up for your understanding

WHAT ABOUT THE CONSULTATION OF OUTSIDE SOURCES?

Question:Is it acceptable to use online/book/periodical research to enhance understanding while reading a text?Answer:NOT without teacher approval!Our goal is to help you to become more insightful readers and critical thinkers. If you use Cliffs Notes or online sources that spell out the works and their secrets, then you arent exercising your brain. Do the thinking yourself and come to the table with your own ideas about a work.

Question:What about using outside sources when writing a paper or doing a project?Answer:It depends on the purpose of the assignment. Make sure that you know what your teacher wants. If you are asked to give your own interpretation of a work, then your own brain is sufficient. If you are asked to use outside research and/or criticism to support an argument or gather background information on a particular topic, then do so, but be careful! Make sure not to

PLAGIARIZEPlagiarism:The use of someone elses words OR IDEAS as if they are ones own. If you use ANY information without giving the real source the credit, then you are plagiarizing.

An act of plagiarism, whether intentional or not, is an act of stealing, and is taken very seriously in the academic world.

Quote and cite your source,OR2. Paraphrase and cite your sourceIf you use words or ideas from another source, you must either:

When using exact words, you must quote the material and then, in parentheses, let your reader know where to find it:[Using authors name in text] Marshall Bruce Gentry believes that gender ambiguity seems to allow males to achieve redemption more easily than females in OConnor (66). [Using authors name in citation only]

Upon close inspection, gender ambiguity seems to allow males to achieve redemption more easily than females in OConnor (Gentry 66).

To what does the citation, or the information in parentheses at the end of the quote, refer?What, on the previous page, does (Gentry 66) actually mean? Using the word Gentry as her cue, the reader of the essay can easily obtain all of the information she needs to locate the source. Full documentation of all sources cited within the paper can be found at the end of the paper (listed alphabetically) on the list of Works Cited.

Gentry, Marshall Bruce. Gender Dialogue in OConnor. Flannery OConnor New Perspectives. Ed. Sura P. Rath and Mary Neff Shaw. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996. 56-72.

When quoting more than four lines: A block quote seems simple when given a clear example of what it should look like:A quotation that occupies more than four typed lines should be indented one inch (or ten spaces) from the left margin. It should be double-spaced, without quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quoted material. Its parenthetical citation should be placed after the blocks last item of punctuation. (Source 16)Return to the left margin to discuss the quote within the same paragraph.

Even if you are paraphrasing, or putting into your own words information that you found from another source, you still must cite your source:One can argue that OConnors female characters have greater difficulties than her male characters in fully redeeming themselves (Gentry 66).

MLAConsult the MLA Handbook or other reference books, such as Hackers A Writers Reference, for detailed instruction on MLA rules regarding proper format, citation, and documentation.When writing about literature, always use proper MLA style documentation.

Now Im scared. Doesnt EVERYTHING originally come from somewhere else?

Larson, Gary. The Far Side Gallery 3. Ed. Andrews and McMeel. Kansas City, 1988. www.studiolo.org/Mona/MONA18.htm

Duchamp, Marcel. Postcard of replica of L.U.O.O.Q. (1919) The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1990. www.studiolo.org/Mona/MONA11.htm

Storey, Mary Rose. Mona Lisa Laugh Sequence. Mona Lisas. 1980. Cover 4. www.studiolo.org/Mona/MONA07.htm

Advertisement for Gateway Computers from PC Magazine. Vol 17, no. 11. June 9, 1998. www.studiolo.org/Mona/MONA 17.htm

Things you DONT have to document include:

Examples of parody, etc.Your own thoughts, conclusions, or experiencesCommon knowledgeAreas of public domain, like fairy tales, etc.

There is much gray area, however, so when in doubt, cite!