What is plagiarism?What is plagiarism?

(And why you should care!)

Definition:Definition:

American Heritage dictionary:

Taking the work or idea of someone else and passing it off as your own (ex. words, images, videos, music, etc)

ObjectivesObjectives

• By the end of the period you should know the following about plagiarism:• What it is• Why it’s wrong• Stories in the news• How to Avoid

Two types of plagiarism:Two types of plagiarism:

• Intentional• Copying a friend’s work• Buying or borrowing

papers• Cutting and pasting

blocks of text from electronic sources without documenting

• Unintentional• Careless paraphrasing• Missing, poor, and/or

inaccurate citations• Any sort of unethical

behavior related to turning in information and calling it your own when it is not

Why it’s Wrong(as if it were necessary!)

Why it’s Wrong(as if it were necessary!)

• When you copy you cheat yourself. You limit your own learning.

• The consequences are not worth the risks!

• It is only right to give credit to authors whose ideas you use

• Citing gives authority to the information you present

• Citing makes it possible for your readers to locate your source

• Cheating is unethical behavior

Is your academic

reputation valuable to you?

More “Why”…More “Why”…

• GLO #6 - Effective and ethical users of technology• Understand and respect legal and ethical

issues

• HCPS III• LA9 4.6 Use a prescribed documentation

style…• LA10 4.4 Use quotations and citations in

writing…• LA11 4.3 Synthesize and cite information…• LA12 4.4 Use grade appropriate conventions…

And More….:And More….:

• Pearl City High School’s Motto

Excellence With Honor!

Stories……Stories……

• Senator Joseph Biden (Delaware) dropped his 1987 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. (Sabato)• Copied in law school and borrowed from campaign

speeches of Robert Kennedy

Stories (2)Stories (2)

• UVa Probe, 2001• 45 students

dismissed• 3 graduate degrees

revoked

Stories (3)Stories (3)

• 19 year-old sophomore

• Half million dollar book and movie deal

• Accused of lifting from Megan McCafferty

Stories (4)Stories (4)

• McCafferty wrote, “He smelled sweet and woodsy, like cedar shavings.”

• Kaavya wrote, “I had even begun to recognize his cologne, sweet and woodsy and spicy.”

Stories (5)Stories (5)

• McCafferty wrote “…but in a

truly sadomasochistic dieting gesture, they chose to buy

their Diet Cokes at Cinnabon.”

• Kaavya wrote “In a truly

masochistic gesture, they had decided to buy Diet Cokes from

Mrs. Fields…”

Stories (6)Stories (6)

• Kaavya

Viswanathan apologizes on NBC’s “Today” show

News (7)News (7)

Possible school consequences:Possible school consequences:

• “0” on the assignment• Parent notification• Referral to

administrators• Suspension or

dismissal from school activities--sports and extracurricular

• Note on student record• Loss of reputation

among the school community

Do I have to cite

everything?

Nope! Nope!

• Facts that are widely known, or• Information or judgments considered

“common knowledge”

Do NOT have to be documented.

Hooray for common

knowledge!

Examples of common knowledgeExamples of common knowledge

• John Adams was our second president• The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on

December 7, 1941

If you see a fact in three or more sources, and you are fairly certain your readers already know this information, it is likely to be “common knowledge.” But when in doubt, cite!

No need to document when:No need to document when:

• You are discussing your own experiences, observations, or reactions

• Compiling the results of original research, from science experiments, etc.

• You are using common knowledge

What’s the big deal?What’s the big deal?

If I change a

few words, I’m

okay, right?

Wrong! Paraphrasing original ideas without documentingyour source, is plagiarism too!

You can “borrow” from the works of others in your

own work…

NOTE:

Avoiding Plagiarism:Avoiding Plagiarism:

• Strategies• Quoting• Paraphrasing • Summarizing

Q, P, S (1)Q, P, S (1)

• The original passage:

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.

Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.

Q, P, S (2)Q, P, S (2)

• A legitimate paraphrase:

In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

Q, P, S (3)Q, P, S (3)

• An acceptable summary:

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

Q, P, S (3)Q, P, S (3)

• A plagiarized version:

Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.

But, what about the Web?But, what about the Web?

When citing a Web source in-text, you are not likely to have page numbers. Just include the first part of the entry.

(Valenza)

or

(“Plagiarism and the Web”)

Avoiding PlagiarismAvoiding Plagiarism

• Cite your sources• MLA • APA• etc.

Questions?Questions?

ClosingClosing

Thank you!

Works CitedWorks Cited• “Boston Columnist Resigns Amid New Plagiarism Charges.” CNN.com 19

Aug. 1998 3 March 2003 <http://www.cnn.com/US/9808/19/barnicle/>• Fain, Margaret. “Internet Paper Mills.” Kimbal Library. 12 Feb. 2003.

<http://www.coastal.edu/library/mills2.htm>• Lathrop, Ann and Kathleen Foss. Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the

Internet Era. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000.• Lewis, Mark. “Doris Kearns Goodwin And The Credibility Gap.”

Forbes.com 2 Feb. 2002. <http://www.forbes.com/2002/02/27/0227goodwin.html>

• “New York Times Exposes Fraud of own Reporter.” ABC News Online. 12 May, 2003.

<http://www.pbs.org/newshour/newshour_index.html>

• Rohrbach, Carol and Joyce Valenza. “What is Plagiarism? (And why you should care!).” <http://www.kecoughtan.org/files/plagiarism.ppt>

• Sabato, Larry J. “Joseph Biden's Plagiarism; Michael Dukakis's 'Attack Video' – 1988.” Washington Post Online. 1998. 3 March 2002. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/biden.htm>

This PowerPoint was adapted from:

Carol Rohrbach and Joyce Valenza. What is plagiarism? (And why you should care). Web. http://www.kecoughtan.org/files/plagiarism.ppt