Plagiarism

In a nutshell, don't. You will get caught.

The following is the Office of the Dean of Students definition of plagiarism: “Plagiarism is the inclusion of someone else’s product, words, ideas, or data as one’s own work. When a student submits work for credit that includes the work of others, the source must be acknowledged by the use of complete, accurate, and specific references, such as footnotes. By placing one’s name on work submitted for credit, the student certifies the originality of all work not otherwise identified by appropriate acknowledgments.

On written assignments, if verbatim statements are included, the statements must be enclosed by quotation marks or set off from regular text as indented extracts. A student will avoid being charged with plagiarism if there is an acknowledgment of indebtedness. Indebtedness must be acknowledged when:

1. One quotes another person’s actual words or replicates all or part of another’s product;
2. One uses another person’s ideas, opinions, work, data, or theories, even if they are completely paraphrased in one’s own words;
3. One borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative materials—unless the information is common knowledge.

Unauthorized collaboration with others on papers or projects can inadvertently lead to a charge of plagiarism. If in doubt, consult the instructor or seek assistance from the staff of Teaching and Learning Services (68 PLC). In addition, it is plagiarism to submit as your own any academic exercise prepared totally or in part by another. Plagiarism also includes submitting work in which portions were substantially produced by someone acting as a tutor or editor.”

Visit the Office of the Dean of Students for more discussions of academic integrity, and what students can do to protect themselves from being charged with academic dishonesty.

Have more questions about plagiarism? See “Avoiding Plagiarism: A Guide for Students.”