What is plagiarism

1
What is plagiarism?

• According to Websters Seventh New Collegiate
  Dictionary, to plagiarize is to steal and pass
  off as ones own (the ideas or words of another)
  to present as ones own an idea or product
  derived from an existing source.

2
In other words, plagiarism is

• cheating.
• copying a friends work.
• copying pasting text and graphics from the
  Internet without crediting the source.
• copying word for word from a book without
  crediting the source.
• buying or borrowing a paper.
• using ideas from someone else without giving them
  credit.

3
It is also

• careless paraphrasing.
• lack of proper citations.
• overusing direct quotations.
• not writing the paper in your own voice.

4
How serious is this?

• According to Donald L. McCabe, Rutgers
  University A study of almost 4,500 students at
  25 schools, suggests cheating isa significant
  problem in high school 74 of the respondents
  admitted to one or more instances of serious test
  cheating and 72 admitted to serious cheating on
  written assignments. Over half of the students
  admitted they have engaged in some level of
  plagiarism on written assignments using the
  Internet.
• Source CAI Research. Center for Academic
  Integrity, Duke University, 2003
  

5
You have plagiarized if you have

• turned in someone elses work as your own.
• failed to give credit for information you have
  found in books, periodicals, or the internet.
• failed to give credit for pictures you have used
  in papers or projects.
• turned in a past paper of your own without
  revising it for the assignment.

6
Why shouldnt you do this?

• It is cheating yourself and others.
• It can lead to consequences now and later.
• It is only fair to give credit to others for
  their work.
• If you cite well, it gives credibility to your
  work.
• You will learn more by doing the right thing.

7
Some famous (and not so famous) plagiarists

• Senator Joseph Biden
• Blair Hornstine, high school valedictorian
• Jayson Blair, former NYT reporter
• Helen Keller
• James Cameron, filmmaker (The Terminator)
• Source "Plagiarism." Wikipedia, The Free
  Encyclopedia. 24 Nov 2005, 0428 UTC. 27 Nov
  2005, 2324 itlePlagiarismoldid29110414.

8
How do you avoid it?

• Make sure you take good, accurate notes.
• Include with every bit of information its
  complete source.
• Practice paraphrasing pieces of writing.
• Ask for help from your teacher, your friendly
  librarian, and other teachers.
• Check the Avoiding Plagiarism sources collected
  at the Citation page on the BHS library webpage
  http//www.edzone.net/debsherr

9
Does EVERYTHING have to be cited?

• NOPE! We do have something called common
  knowledge. If you are using facts that can be
  found in more than 3 sources or something as
  widely known as the fact that George Washington
  was our first president, you can safely use it
  with no citation.

10
Anything else? Yes, you dont have to cite

• when you are stating your opinion about something
  unless you include someone elses opinion as a
  reference.
• your own experiences.
• if you did some original research (an experiment,
  survey, etc.).

11
3 Correct Ways to Borrow

• by using direct quotations when you use the exact
  words from your source (punctuate with quotation
  marks)
• by paraphrasing the words of your source
• by summarizing one or more sources

12
Avoidance Techniques

• When in doubt, cite it!
• Learn the MLA format so you can collect all the
  necessary information for each citation.
• Proofread carefully and have someone else do so
  also.
• Dont copy and paste take notes.
• Ask for help EARLY!