Plagiarism
Learning Enrichment
Plagiarism
• We know that plagiarism is bad because it's like cheating. But what exactly is plagiarism?
• In this presentation, we hope to make clear the definition of plagiarism, identify examples of plagiarism, and use strategies to avoid plagiarism.
Identifying Plagiarism
• In the following slides, we will present you with some scenarios in which you will identify whether or not what the student
Is This Plagiarism?
• You read this sentence in an online article by Mark Crester and decide to use it in your paper:
• "Federal statistics show that 42% of Latinos drop out of high school."
• But your professor says that she wants you to paraphrase rather than quote, so you change it a bit:
• "National statistics demonstrate that 42% of Hispanics drop out of high school."
The Answer is...
• YES
• Changing a few words from the original quote STILL counts as plagiarism!
• Let's look at another example.
Is This Plagiarism?
• You read this sentence in a book (Incredible Science by Jones and Hughes) and decide to use it in your paper:
• "Nikola Tesla invented Alternating Current, or AC Power, in the late 19th century."
• This time, you choose not to paraphrase and instead use the quote in your paper:
• "Nikola Tesla earned a number of prizes because he 'invented Alternating Current, or AC Power, in the late 19th century.'"
The Answer is...
• YES
• Though you used quotation marks around the information you took directly from the source, you didn't give credit to the book or the author.
Is This Plagiarism?
• You find the perfect source through a database (an article by Hector Rodriguez) and decide to use this sentence:
• "Kate Chopin used short stories as a way of comminucating her feminist ideology."
• Here's what you came up with:• "According to Hector Rodriguez, Kate Chopin
revealed her 'feminist ideology' in her short stories."
The Answer is...
• NO
• By giving credit to the author, paraphrasing accurately, and quoting any information you took directly from the source, you've avoided committing plagiarism.
Definition
• According to MLA, plagiarism is "using another person's ideas, information, or expressions" without giving credit to him or her.
Consequences
• Plagiarism can result in a number of things for students:
• Failure on the assignment,
• Expulsion from class, or even...
• Expulsion from school!
• And plagiarism also reflects your institution!
Consequences
• And if you think you can get away with it, think again.
• Your professors have access to a plethora of resources that allow them to locate instances of plagiarism IN LESS THAN 10 SECONDS.
Safe Assign
• Safe Assign is a program designed by Blackboard that allows BOTH students and faculty to compare their own work against other sources online.
• The program looks at phrases and key words in a document and compares them with other phrases and key words in other documents.
• Safe Assign then gives a percentage of how much information matches a selected source AND highlights that information.
Safe Assign
• Do NOT be surprised if the program says you have 7% matching.
• That 7% can be information that you quoted AND cited correctly.
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