Consequences of Plagiarism

What is it?

A student has committed plagiarism when he submits work that was completed by another, or that includes ideas or quotations conceived of or written by another, without proper attribution, as though it were the student’s own original work. According to the Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook,

Plagiarism involves two kinds of wrongs. Using another person’s ideas, information, or expressions without acknowledging that person’s work constitutes intellectual theft. Passing off another person’s ideas, information, or expressions as your own to get a better grade or gain some other advantage constitutes fraud. (52)

We can apply this definition to some instances specific to classes taught here at Edgemont, as the following ideas about plagiarism suggest:

I think of plagiarism as the use of someone else’s work as if it were your own, without giving proper credit to the source. It can happen both intentionally and accidentally. It includes paraphrasing without using parenthetical citations, copying phrases without putting them in quotation marks, borrowing someone else’s pattern of ideas without acknowledging the source. (Ms. Schutt)

I heavily emphasize that the only items in a lab report that can be identical to another’s are data, whether quantitative or qualitative. All others must be in a student’s own words. Every year I get at least one instance of virtually identical answers to analysis questions. Every year I get the response, “but we’re lab partners.” Every year I make them rewrite their entire reports. (Dr. Good)

Using a translator of any sort is plagiarism. If students use language such as tenses or different turns of phrase that I know they have not seen before I consider it plagiarism. (Ms. Wagner)

You have plagiarized if you:

· Expressed someone else’s ideas as your own without citing a source

· Copied someone else’s homework, paper, or lab report

· Used Google Translate or a similar resource to complete a foreign language assignment

· Copied direct quotations (no matter the length) without attributing their source

· Bought an essay online

· Paid someone to do your work

· Paraphrased an author’s ideas without attribution

· Slightly altered wording of someone else’s ideas just to keep it from looking identical

· Took and used analysis from Sparknotes.com or similar website as your own

· Failed to cite all sources consistently in your written work

· Failed to cite sources of information in a PowerPoint presentation

· Used images without attribution

· Used textual evidence from online websites without having read the original text

· Used someone else’s data instead of your own because it better fit an expected conclusion

· Copied works of visual art found elsewhere created by someone other than you

· Handed in a previous assignment and passed it off as new (known as “self-plagiarism”)

Transgressions are not limited to the list above.

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