Preventing Plagiarism:

Why is academic integrity such a big deal

anyway?

Prepared by Laurie LeFever, LMS

Frazer School

Listen to this. Does it sound familiar?

Guess what? I wrote it! Really!

You don’t believe me, do you?

Actually, as you all probably already know, the song “Lonely” belongs to Akon, therefore, it would be

outrageous for me to take credit for it!

But you already knew that. Well, guess what?

The same rules apply to information you find when you collect information and write a paper!

Have you ever…

Copied the ideas of another word for word without quoting or citing the source?

Received help on a paper that you wouldn’t want your teacher to find out about?

Turned in a paper written by someone else?

Taken credit for something that was created by someone else?

Then you have plagiarized!

What is plagiarism?

The act of presenting others’:

– Words– Ideas– Images– Sounds– Creative expressions

…as your own.

In essence, you are stealing the property of another.

2 Types of Plagiarism:

Intentional– Copying a classmate’s work– Buying/borrowing papers– Cutting/Pasting large

amounts of text from digital resources without giving credit to author

– Borrowing music, image, etc. files without giving credit

– Publishing something on the web without the permission of the creator(s)

Unintentional– Careless paraphrasing– Poor citation/documentation– Excessive quotation– Failure to use your own

ideas and words

ExcusesI won’t get

caught…

I won’t get caught…

My teachers expect too much.

My teachers expect too much.

Everyonedoes it!

I have to get an A

for…I need

this grade to pass…

It’s a risky business:

School Consequences: Zero on assignment Possible referral Wasted time Class failure Parent contact Assignment re-do?

Real-World Consequences: Job termination College entry denial or

expulsion Legal Action

Copyright infringement Lawsuit Fines

Is there anything I don’t have to cite?

YES! You don’t have worry about:

Your own original ideas and…

Widely known facts and information, such as: George Washington was our first president. Christmas is on December 25th each year. George W. Bush is our current president. O.C.C. stands for Onondaga Community College.

How do I maintain my academic integrity?

Use quotation marks:When using the exact words of an author, use quotation marks and in-text citation to give the author credit.

Paraphrase: Re-write the author’s ideas in your own words. Use in-text citation to give the author credit for the ideas.

Summarize:Put the main idea in your own words. Use in-text citation to give credit to the author.

Create a note-taking strategy and use it.

Document your sources of information.

Taking notes

Date Source of Info:

Author, Title, Publisher, Date, URL, pages, etc.

Main Idea Notes: Key Ideas, Facts, Data, Important Quotations, etc.

Response: my thoughts, ideas opinions about this information

How do I document my sources?

MLA, APA, Footnotes, Endnotes…

There is a great site that will help you put together your in-text citations and works cited page. It can be found at:

Landmarks Citation Machine (http://citationmachine.net/)

Also, using the notes template will really help you gather the information you will need to maintain your academic integrity by giving creators the credit they deserve!

Credits

Akon. “Lonely.” Trouble. Universal Records, 2004.Lewis, Rachel. "What is plagiarism?." Library Media

Center. Skaneateles High School, Skaneateles. 2005.

McKenzie, Jamie. Beyond Technology: Questioning, Research and the Information Literate School. Bellingham: FNO Press, 2000.

Microsoft Clipart.Warlick, David. "Landmarks Citation Machine."

Landmarks Citation Machine. 2004. The Landmark Project. 19 Jul. 2005 http://citationmachine.net/).