What
is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism
occurs when you represent someone else’s words or ideas as if they were your
own. It can range in scope from
accidentally forgetting to place quotation marks around a borrowed sentence, to
careless paraphrasing, to deliberately trying to pass off someone else’s paper
as your own. Plagiarism is always a
serious violation of the Clayton College and State University Student Code of
Conduct.
Avoiding
Plagiarism
o Remember
that you are responsible for all your work, including group assignments.
If you put your name on an assignment, you are responsible for that work.
Give yourself plenty of time to produce and complete an assignment.
Do not wait until the last minute to begin planning, researching, and
writing your assignment. You need to give yourself time to revise your paper before it
is due.
o Make
sure you clearly understand the assignment.
Don’t be afraid to ask your instructor exactly what is expected; if
necessary, contact your professor by email or make an appointment to speak with
him/her during office hours.
o Make
sure you clearly know and can practice the rules for MLA documentation style.
Look up the details in the assigned handbook or on-line from the
library’s web site. You’ll want
to know how to correctly cite a variety of sources, both in your text and on a
work cited page. See your professor
or instructor if you have any specific questions.
You could also make an appointment with a tutor at the Center for
Academic Assistance to discuss citation models and go over the citations in your
paper.
o Take
careful notes on your sources, and be very careful when you paraphrase an idea.
Use the author’s name in the paraphrase or summary and again in the
citation so that you don’t mistake the paraphrase for your own thinking at a
later time.
What
should you cite in your paper?
o You
must cite all quoted or paraphrased material.
Any information you use that is not “common knowledge” must be cited
and the source must be credited.
o Any
supporting materials such as graphs, charts, and outlines must be cited
properly.
o A
writer’s ideas, including exact words, specific sentences, metaphors, and word
choices, also belong to that writer and must be cited.
o Every
source used in your paper must be listed on your “Works Cited” page.
Plagiarism Contract
Student
Name: _________________________________________
Student
Social Security Number: ___________________________
Course
Number and Section: ______________________________
I
understand that plagiarism in any form is a violation of Clayton College &
State University Student Conduct Code and the policies of the Language and
Literature Department, and I am aware that it can result in failure of the class
and academic sanctions. I realize
that helping or knowingly allowing others to plagiarize involves me in
plagiarism. Furthermore, I
understand that any instance of plagiarism needs to be officially reported to
the Language and Literature Department.
I
have completed a plagiarism education exercise.
My instructor has stressed the importance of avoiding plagiarism and
satisfactorily answered my questions about what it is and what the consequences
of it can be.
Signature:
_____________________________
Date:
________________________________