Resources: the Department of English @ SIUE

P L A G I A R I S M : H O W T O A V O I D I T

This document began as the result of a collaborative writing project of the students in Alexandra Babione's English 102 class (2002), with some subsequent revision.

Recent plagiarism scandals at SIU, SIUC, and SIUE have given this university an undesirably high profile on this issue, one of the consequences of which is that faculty are more concerned about, and more vigilant about, plagiarism than ever before. Be very certain your understanding of what constitutes plagiarism is clear, and that you know how to avoid it, or you could find yourself in an upleasant situation. SIUE's official policy on plagiarism stipulates that a student caught plagiarizing fails the course and is reported to the Provost.

SOME STUDENT SCENARIOS

"Oh, I like the way the author expresses his ideas," you think as you read an article. "I'll just make some notes for my paper." You begin to copy the text but you forget to include quotation marks or some vital information such as title, author, publication, date of publication. Perhaps you do include the author and title of the article. When you begin writing your paper, you include the notes you took, forgetting that these are exact phrases and sentences. Result: You have plagiarized.

You have been citing several sources, incorporated phrases into your own sentences and think you have paraphrased but you learn that your paraphrase is too close to the original. Result: You have plagiarized.

You don't have time or don't want to take the time to write a paper. Your roommate has one on the topic for your assignment. You use the "borrowed" paper and pass it off as your own. Result: You have plagiarized.

You think the author of a report or an article or an essay has said everything you want to say, so you submit it as your own. Result: You have plagiarized.

You do some original research, but need to fill out your paper and don't want to do any more work; you knowingly mix sentences from other writers in among your own, then later, when you get caught, claim that it was "inadvertent." Result: You have plagiarized.

In the first two examples, the plagiarism may be the result of true carelessness and misinterpretation. In the last three examples, the borrowing is considered stealing. In all examples, you have plagiarized and can be held accountable per the University's policy on plagiarism.

WHAT TO DO

Regardless of your intent, you may be accused of plagiarizing and subject to punishment. To avoid being accused of plagiarism and possibly fraud, you should follow some simple guidelines when you write your paper.

Give credit if you:

cite statistics, facts, dates, or any information that may not be known commonly or that you did not know before doing research.
incorporate another person's theory, opinions, or beliefs that are not yours.
quote someone exactly, word for word.
paraphrase another's ideas, opinions, or information that may be new to you.
if you want to demonstrate that you have researched the information.

Yes, some ideas of your own may have been voiced before you have had a chance to express yours. When you acknowledge that someone else has thought as you do, you are providing support for your ideas and opinions.

SOME TIPS

Here are a few tips to consider before writing your paper, while you engage in research:

Make sure you understand your teacher's definition and rules regarding plagiarism. If you do not, ASK for an explanation. Request examples.
Learn to manage your resources. As you collect them, make sure to include quotation marks when you copy text exactly. Always add the information you will need later for your bibliography as well as citations within your text.
If you photo copy portions of information from printed material, be sure to copy the page with the title, author, and publication information. If this information is not found in one place, collect and write on the back or top of the photocopy.
Keep note cards of each citation, if this works for you. Some people prefer to keep a running list of citations and provide summaries of each.
If you use electronic databases and web information, cut and paste each citation into a word processing or notepad document and save to disk or e-mail to yourself as an attachment.
Save a web page to your disk. Some pages, particularly news pages, change frequently. The page may not be available at a later date. Remember that when you save a web page to your disk, the URL is not saved unless it appears somewhere within the document itself.

See Web Sites on Avoiding Plagiarism to help you avoid plagiarism as well as to inform you of the seriousness of the problem across campuses. The World Wide Web has opened opportunities to borrow material without giving credit to the source. Since students (and others) have taken advantage of these sources, colleges and software companies, as well as legislators, have begun to address the problem through various means. Check also the sites on paraphrasing , where you will find more tips and advice.

Administrators and teachers have built electronic libraries of sources where papers are offered for free as well as for fee and have developed strategies to detect plagiarism.
Strict rules of conduct have been written by administrations.
Software designers have found an entrepurnurial opportunity and have developed detection software to sell to teachers and others.
Local, state, and federal governments declaring plagiarism as theft and fraud, have begun to create laws to address the problem. Court cases are increasing.

· Documenting Sources
· Computer Classrooms page

URL: http://www.siue.edu/ENGLISH/Resources/plagiarism_advice.html
Published by: Department of English Language and Literature
Last Update: 28 October 2007 by English Web Manager
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