IRIS Tutorials: Avoiding Plagiarism
No Excuses for Plagiarizing.
Here are some common excuses and the replies:
- Excuse: “My professor won’t notice or care.” Reply: Whether or not your professor notices or cares, you will still be a plagiarist.
- Excuse: “I ran out of time.” Reply: Poor time management is not an excuse. You will be guilty of plagiarism. Ask for help with time management.
- Excuse: “I don’t remember where I got it.” Reply: Failing to take proper notes and organize your research is not an excuse for plagiarizing. Ask for help learning how to organize your research notes.
- Excuse: “It’s no big deal - I got by with it before.” Reply: It’s a big deal to have “plagiarist” attached to your student record. It means you are unethical and dishonest.
- Excuse: “In my culture, using another’s work shows respect. Reply: We honor cultural differences, but in most United States school the opposite is true. One shows respect by giving credit to the person you borrowed or learned from.
- Excuse: ”I didn’t know - no one ever taught me.” Reply: All learning begins somewhere, and this is where you being to learn about plagiarism. If you’re ever in doubt, Ask! Ask your instructor or a librarian for help.
Consequences of Plagiarism include:
- Disciplinary warning or reprimand;
- fail the assignment;
- fail the class;
- academic suspension;
- suspension or expulsion.
Types of Information to Acknowledge:
- You do not need to cite information that is common knowledge, or your own ideas, discoveries and reasoning.
- You may cite common knowledge especially well addressed in a particular source if it informs your work.
- You must cite the following types of information:
- direct quotations;
- paraphrases and summaries;
- arguable assertions;
- all statistics, charts, tables, graphs; all media such as images, videos, sound clips, etc.
Style Manuals:
Style manuals define specific rules describing how to write citations and how to refer to the citations in your project. Five common style manuals and disciplines are:
- MLA: English and literature;
- APA: nursing, dental hygiene, alcohol & drug dependency programs, social sciences, and psychology;
- CSE: biology;
- ACS: chemistry;
- Chicago: art, humanities.
Common Questions (Q) and Answers (A):
Q: Can I turn in a paper for one class that I wrote for another class?
A: No. But discuss it with your instructor. You may be able to use a similar topic.
Q: Do I only cite sources in written papers?
A: No. Cite sources in posters, speeches, slide shows, web pages, everything!
Q: Can my friend write the paper, as long as I do the research and the ideas are mine?
A: No. Turning in work that someone else wrote is academically dishonest, and plagiarism.
Q: Does all this plagiarism stuff only count while I’m in college?
A: No. In the “real world” you could lose your job or be sued for plagiarizing.
Q: Can I buy papers off the internet or hire someone else to write papers for me?
A: No. Buying papers or paying someone else to write for you is academically dishonest and plagiarism.
Q: Can I get help writing my paper?
A: Yes, with limits. Others may read your work and provide input, but not rewrite it.
