WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
Plagiarism is the use of the ideas, words, or research
of others without acknowledging their true origin. To plagiarize
is to give the impression that one has written, thought, or discovered
something which one has, in fact, borrowed from someone else without
acknowledging them appropriately.
WHAT IS NOT PLAGIARISM?
- Your own original ideas and thoughts and feelings.
- Information that most people share, i.e. “common
knowledge,” such as
- July 4th is a national holiday in the
United States.
- Turkey is commonly served on Thanksgiving.
- The cost of gasoline is higher than it
was 5 years ago.
Why should one avoid plagiarism?
- It is stealing…and is probable cause
for suspension or expulsion. (see Fullerton
College’s “Standards of Student Conduct and Discipline
Policy,” #3 on p. 6 of
Campus Procedures -- p.
42 in the Fullerton College Catalog).
- It is cheating yourself. Learning to do research
correctly will be of great help in
your further academic endeavors.
- Your research can be a stepping stone for
others. Those who read the results of appropriately documented
research can easily find the source of certain
statements which they may wish to further explore for themselves.
What are some examples of plagiarism?
- Obtaining an entire paper from the Internet
or from another student and
submitting it as one’s own.
- Copying and pasting sections from Internet
sources without acknowledgment of the sources.
- Using the exact written words of another without
quotations and
acknowledgment.
- Paraphrasing someone’s written ideas,
even in your own words, unless you acknowledge that this is
their idea.
CAUTION: With the use of the
Internet, it has become easy to copy and paste the words of
others into one’s own compositions. This “ease”
is a two-edged sword. It is also easy for instructors to type
in a phrase and find the original online source! In addition,
Fullerton College subscribes to a service called Turnitin to
which teachers can submit student papers and easily find out
what parts have been “lifted” from the Internet
and from what site they were taken.
Don’t cheat yourself! Give credit where
credit is due.
For further information on plagiarism, see links
from “Plagiarism”
on the Librarians’ Index to the Internet:
This page maintained by Sandy
Smith
Most recent revision:
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
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