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Plagiarism
Plagiarism is literary theft. When a person takes the thoughts or writings of another and presents them as her own, without acknowledging the original source, she commits the act of plagiarism.
Common ways students plagiarize:
 | copying from another source, such as a magazine or web article, without acknowledging the author of the article; |
| integrating sentences or paragraphs from another source into their own work; |
| copying, with or without changes, an entire article, paper, chapter or even an essay written by another student. |
If plagiarism is confirmed, there are several possible courses of action:
| the piece of work will be failed, without an opportunity to "make it up;" |
| a face-to-face meeting of instructor and student will be arranged to discuss the plagiarism; |
| if necessary, an appointment with the Dean, the instructor and the student will be arranged |
| possible failure of the course. |
Avoiding the Problem
- If you borrow words, sentences, or paragraphs directly from another source, put the borrowed words in quotation marks and treat them as a quotation. Use MLA documentation to cite your source.
- When paraphrasing, introduce the paraphrase with the article's author and title.
- If you use other authors' ideas, give them credit.
- If you summarize a piece of writing in your paper, be sure to
acknowledge the author.
©Jan Strever, 1997