The Basics of Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism? Basically, plagiarism is when you copy someone else’s work or use someone’s original ideas as your own.

More specifically, plagiarism can be any of the following:

1. buying an essay online or having a friend write the essay for you 2 1. buying an essay online or having a friend write the essay for you 2. failing to put quotation marks around an author's words whether in a full quote or a snippet (a part) of a quote

3. Substituting words with synonyms but copying the sentence structure of an author without giving credit 4. copying words or ideas or even paraphrasing (using your own words) from someone else without giving credit (Yes! Even using someone's IDEA and even in your OWN words is Plagiarism.)

BEWARE!!!! College professors use computer software programs that allow them to easily detect whether you have plagiarized or not.

In case you’re thinking, “Oh, it can’t be that serious!!!” THINK AGAIN….

PLAGIARISM IS CHEATING PLAGIARISM IS CHEATING! It is a SERIOUS offense that can result in failing the Bonnabel course, losing membership in academic organizations (i.e. NHS, Leadership, Key Club), or suspension from Bonnabel. If you’re in a Dual Enrollment class, it can result in failing the college course (and starting college with an F on the transcript), losing college scholarships, or even being expelled from the college.

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARIZING

Whether you’re quoting your source directly either with a long quote or snippets (a small portion) of the quote OR putting someone’s thoughts into your own words, CITE IT though MLA parenthetical citations. At the end of your essay, you should include a Works Cited page listing all of the works (books, website articles, interviews, etc.) that you used in your essay. DO NOT INCLUDE WORKS YOU DID NOT USE!

Imagine you are a lawyer. You have to provide PROOF to support your assertions in court. The jury won’t just take your word for what you’re saying. They want experts to back you up.

If the prosecuting lawyer said, “Your client’s fingerprints and DNA were found at the scene,” but the lawyer didn’t bring in any experts to verify his or her claims….. Should the jury just take the lawyers word for it?

OF COURSE NOT! They’d want forensic experts

Citing the sources of your work is providing your reader with expert support. It is NOT weakness to use the thoughts of others. Saying where you found the information tells your teacher that you – like a lawyer – have researched and provided experts to back you up. It not only gives your readers confidence in your argument or assumptions, but it also tells them where they can find more information on the topic if they are so inclined.

IMPORTANT You are using experts to support your thoughts, not to write your essay for you. So be careful that you’re not just filling up your essay with quotes. If you quote or refer to someone else’s information, you should follow it up with the YOUR OWN explanation of why the information is relevant to your assertion or argument.

Don’t rely on the program 100%! A FREE plagiarism detector is available through this site: www.smallseotools.com/plagiarism-check/ It will tell you the percentage of your work that is possibly plagiarized and the line(s) suspected. Usually less than 15% is pretty good. If the program indicates a plagiarized line, it might be because you’ve quoted something. If you’ve “legally” quoted and cited the information, no worries! If not, fix the problem. Don’t rely on the program 100%!

If you have any questions, please ask your teacher for help!