College Writing II Plagiarism Workshop Rob Kairis Library Director Kent State Stark

Definition … “To take and present as one's own a material portion of the ideas or words of another or to present as one's own an idea or work derived from an existing source without full and proper credit to the source of the ideas, words, or works.” Kent State’s policy on Cheating and Plagiarism: http://www.kent.edu/policyreg/administrative-policy-regarding-student-cheating-and-plagiarism The Consequences of Plagiarism Video: http://www.kent.edu/stark/plagiarism-workshop

Famous Plagiarists… Borrowed Lines… Blurred Lines… Jury awards Marvin Gaye’s family $7.4 million for copyright infringement (not plagiarism) https://youtu.be/w7N0m8yg07o http://www.bet.com/music/photos/2015/03/7-reasons-the-blurred-lines-verdict-should-have-everyone-spooked/_jcr_content/leftcol/flipbook/flipbookimage.flipfeature.dimg/031315-music-marvin-gaye-pharrell-robin-thicke.jpg https://youtu.be/ziz9HW2ZmmY Lester, Toni, “Blurred Lines — Where Copyright Ends and Cultural Appropriation Begins — The Case of Robin Thicke versus Bridgeport Music, and the Estate of Marvin Gaye” (2014). Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal, Vol. 36, No. 2, 2014 (pp. 217-242).

In Context … Although not just college students plagiarize… Expectations depend on how the information is delivered … Speech Newspaper Term Paper Expectation for accuracy and attribution meter

If You’re Accused … … and unable to convince your instructor that you didn’t do anything wrong, your instructor can sanction you by: Refusing the work for credit Giving you an F or zero on the assignment Failing you for the course Requesting stiffer sanctions be applied “Plagiarism School” If you are sanctioned and do not think it is fair, you can appeal: A hearing is held with the Academic Hearing Panel (2 faculty, 1 student) Your instructor must prove with a “preponderance of evidence” that you plagiarized You can cross exam your instructor, call witnesses, scrutinize the evidence You CANNOT bring a lawyer

Plagiarism School … Modeled after Traffic School … Instructor agrees to mitigate sanction if student completes plagiarism school: review “plagiarized” assignment university policy case studies homework (“spot the plagiarism”)

Avoiding Plagiarism … Always do your own work Be organized (failure to properly attribute someone’s work by mistake is still plagiarism) When using facts or figures always cite a source (only widely known or accepted facts can be presented without citation—there is no need to cite a source for suggesting that the world is round, for example) It is okay to seek help or advice, but thoughts, ideas, words, phrases, interpretations etc., should be your own or the source of origin should be properly cited “Double-dipping” (using a substantial portion of a piece of work for two or more classes without notifying the instructor) is a form of cheating similar to plagiarism If in doubt, ask for help from your instructor (the Library or the Writing Center)

Case Studies … George Bono's paper on AIDS Rosie Pinetar's essay on The Natural Stuart Lavaman's term paper in Geology Gilbert Trout's book report on Slaughterhouse-Five Lonnie Shakespeare trades papers for a Psychology class Jill St. Blonde writes two papers on the same topic Eleanor Higby writes a paper on All the King’s Men Damien Leviathan’s Philosophy paper quoting Socrates

College Writing II Plagiarism Workshop Rob Kairis Library Director Kent State Stark