Top Ten Reasons NOT to Plagiarize!

Seriously, guys. I can work the Google just as well as you can Seriously, guys. I can work the Google just as well as you can. If it comes up when you search for “Julius Caesar Essay,” what makes you think it won’t come up when I search for the same thing? 10. I know how to Google.

When I have a student sleep through pre- writing and drafting, and suddenly they turn in a completed essay in one class period? IT’S A MIRACLE!? No, it’s cheating. Duh. 9. I’m not stupid.

8. No one but you is writing for this assignment. I wrote the essay prompts all by myself. That means no one on the internet has an essay written for the same prompt you do. Guess what – if you don’t write on the prompt, you’re going to fail anyway. 8. No one but you is writing for this assignment.

7. I know you don’t know what those words mean. When you turn in an essay that says “The sociological ramifications of Caesar’s assassination were far- reaching enough to engender emotional responses throughout the twentieth century”…guess what. I KNOW YOU DIDN’T WRITE THAT. You’re a sophomore in high school – you don’t have a collegiate vocabulary! 7. I know you don’t know what those words mean.

6. Plagiarized papers get bad grades. Listen, I know none of you are paying hundreds of dollars for your copy- pasted essays. If you go to one of those free essay sites, I can guarantee you one thing: You’re going to get a crappy essay filled with grammatical errors and flawed arguments. Why cheat if you’ll fail anyway? 6. Plagiarized papers get bad grades.

5. When I catch you, you’ll get a zero. No exceptions, no explanations, no second chances. When I catch you, you will get a zero, and you cannot change that zero no matter what you do. I have had students fail my class because of one zero on one essay – don’t let that be you! 5. When I catch you, you’ll get a zero.

You know it’s wrong to take a picture of the SAT and give it to your friend, right? You know it’s cheating if you copy off someone else’s test, right? Then why would you copy someone else’s writing? It’s cheating just the same! 4. It’s cheating!

3. How would you feel if someone took your work? When you plagiarize, you’re taking someone else’s work and claiming it’s your own. How would you like it if someone took the essay you worked hard on and got all the credit you earned? If you wouldn’t like it, don’t do it to someone else! 3. How would you feel if someone took your work?

2. If you can find it, so can your classmates. Here’s a secret: you’re not the only cheater in your class. Don’t you think I’m going to notice when you turn in the exact same essay as someone else? 2. If you can find it, so can your classmates.

1. You don’t learn anything! Look, I don’t give you essays because I like grading them. I give them to you because they help you learn. If you’re not doing the work, you’re not going to learn anything. And what’s the use in that? 1. You don’t learn anything!

So what is plagiarism?

If you copy and paste sentences or paragraphs from the internet into your paper, that’s PLAGIARISM! 1. Copypasta

2. Quotes with no citations If you want to use a quote from an outside source to back up your point, you have to cite it properly! This means (parenthetical citations) AND a Works Cited page! 2. Quotes with no citations

Quotes should be 15 words, MAX Quotes should be 15 words, MAX. If you’re quoting whole sentences or paragraphs, you’re doing it wrong. You’re including too many words that aren’t your own, and that’s plagiarism! 3. Too-long quotes

Don’t give me that crap about “I’ll change the words and make it my own.” That’s called paraphrasing and it follows the same rules for quoting. If you do it too much or without citations, that’s PLAGIARISM! 4. “Changing a few words”

5. Copying from someone else. We do a lot of group pre-writing in here. But if you and your neighbor turn in the exact same essay, guess what? That’s PLAGIARISM! 5. Copying from someone else.

And remember…

If any part is plagiarized, it’s all plagiarized. I don’t care if it was the whole paper or just one sentence. If you plagiarized, you will get a ZERO, no ifs, ands, or buts. Period. Zero. No make-ups. Nothing. Just a big fat zero. If any part is plagiarized, it’s all plagiarized.