Torch Policy on Plagiarism

Plagiarism at Torch Middle School will not be tolerated. Any student who knowingly violates this rule will receive no credit for the assignment and will be given a consequence of the teacher’s choosing.

Definition: Plagiarism is the use of another’s work as your own or without giving proper credit to the author.

This idea is not new to you. Even as a small child, you knew that copying another person’s work was wrong. It made you upset when someone else copied your work. Teachers have always taught you to do your own work, keep your answers covered, etc.

The following are all instances of plagiarism: Using material from any source (Internet, book, encyclopedia, magazine, etc.) without proper reference (title, author, site, etc.) That means that you have to tell the bibliographical information in the report (include a bibliography and/or parenthetical citations), or it is the same as stealing the information from the author.

The following are all instances of plagiarism: Giving a source credit for copied material within one’s own writing but not placing quotation marks around the copied material That means you have to put a “ in front of the words you copied, and a ” at the end, so the reader will know that those words are not yours.

The following are all instances of plagiarism: Turning in the original or copy of another student’s work That means that you are not allowed to simply copy another student’s paper or use that paper to pretend you completed homework. It is OK if you work together and therefore have some of the same answers. However, sentences should be written in your own words.

The following are all instances of plagiarism: Using material from any source (Internet, book, encyclopedia, magazine, etc.) as your own work. That means you can’t copy a story from a book or a poem from the Internet and turn it in as your own writing. A college student who does this can be kicked out!

The following are all instances of plagiarism: Using any of the above with only slight alterations (such as paraphrasing) or deletions and calling it your own. That means that just because you change a few words of a friend’s paper or an article on the Internet, you have not made it your own. You are still cheating. You have not learned enough or proved that you have done so.

The following are all instances of plagiarism: Allowing anyone else to complete your homework, essay, report, etc. for you. This includes your parents and older brothers or sisters. If you have not done the work, then you have not done the learning. Your teacher will think you are ready to move on, but you are not ready.

The following are all instances of plagiarism: Turning in your own previously graded work from a former assignment as new material. This is wrong, because you have not done any new learning. After all, that is why you are in school – to learn and get better at all the skills you will need for college and work and LIFE.

THIS APPLIES TO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING Homework Essays Reports Research Papers Power Point Presentations Speeches Multimedia Presentations Stories or Poems

Note: If your homework assignment specifically requires that you do research on a particular subject or summarize a site, a copy of one or more Internet sites is not a proper response to the assignment. You will still be in violation of this plagiarism policy even if the URL, title and author are included on the page.

Relax You will not break this rule if you always do your own work, play fair, do your best to learn, and follow the directions for each assignment. Just remember that one day you may be an author, or create a Web site, and you will be very angry if other people steal your work.