1. Plagiarism

2. In this ILS session you will …
Read about examples of plagiarism and the consequences in the real world.
Learn more about plagiarism:
What plagiarism is and how one can avoid it
When to cite your sources
How to cite your sources
Take a quiz to verify your understanding.
Pledge that you will avoid plagiarism.

3. Why do students plagiarize? Here are some excuses…
Why does it matter? My
(pick one of the following)
teacher/parent/guardian doesn’t care if I do it.
I didn’t realise. I didn’t copy and paste it entirely.
Everybody else does it. Why not me, too?
The assignment was dumb/boring/too hard/too easy/etc., so why should I put my effort into it?

4. Why do students plagiarize? Here are some excuses…
Why does it matter? My (pick one of the following) teacher/parent/guardian doesn’t care if I do it.
I didn’t realise. I didn’t copy and paste it entirely.
Everybody else does it. Why not me, too?
I didn’t know that I had to cite my sources.
I didn’t understand the assignment and I needed some help.
The assignment was dumb/boring/too hard/too easy/etc., so why should I put my effort into it?

5. Why do students plagiarize? Here are some excuses…
Why does it matter? My (pick one of the following) teacher/parent/guardian doesn’t care if I do it.
I didn’t have the time to do the work on my own. I had work/rehearsal/practice/etc.
Everybody else does it. Why not me, too?
I didn’t know that I had to cite my sources.
I didn’t understand the assignment and I needed some help.
I had to. I need to have good grades.
The assignment was dumb/boring/too hard/too easy/etc., so why should I put my effort into it?

6. Why do students plagiarize? Here are some excuses…
Why does it matter? My (pick one of the following) teacher/parent/guardian doesn’t care if I do it.
I didn’t have the time to do the work on my own. I had work/rehearsal/practice/etc.
Everybody else does it. Why not me, too?
I didn’t know that I had to cite my sources.
I didn’t understand the assignment and I needed some help.
I had to. I need to have good grades.
The assignment was dumb/boring/too hard/too easy/etc., so why should I put my effort into it?
Have you heard any
of those before?

7. But those excuses don’t cut it… There is no acceptable excuse for plagiarism. Plagiarism is cheating (and it will be treated as such if it is found in your work).
Look at these real life examples…

8. Real Life Plagiarism Scandals
Doris Kearns Goodwin, a Pulitzer Prize winning historian, was forced to step down from the Pulitzer board after she was found to have accidentally used someone else’s words in one of her books.
Disgraced
Kirpatrick, David D. “Author Goodwin Resigns from Pulitzer Board.” New York Times. (1 June 2002.) 5 Aug <
Hostetter, Janet. 6 Apr Associated Press Images. 5 Aug <

9. Real Life Plagiarism Scandals
After being accused of rampant plagiarism in her work, tenured professor Madonna G. Constantine was fired from her position at Columbia University.
Fired
Santora, Marc. “Columbia Professor in Noose Case Is Fired on Plagiarism Charges.” New York Times. (24 June 2008.) 5 Aug <
Bondafeff, Dian. 10 Oct Associated Press Images. 5 Aug <

10. Real Life Plagiarism Scandals
As a reporter for the New York Times, Jayson Blair plagiarized or fabricated in more than 40 stories between 2002 and He was fired from his job. The top two editors of the newspaper resigned as a result of the scandal.
Forced to
give up career
“Correcting the Record.” New York Times. 11 May The New York Times. 5 Aug <
Image: Szymaszek, Jennifer. 12 May Associated Press Images. 5 Aug < apimages.ap.org>

11. Real Life Plagiarism Scandals
Blair Hornstein was the valedictorian of her high school class and had earned admission to Harvard University. After articles Hornstein wrote for a local newspaper were discovered to have been plagiarized, Harvard University withdrew their acceptance.
Harvard
Admission
Revoked
“Blair Hornstein.” The Gothamist. 14 July Aug <
Capuzzo, Jill P. “MOORESTOWN JOURNAL; Seeing Crimson.” New York Times. (20 July 2003.) 5 Aug
<

12. YOU HAVE PROBABLY PLAGIARIZED
If you have …
YOU HAVE PROBABLY PLAGIARIZED
Included the words and ideas of others in your work that you have neglected to cite… OR
Had help that you wouldn’t want your teacher to know about …

13. Two types of plagiarism
INTENTIONAL
Copying a friends work,
Buying or borrowing papers,
Cutting and pasting blocks of information,
Media borrowing without documentation,
Web publishing
UNINTENTIONAL
Careless paraphrasing,
Poor documentation,
Quoting excessively,
Failure to use your own voice

14. How to Avoid Plagiarism
Cite the source of any idea or words you take from anyone else.
Carefully mark the beginning and end of the source’s words or idea.
Provide a bibliography to show where the borrowed material originated.

15. Let’s look at some hypothetical situations
Let’s look at some hypothetical situations. For each, determine if the student plagiarized or did not. Click on the arrow to move to the next page.

16. Jack’s Situation Is this plagiarism? Yes No
Jack has an English paper due tomorrow. He read the book and paid attention during class, but he has no idea what to write about.
Jack logs onto the Internet “just to get some ideas about topics for his paper.”
He finds a great idea and begins writing his paper using the topic he found. He is very careful to avoid copying any text or words from the Internet article he found.
Is this plagiarism?
Yes No

17. return to previous slide
You must choose from the blue buttons at the bottom of the page. Read the situation and then choose one of the options presented.
Click here to
return to previous slide

18. You said… Jack did plagiarize.
You are right. Jack’s actions constitute plagiarism.
Jack is committing plagiarism by taking the ideas of the source without citing them in the paper.
Even though he put the ideas in his own words, Jack is stealing the intellectual property of the source.

19. You said… Jack did not plagiarize.
You are wrong. Jack’s actions constitute plagiarism.
Jack is committing plagiarism by taking the ideas of the source without citing them in the paper.
Even though he put the ideas in his own words, Jack is stealing the intellectual property of the source. You are wrong. Jack’s actions constitute plagiarism.
He could avoid plagiarism if he cites the source of the ideas in his paper.

20. Do not cite the Cite the source. source. Test Case #1
Jack isn’t sure if he needs to cite the source of the information below. He found the fact online.
“Abraham Lincoln was our 16th president.”
What do you think? What should Jack do? Pick one of the answers below.
Do not cite the
source.
This means that the information is a
commonly reported fact. It is generally
known and available from many sources.
Jack should verify the information in at
least two sources, then
Jack will write the well-known
information in his own words.
Cite the source.
This means he will:
Either:
Surround with quotation marks, or
Put the quotation into his own words,
changing the syntax, structure,
& organization
You must choose one of the buttons at the bottom of the p...
Include a lead-in giving the source’s name,
Give the page number, and
List the source in a bibliography

21. return to previous slide
You must choose one of the buttons at the bottom of the page. Read the situation and then choose one of the options presented.
Click here to
return to previous slide

22. You are incorrect. In this case, citation is not necessary.
Jack does not need to cite the source or quote the information because it is general knowledge.
Abraham Lincoln’s status as the 16th President of the US is a fact that is verifiable in many places. Therefore, Jack can use the information without citation.

23. You are correct! Jack does not need to cite this information.
Jack does not need to cite the source or quote the information because it is general knowledge.
Abraham Lincoln’s status as the 16th President of the US is a fact that is verifiable in many places. Therefore, Jack can use the information without citation.

24. So, to review…
Plagiarism is a serious offense. Not only does it carry heavy penalties, but your integrity is damaged when you plagiarize.
Plagiarism is easily avoidable—just cite the sources when you use the words or ideas of another person.
If you have any questions, see your teacher or school librarian!

25. Final Directions:
Your teacher has a written quiz for you to take on the subject of plagiarism.
At the end of the quiz is an honor code statement. You will sign it in order to verify that you have receive this training.

26. Sources Consulted
DeSena, Laura Hennessey. Preventing Plagiarism: Tips and Techniques. National Council of Teachers of English: Urbana, IL, 2007.
Harris, Robert A. The Plagiarism Handbook: Strategies for Preventing, Detecting, and Dealing with Plagiarism. Pyrczak Publishing: Los Angeles, 2001.
Valenza, Joyce Kasman. “What is Plagiarism? (And Why You Should Care).” Springfield High School Media Center Information Literacy Lessons. Springfield School District.