1. A Growing Temptation in the Digital Age

2.  Students will be able to…  define plagiarism  recognize the causes that often lead to plagiarism  identify the problems that arise from committing plagiarism  explain methods to prevent plagiarism.

3.  Plagiarism is the act of stealing and passing off the ideas or words of another as one’s own. (Merriam-Webster.com)  Common Examples:  Writing a quote verbatim (word-for-word) or paraphrased and not citing the original source.  Printing or photocopying someone else’s work and passing it off as your own.  Using proper citations, but all words are quoted or paraphrased. The work contains only the words of others and not your own. from plagiarism dot ORG

4.  The internet provides access to a wealth of information.  For example, in completing a Google Search for “Abraham Lincoln”, one is given over a 11 million results in less than a second.

5.  With such a large quantity of resources available in just a few seconds, students are more tempted to “borrow” the ideas of others rather than create a work that is original.  Existence of writing services such as CustomEssayMeister.com or BestEssay.com offer “custom” papers for students. The student then passes it off as his/her own work.

6.  Common Examples:  Procrastination: the student put the paper off until the night before and does not have enough time to write it.  Pressure: the student wants to earn a good grade and feels that using the words of others is the only way to achieve this goal.  Confusion: the student does not understand that paraphrasing can be plagiarism. He/she paraphrases the words of others without including his/her own unique words and ideas.  Sloppiness: the student did not record bibliographic information accurately or did not record the information at all. As a result, they either do not cite their sources or the information is incorrect. from plagiarism dot ORG

7.  With tools such as turnitin.com, teachers can easily catch plagiarism.  Plagiarism is stealing. The theft of someone’s words and ideas is no different then a pickpocket stealing a person’s wallet.  Copyright: Just like movies and music, texts (words) are protected under copyright law.  Remember that fair use allows you to use facts gathered by others for the purpose of completing research for school. It does not mean that you can turn in the work of others as your own. from plagiarism dot ORG

8.  School  Teachers and college instructors often handle cases involving plagiarism on class work. Action taken by schools may depend on the degree of the violation. (Did you print off someone else’s work and try to pass it as your own or did you not cite direct quotes?)  When is it a crime?  If the plagiarist can earn money or prizes for the copied work, then it may be considered a misdemeanor (a crime punished by a fine). The fine can be anywhere from 100 to 50,000 dollars. from plagiarism dot ORG

9.  Cite Your Sources: Always give credit where credit is due.  Be Organized: Neatly record research and bibliographic information.  Don’t Procrastinate: Give yourself plenty of time to research, write, and edit your work before the due date.  Ask for Help: If you are confused about whether your work is plagiarism, ask your teacher for help.

10. 1. What is plagiarism? a. Stealing movies, music and books from the internet. b. Using the words and ideas of others as your own. c. Using your own words along with cited quotes in a paper. d. None of the above

11. Plagiarism is when an individual uses the words and ideas of others as his/her own.

12. 2. True or False: Is the following an example of plagiarism? TrueFalse A student is writing a biography on Abraham Lincoln. She finds some great information on Wikipedia so she prints it out. She then takes scissors and cuts out the sentences she likes and pastes them together on construction paper along with a photo of Abraham Lincoln. She writes her name at the top of the paper and turns it in to her teacher the next day.

13. The student contributed nothing to the assignment. The work has no original words or ideas from the student and none of the work was cited.

14. 3. Which of the following lists two reasons why students plagiarize? a. Confusion and Procrastination b. Confusion and Preparedness c. Organization and Procrastination d. None of the above

15. Students plagiarize because they may be confused about the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing or they have procrastinated and do not have enough time to complete the assignment. Pressure to get a good grade and sloppy note-taking can also lead to plagiarism.

16. 4. True or False: Can plagiarism be considered a misdemeanor crime? TrueFalse

17. Plagiarism can be classified as a misdemeanor and punishable by a monetary fine if the guilty party receives money or a prize as a result of the plagiarized work. Most plagiarism cases involving students are handled by the teacher or college instructor.

18. 5. How can you prevent plagiarism? a. Cite Your Sources b. Don’t Procrastinate c. Be Organized d. All of the above

19. Citing your sources, using your time wisely, and being organized can all help to prevent plagiarism. Also remember to ask your teacher for help when you are unsure of your work!

20. Plagiarism dot Org http://www.plagiarism.org/ Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/ University of Toronto: How Not to Plagiarize http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using- sources/how-not-to-plagiarize Indiana University: Plagiarism: What is it and How to Recognize and Avoid it http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.sht ml