Policy on PLAGIARISM

H. Hamner Hill, Philosophy and Religion, Southeast Missouri State

Plagiarism is the act of taking the words,  ideas, strategies, formulas, compositions, research or creative ideas of another an presenting them as if they were your own.  Plagiarism is both a crime against property and a crime against academic integrity.  The plagiarist steals the ideas of another and then fraudulently misrepresents them as if they were the original work of the plagiarist.  Plagiarism can be either intentional or unintentional, but in either case is a serious offense.  Whenever a student submits work for a class, that student is asserting (a) that the work is entirely the student's and (b) that the work was produced exclusively for that class.  Plagiarism always undercuts at least one of these assertions and threatens the institution of academic integrity and honesty.

According to Stephen Wilhoit, author of  "Helping Student Avoid Plagiarism," each of the following activities constitutes an instance of plagiarism:

• Submitting a paper purchased from a research service or term paper mill. 

• Submitting another student's work with or without that student's knowledge. 

• Submitting a paper written by a peer. 

• Copying a paper from a source text without proper acknowledgment. 

• Copying materials from a source text, supplying proper documentation, but leaving out quotation marks. 

• Paraphrasing or summarizing materials from a source without appropriate documentation. 

• Turning in one paper for two or more different classes without the express permission of all the instructors involved.

• Turning in a paper from a "free term paper" website.¹
  

For most students, the real problems areas are improper attribution, improper use of quotation, unacceptable paraphrases, unacceptable summaries, and errors concerning what is and what is not common knowledge.  The links given here provide excellent examples of what is and is not plagiarism.   Read through them and think about them carefully.  When in doubt, use direct quotation and full attribution.  

Plagiarism--The Do's and Don'ts from UC Davis                    Plagiarism Policy from Pennsylvania State U.

Statement on Plagiarism from Northern Illinois University       Plagiarism: Definitions, Examples from U Ky.        

Please note that some of these websites list institution specific penalties for plagiarism.  Be sure to check your university policies and your individual instructor's policy on plagiarism and the penalties for it.

^{1  College Teaching 42 (Fall 1994): 161-164.}