Ray
Rector's PLAGIARISM Policy
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Defined: Plagiarism
is when someone copies something that was written by someone else and presents
it as his or her own work.
Plagiarism has become more widespread due to the ease of copying and pasting
text using computers. The most common practice is for a student to copy whole
blocks of text (or even entire papers) off of the internet, and neaten a few
things up and change a few things around to try to disguise the copying. The
practice has become so common in some high schools and even colleges that many
people don't even see it as a form of cheating.
Another common practice is for two or more students to work together on
an independent research project, and share their research and writing between
each other, such that each person's work is really a combined effort: all, or
part, of each student's writing is identical or nearly identical to the others.
·
How to avoid it.
Make no mistake about it: plagiarism is cheating.
But some confusion about plagiarism is perhaps understandable. After all, when
a student does research for an assignment, he/she is gathering information
about a topic from other sources and presenting that information. Where does
proper research for an assignment end, and plagiarism
begin?
THE RIGHTWAY
TO DO RESEARCH FOR AN ASSIGNMENT: Gather information on a topic from several
sources, process it, organize it, and present it using your own words and
own organization. This is GOOD!
THE WRONGWAY
(PLAGIARISM): Gather information on a topic by
copying large blocks of text, piece those blocks of copied text together,
neaten things up, and then change a few words to try to disguise the fact that
most of the work was copied. This is CHEATING!!
The bottom line: to avoid plagiarism, use your OWN WORDS and your OWN ORGANIZATION in ALL writing you do
for assignments, tests, and reports.
It is OK (in fact necessary) to copy terms and
definitions. It is NOT OK to copy whole phrases and entire paragraphs. If you
do copy a phrase or paragraph, you must put quotation marks (" ")
around it, and cite the source (give the author and title of the publication,
web site, etc.). In general I prefer that you NOT quote entire blocks of text.
Rather, process the information and restate it using your own words and own
organization. There is nothing like the act of writing things down in your own
words to make you really learn concepts. And the act of writing for yourself
makes you a better writer! (Whereas copying never made anyone
a better writer.)
·
How I catch plagiarism.
Computer technology has made plagiarism easy to
commit, but… computer technology HAS ALSO MADE
PLAGIARISM EASY TO CATCH! Instructors
today have access to a growing toolbox of quick and efficient programs and internet
sites designed to detect plagiarism by searching for matches between student
work and material available on the internet.
THIS INCLUDES TERM PAPERS AVAILABLE AT CHEATER
WEB SITES.
If I suspect an assignment or student term paper is
partially or entirely plagiarized, I routinely submit the assignment to a
plagiarism-detection web site. A report
comes back showing which internet sites match text in the student’s paper or
assignment, and how much of the text matches, word-for-word.
·
Consequences
of sending me plagiarized work.
The CONSEQUENCES will depend on how
egregious the plagiarism is.
If a student submits a 100% copied paper (like
one purchased from a cheater web site), this represents the worst form of
plagiarism, and will result in EXPULSION FROM THE
COURSE WITH A FAILING GRADE.
More common is so-called “soft plagiarism,” where the
student copies bits and pieces of material from a bunch of different sources
and stitches it all together with perhaps some of their own writing mixed
in. This is still plagiarism, but it is
somewhat less blatant. For this type of
plagiarism, I have the following policy:
First violation – zero
credit for the assignment, and an explanation to the student about how and why
the work represents plagiarism.
Second violation - zero
credit for the assignment, and with expulsion from the course with a failing
grade.
If you have any questions or need further clarification,
please contact me. Thanks for your attention.
-
Ray Rector
geoprof@geoscirocks.com (760-942-9201)