Mr Brewer's Blog

¡¡¡IMPORTANT!!! PLAGIARISM AND THE INTERNET

While I encourage you to work together in collaboration and discussion in and out of class, it is imperative that you turn in original work. Everything that you write must be in your own words. Assignments turned in with identical or highly similar answers will both receive zero credit for the assignment. Information found in books, articles or on the World Wide Web should be summarized and cited appropriately. All students will be held to the following guidelines:
1. · 1st offense – the paper or material in question will be assigned zero points and the principal and your parents will be notified.
2. · 2nd offense – same as 1st offense, plus the student will be put on an administration contract indicating that a third offense will result in a loss of credit in the class.
3. · 3rd offense – loss of credit in the class plus disciplinary action.

In other words, you should never, never, never, ever copy and paste information from the Internet into a discussion post, assignment, test, or paper without clearly indicating what is “quoted” and from where it is taken. You also, always, provide your own interpretation of the quote. Plagiarism in any form is totally unacceptable. Copying text or ideas from Internet Resources, text or any work other than your own and implying it is your own work, even as a first offense, will result in an “F” grade for that assignment and will result in further disciplinary actions.

Examples of plagiarism include borrowing ideas from an online encyclopedia without providing a link; copying verbatim and interesting a passage from a written work; or asking your parents to correct and edit your without changing their words. Remember that each of has our own written voice, and it is easy to tell when passages are not our own.

7th Grade Science Plagiarism Policy 2016-2017

PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING
Students caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive a referral to Administration. A conference with the student, teacher and a family member will determine the cause and provide an appropriate consequence.
1st Offense – Scored “0” for that assignment, Student, Parent, and Admin notified with opportunity to increase to credit “CR” (scored at the discretion of the teacher) after instruction and/or review of citation methods.
2nd Offense – Scored “0” for that assignment; Student, Parent, and Admin notified without opportunity to increase to credit “CR”. Placed on academic probation.
3rd Offense – Scored “0” for the term, Student, Parent, and Admin notified without opportunity to change grade. Placed on continued academic probation.

What is Plagiarism?

Many people think of plagiarism as copying another’s work, or borrowing someone else’s original ideas. But terms like “copying” and “borrowing” can disguise the seriousness of the offense:

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to “plagiarize” means
• to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own
• to use (another’s production) without crediting the source
• to commit literary theft
• to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else’s work and lying about it afterward.

But can words and ideas really be stolen?

According to U.S. law, the answer is yes. The expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property, and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions. Almost all forms of expression fall under copyright protection as long as they are recorded in some way (such as a book or a computer file).

All of the following are considered plagiarism:
• turning in someone else’s work as your own
• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
• changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on “fair use” rules)

Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed, and providing your audience with the information necessary to find that source, is usually enough to prevent plagiarism. See our section on citation for more information on how to cite sources properly.

What is citation?

A “citation” is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again, including:
• information about the author
• the title of the work
• the name and location of the company that published your copy of the source
• the date your copy was published
• the page numbers of the material you are borrowing

Why should I cite sources?

Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people’s work without plagiarizing. But there are a number of other reasons to cite sources:
• citations are extremely helpful to anyone who wants to find out more about your ideas and where they came from.
• not all sources are good or right — your own ideas may often be more accurate or interesting than those of your sources. Proper citation will keep you from taking the rap for someone else’s bad ideas.
• citing sources shows the amount of research you’ve done.
• citing sources strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas.

Doesn’t citing sources make my work seem less original?

Not at all. On the contrary, citing sources actually helps your reader distinguish your ideas from those of your sources. This will actually emphasize the originality of your own work.

When do I need to cite?
Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you need to acknowledge their source. The following situations almost always require citation:
• whenever you use quotes
• whenever you paraphrase
• whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed
• whenever you make specific reference to the work of another
• whenever someone else’s work has been critical in developing your own ideas.

Resources to help with citation(s):

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue: There are few intellectual offenses more serious than plagiarism in academic and professional contexts. This resource offers advice on how to avoid plagiarism in your work.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/589/

Westfield State College Ely Library Citation Guides
http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/citation.htm

Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices
http://www.wpacouncil.org/book/export/html/9