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February 2001

Plagiarism, academically intolerable

Exactly what is plagiarism anyway? Not knowing what is plagiarism is one reason students commit it in the first place.

Plagiarism, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is to steal or pass off the ideas or words of another as one’s own. In other words, taking credit for someone else’s work.

For example, when a student has to write a research paper using sources from the internet, encyclopedias, magazines, etc and the student copies word-for-word from the article without giving credit to the author of that article, the student is committing plagiarism.

Many students commit plagiarism because they don’t know exactly how to use sources without copying directly from that source.

“I think students commit plagiarism unintentionally sometimes because they don’t know how to correctly paraphrase,” stated English teacher Stacy Marozsan.

Plagiarism is a serious offense and most students don’t know the consequences. The consequences can differ according to the teacher, but many fail the student, not only for the paper, but occasionally for the marking period. It can also block the student’s admittance into the National Honor Society.

Neshaminy social studies teacher Henry Houseman agrees with these consequences. “Committing plagiarism should result in no credit for the assignment, and in serious cases, referral to the discipline office.

Also, it is the grounds for rejecting admittance into the Honor Society.” He also feels that plagiarism could be avoided if teachers taught students how to document their sources correctly.

There are many different ways to help avoid plagiarism while writing a paper or report. In order to correctly credit all sources, write down all bibliography information right away. Also, make sure to put quotation marks around any direct quote, no matter how short it is.

“Copying and pasting accounts for only a small percentage of plagiarism. The majority of plagiarism is a result of text manipulation,” writes Michael Spears, the creator of a website made specifically to teach high school students about plagiarism.

“One huge misconception that students have is that rewriting sometimes is not plagiarism, because they are ‘putting it in their own words.”

To learn more about what plagiarism is, the consequences of committing it, and how to avoid it in the first place, visit Spears’ website at http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~mspears/plagiarism.html.

By Matt Haines and Ashley McNulty
Staff Writer and Copy Editor