Transcript What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism
(An Introduction)
For Centennial High
School Students and
Teachers
by
Mrs. Mirka
(Teacher Librarian)
2006
Plagiarism
“I found your speech to be good and original.
However, the part that was original was not
good
and the part that was good was not original.
Samuel Johnson 1707- 1784
What is plagiarism?
(And why you should care!)
Definition:
Plagiarism is using the words,
ideas, images, sounds, or
the creative expression of
others without giving them
credit, and then saying that
it is your own
The Importance of Being
Ethical
Not giving credit for your sources is
like robbing the authors of payment for
their original work and robbing them of
the recognition they deserve for their
work
You are also lying to your reader by
claiming other people’s work as your
own
How serious is the problem?
McAbe, in his study of almost 4,500 students at 25 schools
suggests,
cheating is . . . a significant problem in high
school - 74% of the respondents admitted to one or
more instances of serious test cheating and 72%
admitted to serious cheating on written
assignments. Over half of the students admitted
they have engaged in some level of plagiarism
on written assignments using the Internet
(p.1)
http://www.newu.uci.edu/archive/1998-1999/fall/981012/np-981012-cheating.jpg
Students, if…

you have copied and pasted text or
pictures from the Internet without listing
the source in your references

you are using another student’s or your
parents’ work and claiming it as your
own, even with their permission.

you are quoting a source without using
quotation marks – even if you do cite it

you are citing sources you didn’t use

you are getting a research paper, story
poem or article off the Internet

you are turning in the same paper for
more than one class without the
permission of both teachers, (this is
called self-plagiarism)
Excuses
It’s okay if
I don’t get caught!
This assignment
was BORING!
My teachers
expect
too much!
Everyone does it!
I was too busy to
write that paper!
(Job, big game, too much homework!)
I’ve got to get
into
??? U.!
My parents
expect “A”s!
Think about it!
• When you copy you cheat yourself.
You limit your own learning.
• The consequences are not worth the
risks!
• It is only right to give credit to authors
whose ideas you use
• Citing gives authority to the
information you present; your teacher
is impressed because it shows you
have done your research
• Citing makes it possible for your
readers to locate your source
• Education is not an “us vs. them”
game! It’s about learning to learn!
• Cheating is unethical behavior
Is your academic
reputation valuable
to you?
Real life consequences:
Kaavya Viswanathan, a
gifted Harvard student,
came to public attention
when her debut novel
was reveled to have
been plagiarized
Kaaya
Viswanathan's
novel How Opal
Mehta Got Wild,
Got Kissed and Got
a LifePicture: Joe
Raedle/Getty
Images
Consequences:
Promising young author with a
$500,000.00 book deal and a movie
deal with Stephen Spielberg loses
all!
Real life :
http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/i
mages2/harrison_g2.jpg
George Harrison
unintentionally copied
portions of his hit “My
Sweet Lord” from the
song “He’s so fine” by
the Chiffons
The Chiffons, one
of the most
definitive “girl
groups” of the 60’s.
Album cover:
Amazon.com
Consequences:
George had to pay $587,000.00 to
settle the court case filed against
him
Real life :
Photo from
WashingtonSpeakers
Bureau, 2005
Boston Globe
Journalist Mike
Barnicle was found to
have plagiarized a
number of his
newspaper articles
Consequences:
Mike Barnicle, considered a top
journalist, was fired from his job at
the Boston Globe
Possible school consequences:
• “0” on the assignment
• Parent notification
• Referral to
administrators
• Suspension or dismissal
from school courses,
activities--sports and
extracurricular
• Note on student record
• Loss of reputation
among the school
community
Is this important?
What if…
> Your architect cheated his way through math
class. Will your new home be safe?
> Your lawyer paid for a copy of the bar exam to
study. Will the contract she wrote for you stand
up in court?
> The accountant who does your taxes hired
someone to write his papers and paid a standin to take his major tests? Does he know
enough to complete your tax forms properly?
(Lathrop &Foss, 2000, p.87)
Thank you
• This is the end of the slide
presentation