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Chapter I -- General Information
Chapter 02 | Chapter 03 | Chapter 04 | Chapter 05 | Style Manual Index
Academic Integrity | Plagiarism | Quotations | Paraphrasing | Due Dates
This chapter outlines many of the general expectations of the CNSA program. You are expected to demonstrate academic integrity throughout the program, and this chapter deals with the issues related to integrity in writing. It includes sections on plagiarism, handling quotations, paraphrasing, and due dates.
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students.
Taken from the Latin words plagiaraius, meaning plunderer, and plagium, meaning kidnapping, plagiarism means "to steal and use (the ideas or writings of another) as one's own," according to The American Heritage Dictionary (2nd ed.).
More specifically, Glazier (1992), in Random House's Word Menu, defines plagiarism as "appropriation and publication of another's writing without consent" (p. 409). He also defines it as "literary theft; stealing another's work without giving credit, passing it off as one's own" (p. 543). To summarize, plagiarism means taking someone else's words, ideas, or specialized information and presenting it as your own. It is intellectual theft.
Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism
The following four guidelines on avoiding plagiarism are from Mary Pryor, a former professor in the English department at MSUM (Shaw, 1995).
EXAMPLE:
Source:
By the last stanza, however, we realize that the poet is talking about something more than the choice of paths in a wood, for such a choice would be relatively unimportant.
Your theme:
The poem "The Road Not Taken" is structured by a symbol, for the roads referred to are more important than just "the choice of paths in a wood" (p. 38).
- If the words are your own, but the idea comes from your source, you do not need quotation marks, but you do need to credit your source parenthetically, and you need to supply a lead-in which tells whose idea it is.
EXAMPLE:
Source: Same as example 1.
Your theme:
Symbolism is important in the poem "The Road Not Taken" because, as Perrine (1999) indicated, by the end of the poem the reader realizes that Frost is concerned with something more important than deciding which path to choose in the wood where he was walking.
Using another author's words and ideas improperly is often the result of a student's careless or inept summarizing and paraphrasing. Hacker (1989) in A Writer's Reference writes:
When you summarize or paraphrase, (naming) the source is not enough; you must restate the source's meaning using only your own words. You are guilty of plagiarism . . . if you half-copy the author's sentences-either by mixing the author's well-chosen words without using quotation marks or by plugging your own synonyms into the author's sentence structure. (p. 216-217)
Quotations of 40 or more words should be single spaced and displayed in a block (indented on the left, as is the quotation above), with no quotation marks. However, if you intend to quote at length from any material (500 words or more), you must get written permission from the owner of the copyright.
Although there are APA guidelines on the correct use of quoted material (see APA Manual, pp. 117-122), it is best to avoid using quotations completely. Most material, including definitions of terms, can be paraphrased. To paraphrase, read the material several times, then put the ideas into your own words. What does this material mean to you? If you paraphrase, instead of merely repeating what your sources say, your papers will be easier to read, and you will learn more.
Papers and other assignments must be handed in on time. Grades are lowered one letter grade for each day papers, tests, or assignments are late. The only exceptions to this policy are in certain severe emergencies. In the case of personal medical needs, you will need to obtain prior approval from your instructor by providing a doctor's written excuse.