The Oxford English Dictionary defines plagiarism as,
"The action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own; literary theft."
Plagiarism can occur intentionally or unintentionally. Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty that can have serious consequences. However, when you have an understanding of what plagiarism is, why it matters and strategies you can take to prevent plagiarism, you can avoid it.
The SRC Online Student Handbook states, "Academic misconduct generally refers to behavior in which an individual cheats, plagiarizes, or otherwise falsely represents someone else's work as his or her own."
“ Plagiarism: Presenting the work of another as one’s own (i.e., without proper acknowledgement of the source or sources) or submitting a piece of work which in part or in whole is not entirely the student’s own work, without attributing the unoriginal portions to their correct sources. The sole exception of the requirement of acknowledging sources occurs when ideas or information are common knowledge.”
“Faculty members have the authority to decide if student have committed academic misconduct.”
It is important to note that there are a number of possible sanctions for academic misconduct, such as grade adjustment (receiving a 0 on your assignment) or failing the course. (You can find more details in your SRC Student Handbook or SRC Course Catalog)
The Learning Resource Center held a Plagiarism Workshop in Fall 2019. Below, you can find a copy of the handout that was given at the workshop. This is a quick reference guide on Avoiding Plagiarism. You can print this guide and use it whenever you are writing a research paper. Below that you can find a link to other resources.
Plagiarism prevention, advice from other colleges
