Northwest Career and Technical Academy

Plagiarism Information

What is Plagiarism?

According to the Nevada Department of Education Code of Honor,

“Plagiarism is a common form of cheating or academic dishonesty in the school setting. It is representing another person’s works or ideas as your own without giving credit to the proper source and submitting it for any purpose”.

Examples of Plagiarism

The Code of Honor states the following examples of plagiarism, but are not limited to:

• Submitting someone else’s work, such as published sources in part or whole, as your own without giving credit to the source

• Turning in purchased papers or papers from the Internet written by someone else

• Representing another person’s artistic or scholarly works such as musical compositions, computer programs, photographs, drawings, or paintings as your own

• Helping others plagiarize by giving them your work

Plagiarismin simple terms

Copying another persons work either partly or

entirely with or without citing the

source.

Types of Plagiarism

There are numerous ways that plagiarism can occur. While some acts of plagiarism are obvious or blatant, others are not. It is important to be aware of the different types and ways plagiarism can occur in order to avoid it.

Individuals PlagiarizingScenario 1

Collaborating with others helps us learn. However, there is a fine line between peer editing, and copying one another for individual assignments.

Plagiarism NOT Plagiarism

Several students are discussing topics assigned by their teacher for an individual essay assignment. Upon discussion of the research the students found, one of the students writes their own original thesis and reads it to get feedback. Next, the student willingly shares it when asked to by the other group members. One of the group members copies it exactly while the other changes it slightly.

Several students are discussing topics assigned by their teacher for an individual essay assignment. Upon discussion of the research the students found, one of the students comes up with their own original thesis. The group members listen and offer feedback. Next, each one of the other group members shares their own original ideas for a thesis. Each student then writes and polishes their own thesis based on suggestions from the group.

Individuals PlagiarizingScenario 2

With todays digital age, and the vast amount of information available, it can be tempting to misuse information that is easily accessible and commit plagiarism.

Plagiarism NOT Plagiarism

Several students are discussing topics assigned by their teacher for an individual essay assignment. One of the students finds a great resource of a prewritten essay with references and decides to use the essay while just altering a few of the words because he is pressed for time. Another student keeps the exact same subtopics and format of the essay but plans to use different sources to support the subtopics. The last students decides to Google and cut & paste information into his essay and provide the urls in his works cited.

Several students are discussing topics assigned by their teacher for an individual essay assignment. One of the students mentions a great prewritten essay with references that he read from a database. The students then go to that database and research their topic. Later, the students discuss and share what they have learned, Next, they each create their own original outline for their assignments, based on the notes they took for evidence. They synthesize the information using their own words and include the citation information in MLA format.

Group Assignment Scenario 1

Group assignments should be followed according to your teachers instructions.

Plagiarism NOT Plagiarism

Your teacher has given the class the option to complete the next assignment in a group. A group has agreed to meet everyday after school during that week to work on the assignment. Two of the group members show up the first day of the after school session but do nothing other than text their friends. Those two students figure they will receive credit regardless, because the assignment will be graded as a group project.

Your teacher has given the class the option to complete the next assignment in a group. A group has agreed to meet everyday afterschool during that week to work on the assignment. Two of the group members show up to each after school session but do not contribute in anyway. The other members inform the two non-contributors that they will inform the teacher about their lack of teamwork. The two members apologize and get to work.

Group Assignment Example 2

Group assignments should be followed according to your teachers instructions.

Plagiarism NOT Plagiarism

A teacher has assigned a group project on a topic. The group has decided to create a Powerpoint Presentation and each group member has been designated to complete a particular part. One of the students is short on time and instead of creating their original part for the Powerpoint, the student copies a graphic from Google images and cuts & pastes information from a website and passes it off as if they created it all.

A teacher has assigned a group project on a topic. The group has decided to create a Powerpoin Presentation and each group member has been designated to complete a particular part. One of the students is short on time, but realizes that they are responsible for their portion of the assignment. The student takes the time to properly cite the graphic from Google images and writes an original paragraph citing a supportive quote from the website.

Academic DiscussionsCollaboration is an essential skill, and it is acceptable to confer with classmates and Teachers for feedback. However, when it comes to an individual assignment-ultimately, the original idea must be yours.

Plagiarism NOT Plagiarism

During lunch, you over hear another student discussing their Capstone Project with their friends. You have been struggling with your ideas and decide to use the exact same one you just overheard.

During lunch, you over hear another student discussing their Capstone Project. You have been struggling with your ideas and decide to talk to that student to bounce your ideas off and ask for advice.

Why Is This Important?

Plagiarizing prohibits you from learning. Copying only prevents you from developing the writing skills you will need to succeed in High School, College, and compete in the Work Force.

Plagiarism is a serious issue. Students have been fined and can be expelled from universities for plagiarizing. For example, a former college student in Connecticut was fined $26,000 for plagiarizing (Langan). Other universities such as UNLV, have policies in place for plagiarism that may involve expulsion.

NWCTA Repercussions

• Zero/no credit on the assignment.

• Notification of parents/guardian.

• Documentation on Discipline Record.

• Required Parent Conference

• Signing of a behavior contract to be placed in the student discipline record.

• Honor Code Probation.

• Exclusion from school activities such as dances, activities, athletics, field trips, and graduation

• Loss of college recommendation letters.

• U in Citizenship

Steps to avoid Plagiarism

First and foremost write with INTEGRITY!

Use YOUR OWN original ideas and words (paraphrase). Writing is a skill that takes practice and will develop over time.

Plan accordingly, do not wait until the last minute to work on your assignment and be tempted to “copy” information.

Know the formats for citing sources according to the citation style required by your teacher (MLA, APA)

Stay organized by documenting your source citation information during your research process.

Educate yourself, ask questions, and when in doubt, cite!

Explore the Resources listed on the next slide to learn more!

Resources to learn more

Find detailed examples of the top 10 ways plagiarism occurs at http://www.turnitin.com/assets/en_us/media/plagiarism_spectrum.php

Student Materials/Citation Styles/http://www.plagiarism.org/resources/student-materials/

Find information on how to take good notes and paraphrase athttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/619/

Below is a plagiarism tutorial from Vaughan Memorial Libraryhttp://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/

Common Writing Assignmentshttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/3/

psA’s

Click here to watch different scenarios regarding Plagiarism.

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Scenario 3

Works CitedLangan, Jeff. "Student Slapped With Plagiarism Fine.” NBC Connecticut. NBC Universal Media, 11 Mar. 2010. Web. 25 May 2015.

Northwest Career and Technical Academy. Course Expectations. Las Vegas, NV: Northwest Career and Technical Academy, 2015-16. Print.

PSA. Dir. Connor Glisson and Amy Kuo. Perf. NWCTA Students. Rachel Yates, 2015. Video.

"Student Academic Misconduct Policy." Office of Student Conduct. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2014. Web. 25 May 2015.

"Vaughan Memorial Library : Tutorials : Plagiarism." Vaughan Memorial Library : Tutorials : Plagiarism. The Governors of Acadia University, 2008. Web. 25 May 2015. Anyone is permitted to access, display, print, or use this tutorial from the following URL: http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/ for non-commercial research and educational purposes. Commercial use, however, is not permitted.

“What Is Plagiarism?” Plagiarism.org. iParadigms, 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.

"Welcome to the Purdue OWL." The Purdue OWL: Common Writing Assignments. Purdue University, 2015. Web. 25 May 2015. You are free to link to http://owl.english.purdue.edu without notifying us or asking permission. Links should be attributed to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL).