Plagiarism and
Documentation Handbook
Updated 10-14-09
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Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….3
Style Guide………………………………………………………………………………..5
Definition of Plagiarism………………………………………………………………….15
Prevention of Plagiarism…………………………………………………………………20
Ideas for Instruction……………………………………………………………………...22
Procedures for Handling Plagiarized Papers……………………………………………..42
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INTRODUCTION
3
Introduction
This handbook was prepared to assist Ivy Tech-Bloomington faculty as they handle
issues of documentation and plagiarism. Partly in response to the Writing Across the
Curriculum movement, which emphasizes the important link between critical thinking
and writing and asserts that these skills develop over time and in multiple contexts,
faculty outside the English department are adding written assignments to their curricula
and recognizing their responsibility to offer students guidance in completing these
assignments successfully.
An additional layer of instruction is needed when these written assignments require
research. Mastering the use of sources and the analytical skills required to manipulate
researched evidence cannot be achieved in one entry-level composition course. Students
require repeated practice and opportunity to refine their abilities. Faculty on this campus
has increasingly committed themselves to providing these opportunities. Their efforts
require them to:
•
emphasize the importance of accurate and consistent documentation
•
make certain that students understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it
•
follow through by assessing written work in a wholistic way that clarifies for the
students the continued relevance of the skills they were introduced to in entrylevel composition: logical organization of ideas, use of adequate support, proper
documentation, etc.
We have designed this manual to support faculty who are engaged in this type of
wholistic instruction. We will offer the following:
•
a brief review of two of the most frequently used styles of documentation (APA
and MLA)
•
a definition of plagiarism
•
information about how to tailor assignments to reduce the risk of plagiarism
•
exercises that faculty members can adapt to their classrooms to instruct students
about documentation and plagiarism
•
information about what to do if you detect plagiarism.
4
STYLE GUIDE
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Style Guide
There are three primary documentation styles. They are:
Chicago Style
Modern Language Association Style
(MLA)
American Psychological Association Style
(APA)
Used primarily by publishing industry
Used primarily by the Humanities
Used primarily by the Social Sciences
Most of us became familiar with a specific documentation style during our undergraduate
and graduate years. Often, the styles we learned were specific to our disciplines, some
of which (especially the hard sciences) adopt hybrid styles, a mix of techniques selected
from various documentation formats and regularized over time.
Students on the Ivy Tech Bloomington campus learn about documentation on multiple
fronts, but their primary formal exposure is in English 111 (English Composition). Their
ENG 111 instructors are required to teach them either APA or MLA format. Most ENG
111 instructors opt to teach MLA format.
General guidelines for using these two formats follow. If you require additional
information, please refer to the following sources in the Ivy Tech-Bloomington library:
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition
Online support is provided at multiple websites. These include:
APA:
1. OWL at Purdue University,
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
2. APA Style,
http://www.apastyle.org
MLA:
1. OWL at Purdue University,
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
2. Williams College, MLA Style,
http://library.williams.edu/citing/styles/mla.php#intext
Students on this campus also have access online (through the library website) to
NoodleTools, software that helps students format reference or works cited pages
correctly.
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General Guidelines for APA Style and MLA Style
Both APA style and MLA style require two components:
1. Internal documentation, otherwise known as parenthetical citations. Parenthetical
citations occur inside the body of the paper and are framed by parenthesis.
2. External documentation, otherwise known as a Reference page or a Works Cited
page. This page occurs at the end of the paper and lists, in alphabetical order, all
the sources that were used.
The detailed guidelines for APA and MLA vary over time (with each new edition of the
style guides), but the most fundamental criteria remain the same; namely, both internal
and external documentation are mandatory. Without one, the documentation is
incomplete.
Internal Documentation (Parenthetical References)
Simply speaking, there are three ways to make use of information from a source.
1. You can quote it. Quoting means you use the exact words from the source, and
you put them inside quotation marks.
2. You can paraphrase it. Paraphrasing means you use an idea from a source but you
put it in your own words.
3. You can summarize it. Summarizing means that you capture (in your own words)
the main ideas of a text or a large section of text.
All of these must be documented, but how they’re documented will depend on the
documentation style you choose. MLA style and APA style require slightly different
forms of internal documentation.
MLA
Author’s last name
Page number
Making music is about asking
questions and getting answers (Zappa
247).
APA
Author’s last name
Year of publication
Page number (page number is optional
unless quoting)
Making music is about asking
questions and getting answers
(Zappa, 2003, p. 247).
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Introduce Your Sources
With both MLA style and APA style, it is advisable to introduce sources in your prose. If
the author’s last name is mentioned in the prose, then it does not need to appear in the
parenthetical citation.
MLA
APA
According to Frank Zappa, making
music is about asking questions and
getting answers (247).
According to Frank Zappa (2003),
making music is about asking questions
and getting answers (p. 247).
MLA style does not use a “p.” for
page number.
If you use the author’s last name
in your prose, APA style requires
you to place the year of
publication immediately after the
author’s last name.
A Source without an Author
If you are dealing with an article that is anonymously authored, then you cite by the first
several words of the title.
MLA
Musicians today concentrate on how
they look not how they sound (“MassMarketed” 12A).
APA
Musicians today concentrate on how
they look not how they sound (“MassMarketed,” 2004, p. 12A).
The authors of an article entitled
“Mass Marketed” indicate that
musicians today concentrate on
how they look not how they
sound (“Mass Marketed” 12A).
The authors of an article entitled
“Mass Marketed” indicate that
musicians today concentrate on
how they look not how they
sound (“Mass Marketed,” 2004,
p. 12A).
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Direct Quotes
If you offer a direct quote, your quotation mark comes immediately after the quoted
material, but the end punctuation comes after the final parentheses.
MLA
APA
According to Zappa, “In the beginning, rock ‘n’ roll was young kids singing to
other kids about their girlfriends. That’s all there was” (251).
According to Zappa (2003), “In the beginning, rock ‘n’ roll was young kids
singing to other kids about their girlfriends. That’s all there was” (p. 251).
Long Quotes
A long quote (more than 40 words or roughly four lines) should be indented five spaces
on the left in APA style and ten spaces on the left in MLA style. Both styles double
space straight through (the examples below are single spaced to save paper). You do not
need quotation marks around a long, indented quote (the indentation says “this is a
quote”). After a long quote, place the period before the parenthetical citation.
MLA
APA
Some critics claim that contemporary musicians do not have the skill of
previous generations of musicians:
The music industry is in trouble. Put Britney Spears, Eminem,
and American Idol acts against rockers from the 1960s and
1970s, and you have a chasm of talent so wide that it is simply
shocking to see how far we have fallen since the ‘60s and ‘70s
music scene. (“Mass Marketed” 12A)
Some critics claim that contemporary musicians do not have the skill of
previous generations of musicians:
The music industry is in trouble. Put Britney Spears, Eminem, and
American Idol acts against rockers from the 1960s 1970s, and you have a
chasm of talent so wide that it is simply shocking to see how far we have
fallen since the ‘60s and ‘70s music scene. (“Mass Marketed,” 2004, p.
12A)
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Electronic Sources without Page Numbers
If you use an electronic source from an online database or the World Wide Web, you may
not have page numbers. Sometimes these sources offer paragraph numbers instead. If
so, they can be used in place of page numbers. More often, no numbers are available. If
this is the case, you simply exclude page numbers from your internal documentation.
MLA
APA
The music industry changed rapidly in the mid 1950s: “We went from ‘How
Much Is That Doggie in the Window?’ to ‘(You Ain’t Nothin’ But a) Hound
Dog’ as the nation’s number one song” (Peck).
The music industry changed rapidly in the mid 1950s: “We went from ‘How
Much Is That Doggie in the Window?’ to ‘(You Ain’t Nothin’ But a) Hound
Dog’ as the nation’s number one song” (Peck, 2003).
External Documentation
APA and MLA both require an end page that lists all of the sources cited in the body of
the paper. APA calls this page the Reference page. MLA calls it the Works Cited page.
They have these traits in common:
•
Entries must be alphabetized.
•
Entries should also be reverse indented (that is, any line after the first should be
indented five spaces).
•
Entries should be double spaced straight through, with no extra space between
individual entries.
•
Where italics are used, underline is also acceptable – the goal should be
consistency (i.e., always use underline or always use italics).
•
Use only the name of the city of publication. If the city of publication is obscure
(i.e., Upper Saddle River), then add the state as well.
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Below are sample APA and MLA entries for common types of sources. MLA requires
citations to designate if they are “Print” or “Web” resources.
Book
MLA
Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 2002. Print.
APA
Marien, M. W. (2002). Photography: A cultural history. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Article in an Anthology (or an Edited Book)
MLA
Zappa, Frank. “On ‘Junk Food for the Soul’: In Defense of Rock and Roll.” Reading and
Writing Short Arguments. Ed. William Vesterman. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2003.
247-52. Print.
APA
Zappa, F. (2003). On “junk food for the soul”: In defense of rock and roll. In W.
Vesterman (Ed.), Reading and writing short arguments (pp. 247-252). Boston:
McGraw Hill.
NOTE: MLA style allows for abbreviated page numbers (if the number is 3 or more
digits). APA style requires full page numbers.
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Article in a Journal
MLA
Haller, Anne, and Judy Montgomery. “Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Children.”
Teaching Exceptional Children 36.4 (2004): 22-28. Print.
APA
Haller, A., & Montgomery, J. (2004). Noise-induced hearing loss in children. Teaching
Exceptional Children, 36(4), 22-28.
NOTE: In the above entry, 36 is the volume and 4 is the issue. MLA style italicizes only
the journal title. APA style italicizes the title and the volume. Also note that
MLA style puts all authors after the first in regular order. APA style continues to
use reverse order.
Article in a Magazine (“Magazine” can be taken to mean a periodical without
volume and issue numbers)
MLA
Epstein, Dan. “Rockin’ in the Free World.” Guitar Player August 1997: 46-52. Print.
APA
Epstein, D. (1997, August). Rockin’ in the free world. Guitar Player, 46-52.
NOTE: If the magazine is published weekly, the day of publication should also be
included.
Anonymous Article (from a Newspaper)
MLA
“Mass-Marketed, Teeny-Bopper Acts Pale Beside Old Bands.” USA Today 5 April 2004:
12A. Print.
APA
Mass-marketed, teeny bopper acts pale beside old bands. (2004, April 5). USA Today,
p. 12A.
NOTE: When the author is anonymous, both styles bump the title of the piece to the
front of the entry.
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Article from an Electronic Database
MLA
Peck, Richard. “The Rock ‘n’ Roll Conundrum.” Nursing Homes Long Term Care
Management 52.8 (2003): 4. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 14 Oct. 2009.
APA (Journal article with DOI)
Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the
survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225-229.
doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225
APA (Journal article without DOI)
Light, M. A., & Light, I. H. (2008). The geographic expansion of Mexican immigration
in the United States and its implications for local law enforcement. Law
Enforcement Executive Forum Journal, 8(1), 73-82. Retrieved from
http://web.ebscohost.com
NOTE: MLA requires the basic journal citation along with the name of the database
(e.g., MasterFILE Premier), an indication that it was retrieved via the “Web,” and
the date accessed.
APA requires the basic journal citation along with the DOI if
available. When no DOI is available, give the home page address of the journal
or database. No retrieval date is needed for APA.
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A Web Site or an Article on a Web Site
MLA
O’Toole, Kathleen. “Rock & Roll: Does It Influence Teens’ Behavior.” Stanford Report.
1997. Web. 14 April 2004 <http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/1997/
november12/teenmusic.html>.
APA
O’Toole, K. (1997). Rock & roll: Does it influence teens’ behavior. Stanford Report.
Retrieved from http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/1997/
november12/teenmusic.html
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DEFINITION OF PLAGIARISM
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Definition of Plagiarism
Many students understand that passing off someone else’s work as their own is an
offense. What they may not understand is how serious that offense is and/or that
plagiarism comes in many varieties, some more problematic than others. If instructors
want to help students avoid plagiarism, they must clarify for students that the term
plagiarism describes several different kinds of offense, some intentional, some less
intentional.
The following definition of plagiarism is a particularly helpful one. It comes from Keys
for Writers by Ann Raimes (4th edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005).
The word plagiarize is derived from a Latin verb meaning “to kidnap,”
and kidnapping or stealing someone else’s ideas and presenting them as
your own is regarded as a serious offense in Western academic culture and
public life. Any of the following are regarded as plagiarism:
•
Presenting the work of others as your own work
•
Downloading material from the Internet without acknowledgement
•
Using the ideas or words you find in a print or Web source without
acknowledging where those ideas or words come from
•
Forgetting to add a citation to ideas that are not your own
In short, plagiarizing is stealing somebody else’s words and ideas. It can
be done intentionally; it can also occur unintentionally, as a result of
sloppy research and acknowledgment.
Examples of Plagiarism
The following examples of types of plagiarism come from the University of Georgetown
website. The format of the following examples was drawn from Acknowledging the
Work of Others, which illustrates several types of common plagiarism. The passages in
boldface reflect plagiarism of the original passage followed in italics by an explanation as
to why they constitute plagiarism.
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The Original Passage
This book has been written against a background of both reckless optimism and
reckless despair. It holds that Progress and Doom are two sides of the same
medal; that both are articles of superstition, not of faith. It was written out of the
conviction that it should be possible to discover the hidden mechanics by which
all traditional elements of our political and spiritual world were dissolved into a
conglomeration where everything seems to have lost specific value, and has
become unrecognizable for human comprehension, unusable for human purpose.
Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism (New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc., 1973 ed.), p.vii, Preface to the First Edition.
Example 1
Word-for-word plagiarism
This book has been written against a background of both reckless optimism and
reckless despair. It holds that Progress and Doom are two sides of the same
medal; that both are articles of superstition, not of faith. Interestingly enough,
Arendt avoids much of the debates found in some of the less philosophical
literature about totalitarianism.
When material is taken directly from a book, article, speech, statement, remarks,
the Internet, or some other source, the writer must provide proper attribution. In
this example, no credit is given to the author.
Example II
Word-for-word without quotation marks
This book has been written against a background of both reckless optimism and
reckless despair. It holds that Progress and Doom are two sides of the same
medal; that both are articles of superstition, not of faith (Arendt vii). Interestingly
17
enough, Arendt avoids much of the debates found in some of the less
philosophical literature about totalitarianism.
When material is quoted word-for-word, a parenthetical citation alone is
insufficient. The material that represents a direct quotation must either be put
within quotation marks or indented. For example:
As Hannah Arendt explains, her book was “written against a backdrop of both
reckless optimism and reckless despair.” The book “holds that Progress and
Doom are two sides of the same medal . . . .” (vii)
Example III
The paraphrase
Hannah Arendt’s book, The Origins of Totalitarianism, was written in the light of
both excessive hope and excessive pessimism. Her thesis is that both
Advancement and Ruin are merely different sides of the same coin. Her book was
produced out of a belief that one can understand the method in which the more
conventional aspects of politics and philosophy were mixed together so that they
lose their distinctiveness and become worthless for human uses.
Even if the author’s exact language is not used, a parenthetical citation is
required for material that is paraphrased.
Example IV
The mosaic
The first edition of The Origins of Totalitarianism was written in 1950. Soon after
the Second World War, this was a time of both reckless optimism and reckless
18
despair. During this time, Dr. Arendt argues, the traditional elements of the
political and spiritual world were dissolved into a conglomeration where
everything seems to have lost specific value. In particular, the separation between
the State and Society seems to have been destroyed. In this book, she seeks to
disclose the hidden mechanics by which this transformation occurred.
Even though this example includes some original material, selected phrases of the
original are woven throughout the passage - a. reckless optimism and reckless
despair, b. traditional elements of the {our in original} political and spiritual
world were dissolved into a conglomeration where everything seems to have lost
specific value, and c. hidden mechanics. These original phrases must be placed
inside quotation marks.
Example V
The “apt phrase”
Following the Second World War, scholars from a variety of disciplines began to
explore the nature of “totalitarianism.” One of the most pressing issues for these
writers was understanding the “essence” of totalitarianism. How, for example, is a
totalitarian regime different from an authoritarian regime? Although authors
disagree on the precise answer to this question, a common thread running
throughout most of the classic works on totalitarianism deals with the relationship
between State and Society. In a totalitarian state, the traditional boundaries
between State and society are dissolved into a conglomeration so that the two
become indistinguishable.
This passage is almost entirely original, but the phrase “dissolved into a
conglomeration” is taken directly from Arendt. Even though this is a short
phrase, it must be put inside quotation marks and cited. Only phrases that have
truly become part of general usage can be used without citation.
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PREVENTION OF PLAGIARISM
20
Prevention of Plagiarism
The best way to begin a campaign against plagiarism is to structure your classroom and
your assignments in such a way that plagiarizing becomes difficult for students. The
following suggestions are adapted from the University of Alberta website:
•
Give students clearly written assignment sheets that explain your expectations in
regard to documentation (what style you wish them to use, etc).
•
Offer to help (e.g., look at drafts or outlines).
•
Stagger due dates for different parts of a paper. For example, make the
bibliography due a week before the final paper.
•
Specify what materials students can use. i.e. two Internet sources, three journal
articles, etc., or assign two or three smaller papers throughout the term rather than
a single large one.
•
Assign narrowly focused topics rather than broad general ones or ask students to
write about current events as they relate to class materials.
•
Change the paper topics each time the course is offered. This practice will prevent
students from appropriating work done by former students.
•
Tell students in advance that you will randomly check sources in the
bibliography.
•
Request that students hand in copies of their sources or a photocopied page from
the sources cited in their paper, or include an annotated bibliography as part of the
assignment, or tell students that they can only use references that have been
published within the last five years.
•
Require students to hand in notes or outlines with their paper because you are
looking for evidence of original thought or thought progression.
Additionally:
•
Require students to take the online plagiarism quiz on the library’s website and
turn in their results to you.
•
Include the statement “The instructor reserves the right to use the resources of the
College (including SafeAssign) to check student work for plagiarism." on your
syllabi.
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•
Have students submit their papers through SafeAssign (plagiarism detection
software that is part of Blackboard).
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IDEAS FOR INSTRUCTION
23
Ideas for Instruction
An instructor who defines plagiarism for students and structures classrooms and
assignments in an effort to prevent plagiarism has taken important first steps, but there
are many additional techniques that can be employed to limit the likelihood of receiving
plagiarized papers.
1. Instructors can provide students an opportunity to discuss plagiarism – what it is,
how serious it is, what the consequences are. These types of discussions are
frequently eye openers for students, many of whom may not have understood
previously that plagiarism comes in several varieties or may not have believed
that plagiarism is a serious offense.
2. Instructors can provide students with opportunities to practice the skills that lead
to correctly documented work.
3. Instructors may use a Power Point lesson about Plagiarism on the library website.
On the following pages are four exercises that accomplish these goals and may be
adapted to your individual classrooms.
•
Exercise 1: Plagiarism Attitude Scale. To motivate open discussion about
plagiarism and to assess student attitudes and understandings, consider asking
students to complete an “attitude scale.” Students frequently do not know that
poor paraphrasing can constitute plagiarism, what the consequences for
plagiarism are, and how easy it is for instructors to detect (if not to prove).
Attitude scales can generate discussions that will help to clarify some of these
issues for students.
•
Exercise 2: You Be the Judge. To facilitate a conversation about the seriousness
of plagiarism and the consequences at Ivy Tech-Bloomington, consider offering
students this ethical analysis exercise in which they assess how serious a given
case of plagiarism is and what the offenders’ penalties should be. In this exercise,
the four cases described are real. After the students have (in groups or
individually) arrived at a punishment for each case, it’s helpful to discuss why
they chose the punishments they did, what the actual punishment was (see coda),
how punishments may vary from school to school and situation to situation, and
what Ivy Tech-Bloomington will do to punish a student who plagiarizes (see
procedures section on page ).
•
Exercise 3: Identify the Plagiarized Passages (samples for MLA and APA
provided). Ask students to read the short article provided and the sample
passages from a student paper. Require students to identify which of the passages
are plagiarized and how they are plagiarized.
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•
Exercise 4: Rank the Paragraphs. To give yourself an opportunity to assess
students’ understandings of documentation and plagiarism and to give students an
opportunity to exercise their knowledge of appropriate documentation provide
them with an original source and several student paragraphs that make use of that
source. Tell the students to rank the paragraphs from best to worst, based on how
the writer has made use of (and documented) the source.
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Exercise 1: Plagiarism Attitude Scale
Please place a check mark in front of the item that best indicates your attitude/opinion on
the question raised. Answer honestly. You will not be graded for your answers. Please
do not put your name on this sheet.
1. I know what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it.
_____ Strongly Agree _____Agree _____Neutral _____Disagree
_____Strongly Disagree
2. Plagiarism is a form of theft.
_____ Strongly Agree _____Agree _____Neutral _____Disagree
_____Strongly Disagree
3. If a student copies an article from the Internet and turns it in as his/her own work,
that student should be expelled from the college.
_____ Strongly Agree _____Agree _____Neutral _____Disagree
_____Strongly Disagree
4. If a friend agrees to let me turn in his/her paper as my own, that is not as serious
an offense as copying a paper from the Internet and submitting it as my own.
_____ Strongly Agree _____Agree _____Neutral _____Disagree
_____Strongly Disagree
5. Copying passages word for word from a source (without giving credit to the
source) isn’t as bad as cheating on a test.
_____ Strongly Agree _____Agree _____Neutral _____Disagree
_____Strongly Disagree
6. It’s okay to turn in a paper I wrote for one class to an instructor in another class.
_____ Strongly Agree _____Agree _____Neutral _____Disagree
_____Strongly Disagree
7. If a friend of mine turns in one of my papers as his/her own work (with my
consent), I should not be punished since I’m not the one who plagiarized.
_____ Strongly Agree _____Agree _____Neutral _____Disagree
_____Strongly Disagree
8. I don’t need to give credit to the source as long as I put the ideas from that source
into my own words.
_____ Strongly Agree _____Agree _____Neutral _____Disagree
_____Strongly Disagree
9. Information on the Internet is free for the taking. Taking information (uncited)
from the Internet isn’t as bad as taking information (uncited) from a published
book or article.
_____ Strongly Agree _____Agree _____Neutral _____Disagree
_____Strongly Disagree
10. I believe it’s difficult for teachers to detect cases of plagiarism.
_____ Strongly Agree _____Agree _____Neutral _____Disagree
_____Strongly Disagree
This attitude scale was inspired by a similar scale in Robert A. Harris’s The Plagiarism Handbook, Pyrczak Publishing,
Los Angeles, California, 2001.
26
Exercise 2: You Be the Judge
The four paragraphs that follow describe four actual cases of plagiarism. Please decide
what the most appropriate punishment for each offender might be. After you’re finished,
be prepared to share your responses.
Case 1
Gabrielle Napolitano, a senior at Princeton, was assigned a 12-page term paper. She
copied several passages word for word from a book and did not cite her source in the
body of her paper. She did include the source in the Works Cited page.
Case 2
Anthony Lamberis, a law school student at Northwestern, was assigned a 93-page thesis
at the end of his degree program. Forty-seven pages of his thesis were verbatim (word for
word) from two sources that he did not cite.
Case 3
John Alsabati had been practicing medicine for eight years when it was discovered that
two years prior to earning his doctorate, he submitted four plagiarized articles for
publication. The plagiarism consisted of several passages lifted word for word from other
sources. The passages were uncited.
Case 4
Paul Haugh, a private high school student, bought a research paper from an internet
provider and submitted it as his own to fulfill requirements for his senior English class.
27
Exercise 2 Coda: The cases above are documented in Ronald Standler’s “Plagiarism in
Colleges in USA.” They are real cases, although (for the sake of clarification) some
minor details were added to the above descriptions. The plagiarists were punished as
follows:
Case 1
A disciplinary committee unanimously found Napolitano guilty of plagiarism and
recommended that conferral of her Bachelor’s degree be delayed by one year.
Napolitano sued and lost. During the trial it was noted (to Napolitano’s disadvantage)
that the term paper was due no later than January 13 and Napolitano did not meet with
the professor to seek approval for her topic until December 16, the last day of class
before the holiday break. This evidence worked to Napolitano’s disadvantage because it
demonstrated to the court that Napolitano had procrastinated and thus placed herself in a
stressful situation, which may have contributed to sloppy documentation.
Case 2
Lamberis was expelled from Law School and his actions were reported to the Attorney
Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
Case 3
The Board of Registration in Medicine found that Alsabti’s plagiarism revealed a “lack of
good moral character which is required to practice medicine.” His license to practice
medicine was revoked.
Case 4
Haugh was suspended from his private high school. The high school reported Haugh’s
infraction to the colleges to which he’d applied. Haugh sued the high school for libel.
The court sided with the high school and ordered Haugh to pay the high school’s $7,136
in attorney’s fees.
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Exercise 3: Identify the plagiarized passages (samples for APA and MLA provided)
Read the following short article by Dan Vergano entitled “Rico the collie borders on
brilliant, scientists say” from USA Today, June 6, 2004, page 6A.
Man's best friend might be even smarter than we thought -- at least judging by one clever
border collie, scientists say.
Researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology flipped on the
TV one day to see Rico, a 9-year-old border collie, competing on a European game show.
Impressed by the dog's apparent understanding of language, the scientists brought him in
for tests. They found that Rico has a learning ability thought to be unique to children.
Children learn perhaps 10 words a day with just one exposure, a "fast mapping" ability
responsible for the breadth of vocabularies in human language.
"The novel thing is that Rico also shows fast mapping, reasoning and memory," biologist
Julia Fischer says.
Shown a toy once, Rico learns its name and can, on command, retrieve it from a distant
room a month later with a reliability "comparable to the performance of 3-year-old toddlers,"
Fischer's team reports in today's edition of the journal Science .
The scientists asked the dog, separated from his owner, to retrieve items both familiar and
unfamiliar. "We quickly established he does know what these toys are," Fischer says.
Asked to fetch an item he had never heard of from an assortment of known toys, Rico
returned with the item in seven of 10 tests.
Trained to retrieve since the age of 10 months, Rico knows 260 words for his toys,
researchers say. They include "panda" and "tiger." Because Rico lives with a German
family, he also understands tongue-twisters such as weihnachtsmann (Santa Claus).
"We know dogs are clever, but this is the first time one has been tested with human
psychology techniques and delivered interesting results," says canine expert Claudio Sillero
of England's Oxford University, who was not on Fischer's team.
Rico's word knowledge is comparable to that of trained apes, dolphins, sea lions and
parrots. Such quickness to learn a word eludes chimpanzees, thought to be man's closest
relative.
While canine specialists consider wolves more clever than dogs, a 2002 study suggests
dogs surpass wolves and chimps in following the human gaze and understanding
commands.
Yale psychologist Paul Bloom, in a commentary accompanying the study, expressed doubt
about Fischer's suggestion that Rico truly understands the words in his vocabulary. Bloom
notes that compared with children, Rico's knowledge of words is still tiny.
The scientists agree that other dogs must be tested to see whether Rico is a canine Einstein
or merely a particularly enthusiastic fetching aficionado.
29
Working-breed dogs such as Rico can make terrible house pets, Fischer warns. "He is a
workaholic who has been bred to retrieve and respond to commands. Families would be
better off with a dog who likes to sleep around the house while they are working, instead of
tearing it apart."
(c) USA TODAY, 2004
30
APA SYTLE: Now, consider the following excerpts from a student paper analyzing
trends in human beliefs about animal intelligence. Indicate which of the excerpts are
correctly documented using APA style. If the excerpt is incorrectly documented, please
correct it.
1. Within the last twenty years, people have begun to look more seriously for signs
of animal intelligence. Take the case of Rico, for example. Rico is a border
collie that knows the names of some 260 items (mostly toys) and can fetch them
upon command (Vergano, 2004, p. 6A).
2. Tests indicated that Rico had fast mapping, reasoning and memory abilities
previously thought to be unique to children (Vergano, 2004, p. 6A).
3. Vergano writes, “Rico’s word knowledge is comparable to that of trained apes,
dolphins, sea lions and parrots.”
4. Paul Bloom, a psychologist at Yale, put the study into perspective when he noted
that Rico’s word knowledge, though perhaps impressive for a dog, is small in
comparison with that of children. (Vergano, 2004, 6A)
5. Scientists seem to agree that other dogs will need to be tested to determine
whether Rico is a canine Einstein or simply an enthusiastic fetching aficionado
(Vergano, 2004, p. 6A).
31
ANSWER KEY APA
Now, consider the following excerpts from a student paper analyzing trends in human
beliefs about animal intelligence. Indicate which of the excerpts are correctly
documented using APA style. If the excerpt is incorrectly documented, please correct it.
1.
Within the last twenty years, people have begun to look more seriously for signs
of animal intelligence. Take the case of Rico, for example. Rico is a border
collie that knows the names of some 260 items (mostly toys) and can fetch them
upon command (Vergano, 2004, p. 6A).
correct
2. Tests indicated that Rico had fast mapping, reasoning and memory abilities
previously thought to be unique to children (Vergano, 2004, p. 6A).
Portions of the above material are taken word-for-word from the original
article and must be quoted.
Tests indicated that Rico had “fast mapping, reasoning and memory” abilities
previously “thought to be unique to children” (Vergano, 2004, p. 6A).
Even with the quotation marks, this use of the material is problematic. The
original source indicated that fast mapping abilities were “thought to be
unique to children.” It did not indicate that reasoning and memory were
“thought to be unique to children.”
3. Vergano writes, “Rico’s word knowledge is comparable to that of trained apes,
dolphins, sea lions and parrots.”
The writer needs to complete the documentation. A correct version would
read:
Vergano (2004) writes, “Rico’s word knowledge is comparable to that of
trained apes, dolphins, sea lions and parrots” (6A).
4. Paul Bloom, a psychologist at Yale, put the study into perspective when he noted
that Rico’s word knowledge, though perhaps impressive for a dog, is small in
comparison with that of children. (Vergano, 2004, 6A)
This is nearly correct. The writer has simply overlooked some of the
documentation details. A corrected version would place the period after the
final parenthesis and put a “p.” in front of the page number:
32
Paul Bloom, a psychologist at Yale, put the study into perspective when he
noted that Rico’s word knowledge, though perhaps impressive for a dog, is
small in comparison with that of children (Vergano, 2004, p. 6A).
5. Scientists seem to agree that other dogs will need to be tested to determine
whether Rico is a canine Einstein or simply an enthusiastic fetching aficionado
(Vergano, 2004, p. 6A).
This passage has not been successfully paraphrased. The italicized sections
have been taken word-for-word from the original source.
Scientists seem to agree that other dogs will need to be tested to determine
whether Rico is a canine Einstein or simply an enthusiastic fetching aficionado
(Vergano, 2004, p. 6A).
33
MLA SYTLE: Now, consider the following excerpts from a student paper analyzing
trends in human beliefs about animal intelligence. Indicate which of the excerpts are
correctly documented using MLA style. If the excerpt is incorrectly documented, please
correct it.
1. Within the last twenty years, people have begun to look more seriously for signs
of animal intelligence. Take the case of Rico, for example. Rico is a border
collie that knows the names of some 260 items (mostly toys) and can fetch them
upon command (Vergano 6A).
2. Tests indicated that Rico had fast mapping, reasoning and memory abilities
previously thought to be unique to children (Vergano 6A).
3. Vergano writes, “Rico’s word knowledge is comparable to that of trained apes,
dolphins, sea lions and parrots.”
4. Paul Bloom, a psychologist at Yale, put the study into perspective when he noted
that Rico’s word knowledge, though perhaps impressive for a dog, is small in
comparison with that of children. (Vergano 6A)
5. Scientists seem to agree that other dogs will need to be tested to determine
whether Rico is a canine Einstein or simply an enthusiastic fetching aficionado
(Vergano 6A).
34
ANSWER KEY MLA
Now, consider the following excerpts from a student paper analyzing trends in human
beliefs about animal intelligence. Indicate which of the excerpts are correctly
documented using MLA style. If the excerpt is incorrectly documented, please correct it.
1.
Within the last twenty years, people have begun to look more seriously for signs
of animal intelligence. Take the case of Rico, for example. Rico is a border
collie that knows the names of some 260 items (mostly toys) and can fetch them
upon command (Vergano 6A).
correct
2. Tests indicated that Rico had fast mapping, reasoning and memory abilities
previously thought to be unique to children (Vergano 6A).
Portions of the above material are taken word-for-word from the original
article and must be quoted.
Tests indicated that Rico had “fast mapping, reasoning and memory” abilities
previously “thought to be unique to children” (Vergano 6A).
Even with the quotation marks, this use of the material is problematic. The
original source indicated that fast mapping abilities were “thought to be
unique to children.” It did not indicate that reasoning and memory were
“thought to be unique to children.”
3. Vergano writes, “Rico’s word knowledge is comparable to that of trained apes,
dolphins, sea lions and parrots.”
The writer needs to complete the documentation. A correct version would
read:
Vergano writes, “Rico’s word knowledge is comparable to that of trained apes,
dolphins, sea lions and parrots”(6A).
4. Paul Bloom, a psychologist at Yale, put the study into perspective when he noted
that Rico’s word knowledge, though perhaps impressive for a dog, is small in
comparison with that of children. (Vergano 6A)
This is nearly correct. The writer has simply overlooked a documentation
detail. A corrected version would place the period after the final
parenthesis:
35
Paul Bloom, a psychologist at Yale, put the study into perspective when he
noted that Rico’s word knowledge, though perhaps impressive for a dog, is
small in comparison with that of children (Vergano 6A).
5. Scientists seem to agree that other dogs will need to be tested to determine
whether Rico is a canine Einstein or simply an enthusiastic fetching aficionado
(Vergano 6A).
This passage has not been successfully paraphrased. The italicized sections
have been taken word-for-word from the original source.
Scientists seem to agree that other dogs will need to be tested to determine
whether Rico is a canine Einstein or simply an enthusiastic fetching aficionado
(Vergano 6A).
36
Exercise 4: Rank the Paragraphs (MLA Format)
To give yourself an opportunity to assess students’ understandings of documentation and
plagiarism and to give students an opportunity to exercise their knowledge of appropriate
documentation and use of sources provide them with an original source and several
student paragraphs that make use of that source. Tell the students to rank the paragraphs
from best to worst, based on how the writer has made use of (and documented) the
source.
Original Source
Pentagon studies consistently have revealed that only about 10 percent of the women in
the armed services would choose combat if they could. Studies at the military academies
have found that women are far less likely to be interested in war-fighting courses such as
strategy and tactics than their male counterparts. And more surveys than you can name
have shown that women lag behind men in upper-body strength, size and weight. Many
women are not strong enough to carry a fallen comrade over their shoulders. Some
cannot throw a grenade far enough to be safe from its explosion. Many become pregnant
while in the service, eroding readiness. (From “Why Does the United States Put Its
Mothers Into Combat.” Published in Insight on the News, 4/29/2003, Vol. 19, Issue 10,
page 50. Author: Mona Charen.)
Student Passage A
There are multiple reasons why women should not be placed into combat positions.
According to Mona Charen, one of the main reasons is that they may become pregnant
while serving in the military and this would erode the readiness of their units (50).
Student Passage B
Though women are currently serving successfully in the Iraq war, critics of
women in combat remain vocal. Mona Charen, a syndicated columnist and author of the
best-selling book Useful Idiots points out that women soldiers may not have the
necessary strength to serve effectively in combat. She writes that some of them could not
“throw a grenade far enough to be safe from its explosion” or “carry a fallen comrade”
off the battle field (50).
What Charen fails to consider is that opportunities to carry a fallen comrade
single-handedly rarely arise on the battlefield. In most cases…
37
Student Passage C
Women shouldn’t be in combat because they aren’t as strong as men and they are less
interested in violence. During military training they are less likely to take combat related
courses. Also, they may become pregnant, which is problematic. (Charen).
Student Passage D
Studies at military academies have found that women are far less likely to be interested in
war-fighting courses such as strategy and tactics than their male counterparts. And more
surveys than you can name have shown that women lag behind men in upper-body
strength (Charen, 50).
38
Exercise 4: Rank the Paragraphs (APA Format)
To give yourself an opportunity to assess students’ understandings of documentation and
plagiarism and to give students an opportunity to exercise their knowledge of appropriate
documentation and use of sources provide them with an original source and several
student paragraphs that make use of that source. Tell the students to rank the paragraphs
from best to worst, based on how the writer has made use of (and documented) the
source.
Original Source
Pentagon studies consistently have revealed that only about 10 percent of the women in
the armed services would choose combat if they could. Studies at the military academies
have found that women are far less likely to be interested in war-fighting courses such as
strategy and tactics than their male counterparts. And more surveys than you can name
have shown that women lag behind men in upper-body strength, size and weight. Many
women are not strong enough to carry a fallen comrade over their shoulders. Some
cannot throw a grenade far enough to be safe from its explosion. Many become pregnant
while in the service, eroding readiness. (From “Why Does the United States Put Its
Mothers Into Combat.” Published in Insight on the News, 4/29/2003, Vol. 19, Issue 10,
page 50. Author: Mona Charen.)
Student Passage A
There are multiple reasons why women should not be placed into combat positions.
According to Mona Charen (2003), one of the main reasons is that they may become
pregnant while serving in the military and this would erode the readiness of their units
(p. 50).
Student Passage B
Though women are currently serving successfully in the Iraq war, critics of
women in combat remain vocal. Mona Charen (2003), a syndicated columnist and author
of the best-selling book Useful Idiots points out that women soldiers may not have the
necessary strength to serve effectively in combat. She writes that some of them could not
“throw a grenade far enough to be safe from its explosion” or “carry a fallen comrade”
off the battle field (p. 50).
What Charen fails to consider is that opportunities to carry a fallen comrade
single-handedly rarely arise on the battlefield. In most cases…
39
Student Passage C
Women shouldn’t be in combat because they aren’t as strong as men and they are less
interested in violence. During military training they are less likely to take combat related
courses. Also, they may become pregnant, which is problematic. (Charen).
Student Passage D
Studies at military academies have found that women are far less likely to be interested in
war-fighting courses such as strategy and tactics than their male counterparts. And more
surveys than you can name have shown that women lag behind men in upper-body
strength (Charen, 2003, p. 50).
40
Exercise 4: Answer Key (for MLA format, but also applicable to APA)
The most easily defensible rating is as follow (from best to worst):
•
•
•
•
Student Passage B
Student Passage A
Student Passage C
Student Passage D
Student Passage B
Though women are currently serving successfully in the Iraq war, critics of
women in combat remain vocal. Mona Charen, a syndicated columnist and author of the
best-selling book Useful Idiots points out that women soldiers may not have the
necessary strength to serve effectively in combat. She writes that some of them could not
“throw a grenade far enough to be safe from its explosion” or “carry a fallen comrade”
off the battle field (50).
What Charen fails to consider is that opportunities to carry a fallen comrade
single-handedly rarely arise on the battlefield. In most cases…
•
Student successfully quotes and paraphrases.
•
Documentation is correct.
•
Student introduces the source in her prose and indicates the
author’s credentials.
•
Student is clearly engaged in a dialogue with the source and
plans to analyze and interpret Charen’s statements.
Student Passage A
There are multiple reasons why women should not be placed into combat positions.
According to Mona Charen, one of the main reasons is that they may become pregnant
while serving in the military and this would erode the readiness of their units (50).
•
The student wisely chooses to introduce the source in her prose but doesn’t
provide Charen’s credentials.
•
The student misrepresents the source: Charen does not indicate that pregnancy is
a MAIN reason for excluding women from combat positions.
•
In the italicized sections above, the student has adopted some of Charen’s
wording and structure. The student must either paraphrase more fully or adopt
41
Charen’s exact words and put the material in quotation marks. The student has,
however, correctly used the parenthetical citation.
Student Passage C
Women shouldn’t be in combat because they aren’t as strong as men and they are less
interested in violence. During military training they are less likely to take combat related
courses. Also, they may become pregnant, which is problematic. (Charen).
•
Student pulls together information from the source without any effort to
contextualize the information or integrate it into her own train of thought or
argument.
•
Internal documentation is incomplete.
Student Passage D
Studies at military academies have found that women are far less likely to be interested in
war-fighting courses such as strategy and tactics than their male counterparts. And more
surveys than you can name have shown that women lag behind men in upper-body
strength (Charen, 50).
•
•
Student borrows wording directly from the sources and does not use quotation
marks.
No evidence of student engagement with the ideas.
42
Procedures to Follow When
Plagiarism Is Detected
43
Procedures to Follow When Plagiarism Is Detected
1) If you suspect plagiarism, meet with your program or division chair.
2) Together you will decide how to proceed-a) If it is deemed to be poor understanding of documentation, etc. on the student’s
part, then it can be handled by the instructor. Instructor should talk with student
about documentation and the seriousness of plagiarism. Possible resolutions –
allow a re-write, grade down a letter, etc. Issues of this sort do not require
involvement of the dean.
b) If it is deemed to be plagiarism, the chair and the instructor will set up a meeting
with the student. The meeting itself will be conducted by the instructor with the
chair there to act as a third party and note taker. The actual resolution will come
from the dean’s office. No grade for the course or the paper will be assigned until
the dean has made his or her decision, taking into account the instructor's
recommendation and any prior incidents, if applicable. If it is the end of the
semester, the instructor should assign the student an incomplete for the course,
pending the dean’s decision.
3) The meeting with the student-a) The instructor informs the student of the infraction and presents evidence.
b) The student should be given the opportunity to respond.
c) The instructor or the program chair should explain the procedure to student (case
will be sent to Academic Affairs dean who will make a decision and send the
student a letter; no grade until dean makes decision). Explain that incident will be
kept on file with the penalty becoming more severe should further incidents
occur.
d) Have the student sign the Academic Integrity Report Form acknowledging the
meeting. The student may add comments.
e) The instructor and the chair will prepare the report and make a recommendation.
Send report (it may be typed up and attached to the signed Academic Integrity
Report Form), recommendation, and related documents to Assistant Dean of
Academic Affairs.
f) Be sure to keep a set of copies of everything you are sending.
4) If it is the end of the semester and the student and/or the instructor are no longer on
campus, then the required meeting may need to take place via the telephone or via
email. The chair may have to conduct the meeting (with a third party if at all
possible) if the faculty member is not available.
Please note that it is a faculty responsibility to address suspected cases of plagiarism.
Making an effort to pursue, document, and report cases of plagiarism will, in the long
run, help to create a climate in which students recognize the value faculty members place
on academic integrity.
44