PLAGIARISM
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism
means presenting the words, phrases, ideas or work of another, including
certain facts and statistics, as if they were your own. To avoid plagiarizing,
you must clearly acknowledge the source of any borrowed language or ideas that
you present in your own work.
Student
Misconceptions about Plagiarism and the Internet:
Some students view all information
on the Internet as equal to common knowledge simply because it is free,
publicly shared, widely available, and indeed, quite "common."
Nevertheless, the language, ideas, and work in electronic sources, even those
without an identifiable author, must be cited.
Consequences:
If you are found to have
plagiarized, there are serious consequences.
Let's start with what could happen
after just one incidence.
Your instructor may:
·
Refuse to accept the work for credit.
·
Assign a grade of "F" for
the course in which the cheating or plagiarism took place.
·
Reject the thesis, assignment, dissertation
or work where the plagiarism occurred.
·
Issue a dismissal, suspension, and
academic probation
How
to avoid plagiarism?
It is not difficult to avoid plagiarism. Some of the
examples above have already shown how plagiarism can be avoided.. Focus
on the difference between different authors on the same topic, and try to
evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their arguments. Avoid doing your
research and writing at the last minute. For a good piece of research work, the
time for writing up (and re-writing) may be as long as, if not longer, than the
time for research. We may follow the rules how to avoid plagiarism
Ø
Keep
accurate notes when doing research.
Ø
Learn to
paraphrase without borrowing the language or structure used in an original
source.
Ø
Visit
your instructor during office hours and ask questions in class to clarify
course requirements or instructions for assignments.
Ø
The best
approach is of course not to copy at all.
Ø
Try to summarize, digest and then explain what
you have read in your own words.
