Definition from UNC Because it is considered a form of cheating, the Office of the Dean of Students can punish students who plagiarize with course failure and suspension. Full information can be found on the UNC Honor System page. At UNC, plagiarism is defined as “the deliberate or reckless representation of another's words, thoughts, or ideas as one's own without attribution in connection with submission of academic work, whether graded or otherwise.” (Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, Section II.B.1.)
Plagiarism & Cheating Plagiarism is too often treated as “stealing” or as an issue of such monumental importance that opportunities to concentrate on skillful writing and thinking disappear from class or workshop time. Sean Zwagerman points out how that many institutional practices designed to “catch” cheating are often unethical and counter- productive. In turn, educators miss valuable opportunities to teach the complexity of citation. Stanley Fish argues that plagiarism is not a moral issue; it is a disciplinary issue. By that, Fish means that giving recognition, using citation formatting, and performing related acts in writing are based on professional needs, nor moral ones. To know those needs, one has to first learn them.
Plagiarism & Cheating Students “plagiarize” for many reasons other than because they are lazy or dishonest. A few of these include: In some cultures, borrowing someone else’s words and thoughts is considered a high form of flattery and “giving credit” is not a familiar concept. Many forms of popular culture, literature, the arts, journalism and other areas of expression borrow ideas and work without giving credit. “Intellectual Property” is not valued by most undergraduate students because they usually do not know what it really means. And the definition of the phrase is rarely given. Teachers take too much for granted when it comes to plagiarism fiascos. Plagiarism is often confused with incorrect citation, so the tendency is often to give too much weight to whether a particular citation style is used correctly.
Plagiarism & Cheating Make certain students know WHY they must cite: 1. To enhance the ethos of student writers by showing they have grounded their argument, by framing the points they’re making, and by demonstrating their overall “message” with solid, researched evidence. 2. To give “credit where credit is due.” 3. To perform a service; citations make it possible for readers to find the source and read further on points being made, if they desire. 4. To show the overall conversation or discussion regarding various writers speaking to the same subject. Ideas are part of larger conversations, and citations help show readers those conversations.
Plagiarism & Cheating Design assignments specific to the course that cannot be found elsewhere in reproducible form. 1. Are your assignments rehashed “topics”? 2. Are your assignments unique to your course? 3. Do they teach critical thinking or merely repeat known information? 4. Do they allow students to actually use citation as not an after thought or a rephrasing of someone else’s work, but as a way to build a piece of writing out of ideas? Citations, after all, are the writing itself, not add-ons.
6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing 1.Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning. 2.Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card. 3.Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. 4.At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase. 5.Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form. 6.Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source. Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.