PELHAM HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER

The mission of Pelham High School is to educate students so that they may pursue life goals, 
participate fully as active citizens, and become socially responsible community members.

PLAGIARISM FACTS YOU MUST KNOW

1. It is illegal to copy someone else's ideas. Period.

2. If you plagiarize, you will face consequences.

3. It's easy to avoid plagiarism, by citing your sources.

What is plagiarism?

The Pelham High School English Department defines plagiarism as:  (1) failure to cite quotations and borrowed ideas; (2) failure to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks; and (3) failure to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words (PHS English Department 1).

For the complete PHS statement on Plagiarism, click here.

For examples of plagiarism, click here.

Why is this important?

For a detailed explanation of copyright law, click here.

Taking someone's words and thoughts is the same thing as taking their physical belongings.  Their intellectual property is protected by law, just as yours is! Do you want someone taking credit for your ideas?  No way. So, don't take theirs. You could be sued for copyright infringement, disciplined at PHS, evicted from college, fired from your job, etc.

Then, of course, there is karma.  If you rip someone off, you can be sure that someone will rip you off someday.  Why set yourself up?  If you decide the universe won't catch up with you (it's not nice to mess with the universe), PHS will.  Here's how:

If your teacher suspects plagiarism:

1.  Your paper will be run through the Essay Verification Engine, EVE2, to see if the language in your paper matches the text on thousands of websites.

2.  The media specialist will review websites and print materials for matches.

3.  Your  teacher will ask you if you have plagiarized.

4.  If evidence exists that you have plagiarized, you will be referred to the Assistant Principal.  Consequences can include in school and out of school suspension, and no credit or diminished credit for your work. Plagiarism is considered theft, lying, and cheating.

5. Remember that turning in a paper for one class that you have already turned in for another class is not acceptable.

How do I avoid plagiarizing?

1. Start your paper early. Don't cram the night before it is due, and then start surfing the web for ideas.

2. Use a good note taking system.  Using either the MLA card system, or the Cornell Note taking system will help you.  Always use quotation marks when writing down a direct quote.  Summarize what the author said in your own words, by reading, writing keywords, and then writing a summary without looking at your notes.  Make sure you understand the author's ideas, so that you aren't tempted to copy them word for word. Don't be a parrot. On each card or page, cite your source so you can find it easily.

3.  Keep your notes, so that you can show the teacher your sources and your efforts.

4.  Don't write sentence by sentence.  Make yourself an outline of what you want to write about, write about it, then go back and review your notes to see if you missed anything you wanted to cover.  Writing papers is not like playing scrabble- rearranging the words in the sentence is STILL PLAGIARISM.  Changing a few of the words with the help of a thesaurus is STILL PLAGIARISM.

5.  Make sure your paper contains your original thinking, not just canned words.  Give your brain a workout!

6.  Cite all your sources. This means all graphics, too- from anywhere on the net or in print.  Don't forget to cite your graphics in your powerpoint presentations.  It's so much easier to cite your source (Smith 57), then to forget to and pay later.  For more information on how to cite sources, see your handbook, 
or click here.

7.  Ask your teacher or media specialist for help if you have any questions.

Resources:

Benander, R.E.  "Standard Essay Outline Format."  Preparatory Reading and Writing.  Raymond Walters College English Department.  
    02 Mar. 2006. <"The Cornell Note Taking System."  Cornell University.  02 Mar. 2006.>

"The Cornell Note Taking System."  Cornell University.  02 Mar. 2006
    <http://www.clt.cornell.edu/campus/learn/LSC%20Resources/cornellsystem.pdf>.

"Microsoft Office Online Clip Art and Media."   Microsoft Corporation.  02 Mar. 2006 
    <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us&cag=1>.

"Modern Language Association Citation Guidelines."  The Ohio State University Libraries.  02 Mar. 2006
    <http://library.osu.edu/sites/guides/mlagd.html>

"PHS English Department Statement on Plagiarism." Pelham High School English Department. 02 Mar. 2006
    <http://www.pelhamweb.org/phslibrary/pages/library/PHS%20plagiarism.htm>

For more information on plagiarism, please see The Open Directory Project:

Elizabeth Strauss, Media Generalist
Pelham High School Library Media Center
bstrauss@pelhamsd.org