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Psychology (Kotecki)

What is Plagiarism?

"Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting the ownership of an idea. In school, it usually means passing off someone else's ideas as your own in a research paper or other academic work. Plagiarism is wrong, dishonest, and can lead to serious negative consequences in any school or professional setting. One way to avoid plagiarism is to properly cite your sources – a key academic skill."

- Electronic Frontier Foundation

How to Avoid Plagiarism

Give credit whenever you:

blue check mark with circle Use another person's ideas, opinions, observations, etc...

blue check mark with circle Use direct quotes of another person's spoken or written words
blue check mark with circle Paraphrase another person's spoken or written words
blue check mark with circle Use any facts, statistics, graphs, or any other pieces of information that are not common knowledge

Paraphrasing is used quite a bit when doing research papers. Check out MPC's Reading & Writing Center's handout on paraphrasing. 

MPC's Policy on Plagiarism

From MPC's College Catalog

Academic honesty is a cornerstone of the educational community; therefore, students are expected to understand the standards of academic honesty as they pertain to students' behavior in the classroom.

PLAGIARISM: It is important for students to acknowledge sources that are used for completing classroom assignments. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty.

Plagiarism may be any one of the following:

  1. Verbatim copying without proper documentation of the source(s).
  2. Paraphrasing without proper documentation of the source(s).
  3. Unacknowledged appropriation of information or ideas from someone else.

If students have any questions about these forms of plagiarism or about an assignment they are preparing, they should ask their instructor for clarification rather than risk unintentional plagiarism.

CONSEQUENCES: The disciplinary action for cheating or plagiarism is up to the discretion of the instructor. The instructor may select one or more of the following options:

  1. Issue an oral or written notification and warn the student that further acts of this sort will result in additional disciplinary action.
  2. Issue an "NP" or a failing grade ("F") or "0" for the assignment in question.
  3. Refer the student to the Vice President of Student Services for disciplinary action.

In Conclusion

So when in doubt always cite your sources and ask for help from your instructor or librarian if you have any questions. 

How do you cite your source? In APA Style! Find out how here!