BBCHS English Department

Plagiarism

Plagiarism means copying from another’s work and passing it off as your own.  It is addressed in the BBCHS student handbook under the heading “Academic Dishonesty.”  Turning in a term paper that has been plagiarized can have serious consequences.

A paper may be plagiarized in the following ways:

Plagiarism may be purposeful or accidental.  To avoid accidents, be sure that you create a bibliography card for every source and use that information in your “Works Cited.”  Do not try to take shortcuts by copying and pasting information from the internet into your word processor.  It is too easy to forget where that information came from.  Also, when taking notes, be sure that you put quotation marks around every section that you copy word-for-word.  Unless you wish to use a specific quotation for its notable language, try to summarize and paraphrase information on your notecards rather than copying information word-for-word.

By this point in the school year, teachers are familiar with both your writing and speaking style.  Portions of your term paper that are written with a vastly different style alert teachers to the possibility of plagiarism.  Proving that a paper has been plagiarized is not as difficult as you may think.  The technology that brought you to a source in a matter of seconds will also lead your teacher to that same source in just a matter of seconds.
 

 Example of Plagiarized Work

Original Source
Psychologists study the human mind and human behavior. Research psychologists investigate the physical, cognitive, emotional, or social aspects of human behavior. Psychologists in applied fields provide mental health care in hospitals, clinics, schools, or private settings.

Like other social scientists, psychologists formulate hypotheses and collect data to test their validity. Research methods vary depending on the topic under study. Psychologists sometimes gather information through controlled laboratory experiments or by administering personality, performance, aptitude, and intelligence tests. Other methods include observation, interviews, questionnaires, clinical studies, and surveys.

Psychologists apply their knowledge to a wide range of endeavors, including health and human services, management, education, law, and sports. In addition to a variety of work settings, psychologists usually specialize in one of a number of different areas.

Plagiarized version
Like other social scientists, psychologists formulate hypotheses and collect data to test their validity. Research methods vary depending on the topic under study. Psychologists sometimes gather information through controlled laboratory experiments or by administering personality, performance, aptitude, and intelligence tests. Other methods include observation, interviews, questionnaires, clinical studies, and surveys.

Correctly paraphrased
 

For more information, and to test whether or not you should document particular information, go to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab at

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html