Any facts or published opinions that are not specifically and properly cited can be considered to be plagiarism.  This includes students who “forget” to provide references to the published works from which their ideas may have originated.

When students plagiarize they do not possess the knowledge or understanding that they claim to have (and for which they plan to receive credit).
 

§   KSU ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICIES

II. Academic Honesty: “[…] Any student found guilty of an infraction of a regulation for academic honesty shall be suspended for at least one semester […]” (237).  II.A. Plagiarism and Cheating: “No student shall receive, attempt to receive, knowingly give or attempt to give unauthorized assistance in the preparation of any work required to be submitted for credit as part of a course […].  When direct quotations are used, they should be indicated, and when the ideas, theories, data, figures, graphs, programs, electronic based information or illustrations of someone other than the student are incorporated into a paper or used in a project, they should be duly acknowledged” (237-238).  II.C. Misrepresentation, Falsification of University Records or Academic Work: “No student shall knowingly provide false information […] in any work submitted for credit as part of a course” (238).  ______________________________________________________________  NOTE: Page numbers refer to KSU’s 2004-2005 Undergraduate Catalog.

 

ONLINE SUPPORT

Michael Harvey’s website, The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing, provides the following definition:   “The Random House dictionary defines plagiarism as ‘the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work.’  Imitation or borrowing by themselves are not plagiarism.  Drawing on other people's ideas is perfectly reasonable and in fact unavoidable when you write academic essays — but you must acknowledge the borrowing.”  http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/plagiarism.html

 

PLAGIARISM = FAILURE

Giving credit to other people’s genius is the best reflection on you, for it demonstrates your scholarship, knowledge, and influences.  Using outside sources to develop ideas about a topic shows that the writer understands what experts in the field have written.  You must, however, give credit to the sources of your inspiration.  If you use any texts or websites that have inspired your answers, please cite them directly, preferable with parenthetical documentation and an attached Works Cited Page.    Any student caught cheating or plagiarizing will automatically FAIL this course AND your infraction will be forwarded to the Office of the Judiciary for placement in your academic file.  ______________________________________________________________  NOTE: Any students found to have copied another student’s work will be treated as plagiarists, and BOTH students involved will face the possibility of expulsion from this class.