Plagiarism

You are expected to produce work that is your own, and if you borrow, you are to document your sources appropriately.  When you fail to do so, you have committed plagiarism.

Plagiarism is copying from a source and including that text within your own writing without acknowledging that you have borrowed it. Frequently, this happens accidentally (for example, you forgot to include quotation marks or you forgot the parenthetical in-text citation). Nevertheless, this is still plagiarism. Plagiarism also occurs when you borrow another's ideas and you fail to acknowledge that these ideas are not your own with a citation (and sometimes a signal phrase).

Too often, plagiarism occurs because students get sloppy or lazy when they use the internet. It is easy to cut and paste from an electronic resource directly into your paper. But when you do so, you must document that borrowing. If you are found to have plagiarized on a particular assignment, the assignment will earn an "F."  If plagiarism occurs again on another assignment, you will fail the course.  Don't let the internet's ease of use tempt you to pass off borrowed writing as yours: the consequences aren't worth it.

If plagiarized work is suspected, the burden of proof is on the student, so save your notes and rough drafts!  If plagiarism is proven, the student is subject to the "Academic Dishonesty" policy, as described in the college student handbook.  

I have included a more thorough discussion here. Please take some time to review these guidelines to be sure you understand what works and what doesn't.