LibGuides: Environmental Systems & Societies: Academic Integrity

Plagiarism Quick Quiz

Avoiding Plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism

FIVE TIPS FOR AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
1	First, use your own ideas. It should be your paper and your ideas that should be the focus.
2	Use the ideas of others sparingly--only to support or reinforce your own argument.
3	When taking notes, include complete citation information for each item you use.
4	Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's words.
5	A good strategy is to take 30 minutes and write a short draft of your paper without using any notes. It will help you think through what you want to say and not be too dependent on your sources.

Quick Examples!

See how you do!

From the U. of Idaho, CORE, Module 6

IB Ethical Practice

Directly quoting another person’s actual words, whether oral or written;
Using another person’s ideas, opinions, or theories;
Paraphrasing the words, ideas, opinions, or theories of others, whether oral or written;
Borrowing facts, statistics, or illustrative material; or
Offering materials assembled or collected by others in the form of projects or collections without acknowledgment.

IB Referencing and citing
Advice from the IB explaining how to accurately reference and cite your sources.

Concordian International School Academic Honesty Policy

Academic Integrity & Plagiarism

Student Success: Avoiding Plagiarism
Great information from U of Southern Mississippi

Why to Cite:

Give credit to the authors of the sources you used.
Provide evidence you did research -- good, credible sources give your work more authority.
Allows your reader to locate the sources you used.
Avoid plagiarism.

When to Cite:

You should cite a source if you reproduce, quote, paraphrase, or summarize ideas and/or media created by other individuals.

When in doubt, cite!

Plagiarism Has Consequences

Plagiarism may not seem like a big deal, but there can be some severe and/or long-lasting effects:

Failing grade (assignment and/or course)
Note on transcript for academic dishonesty
Loss of financial aid
Academic probation or expulsion
Limited career opportunities (can become a barrier to getting a job or can cause loss of employment)

Types of Plagiarism

There are many different ways to plagiarize, including self-plagiarism.

North Virginia Community College Library

How to Recognize Plagiarism
Specific examples on how to recognize and avoid plagiarism and a quiz. Indiana University, Bloomington, School of Education NOTE: The citation style they are using is APA, not MLA, but the examples are relevant!

Acceptable Use or Plagiarism? Quiz #1
U of Mississippi
Acceptable Use or Plagiarism? Quiz #2
U of Mississippi
How to Recognize Plagiarism: Tutorials and Tests
Indiana University

Creative Commons

Take advantage of Creative Commons licensing:

Many of you create innovative photography, artwork, music, and writing. You also want to put it out there and share it with the world, but you also want to keep your ownership of it. Well, there are ways to keep control over your work while at the same time sharing it.

Creative Commons may be the perfect place to put your work out there to be shared, credited, and remixed by like-minded folks. Read on...

"What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.

Our free, easy-to-use copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use your creative work — on conditions of your choice. CC licenses let you easily change your copyright terms from the default of 'all rights reserved' to 'some rights reserved.'

Creative Commons licenses are not an alternative to copyright. They work alongside copyright and enable you to modify your copyright terms to best suit your needs."

So, if you have an interest in licensing your own work, this may be the tool for you.

Watch this video to get a better sense of how CC works.