Plagiarism


	What is Honest? Would you hire a lawyer you knew had cheated on the state bar exam? Would you take your child to a doctor you knew had copied his work from others while in medical school? Would you allow a friend to copy your work and claim it as his own because he was "in a jam"? Perhaps you might consider going to "wikipedia.com" selecting the text of a definition, and submitting it as your work? Sadly, most of us would answer emphatically "no" to the first two questions above, while many students would be guilty of saying 'yes" to the last two. When we do so, we steal from someone else, and then lie about it! Harsh words, but true. The commitment and discipline to act with honesty is an essential requirement of life. Acting with integrity and honesty in your college career is as important as it is within a profession, a marriage, or societal laws. The primary goal of Midlands Technical College is to help you develop your future self by helping you attain new skills and knowledge. That means exposure to others’ writings, thoughts, ideas, theories, skills, and concepts. So, if all we as faculty do is expose you to these ideas; and all you do is to restate the words of others, none of us can learn. If, on the other hand, we use and show respect for others' work; we diligently express our own considered opinion; and we grow in the process--learning takes place. It is the responsibility of all Midlands Technical College students to embrace academic integrity, not out of fear of the consequences, but out of personal self-respect. Your MTC degree means more when people respect the personal work involved in earning the degree. The community that will hire you, or accept you for higher study "trusts" that your work here has been credible. This trust leads to societal trust--and we all benefit. Plagiarism is Serious Plagiarism is a serious offense. It occurs when you copy something from the web, insert it into a report, and submit that information as your work. Or, it may occur if you give your work to someone else, they copy it and claim it as their own. It can also be an "honest mistake" made by simply quoting some words from another author, and then forgetting to give that author credit for his work, or forgetting where you found the information. While plagiarism can occur accidentally; it often happens when harried students who have not done their work on time think they can copy something from the web and turn it in. It is euphemistically called "academic dishonesty"; and in its broadest sense can include cheating on tests, using online paper mills, copy-pasting online answers, as well as other offenses. Avoiding Plagiarism Never copy from another student. Never give your work to another student. Never copy work word-for-word from any source (written or online) and claim it as your own. If you use an author's ideas, but not his exact words, you must properly cite the source using MLA form (see the course Guidelines). If you quote directly, you must properly cite the source using MLA form. Always try to use your own words. Always keep updated accurate notes of sources used. Except for the webliographies (where citations are used), all assignments in this course ask you to use your own words. Detecting Plagiarism is Easy When you copy-paste something from Wikipedia (a major online reference web site), it shows up in WebCT with a light blue background--no kidding, some students are so immature that they think copying from the web will never be detected--wrong. Do not go there. Faculty use software detection called "Turnitin", as well as search engines to guard against plagiarism, paper mills, etc. It is very easy to detect violations. So save your energy and study. Punishment for Plagiarism As the MTC Student Handbook states, "All forms of academic dishonesty including, but not limited to, cheating on tests, plagiarism, collusion, and falsification of information will call for discipline.” (66). We would prefer you avoid plagiarism because it is the right thing to do; however, if you persist, you will be caught, and the first offense results in an automatic zero for that assignment. Upon your first offense your name is also submitted to the MTC Director of Campus Life who keeps it on file and compares it to other offenses in other courses. A second offense also results in a zero as well as other penalties. A third offense can result in an "F" for the entire course and or dismissal from the college. Sources Undergraduate Studies Program, "Student Code of Conduct." Purdue University. 2007. 10 July 2007. <http://www.purdue.edu/usp/acad_policies/student_code.shtml> McCabe, Donald, and Gary Pavela, "Ten Principles of Academic Integrity." College Administration Publications, Inc. 2007. 10 July 2007. <http://www.collegepubs.com/ref/10PrinAcaInteg.shtml>