1. Orna Farrell
Orna.farrell@dbs.ie
Academic Impropriety vs. Academic Impoverishment

2. Discussion Questions
What is academic impropriety?
What is academic impoverishment?
Is academic impoverishment like plagiarism?
3. Plagiarism: sources Not Cited
"The Ghost Writer"The writer turns in another's work, word-for-word, as his or her own.
"The Photocopy"The writer copies significant portions of text straight from a single source, without alteration.
"The Potluck Paper"The writer tries to disguise plagiarism by copying from several different sources, tweaking the sentences to make them fit together while retaining most of the original phrasing.
"The Poor Disguise"Although the writer has retained the essential content of the source, he or she has altered the paper's appearance slightly by changing key words and phrases.
"The Labor of Laziness"The writer takes the time to paraphrase most of the paper from other sources and make it all fit together, instead of spending the same effort on original work.
"The Self-Stealer"The writer "borrows" generously from his or her previous work, violating policies concerning the expectation of originality adopted by most academic institutions.
4. Sources Cited (But Still Plagiarized)
"The Forgotten Footnote"The writer mentions an author's name for a source, but neglects to include specific information on the location of the material referenced. This often masks other forms of plagiarism by obscuring source locations.
"The Misinformer"The writer provides inaccurate information regarding the sources, making it impossible to find them.
"The Too-Perfect Paraphrase"The writer properly cites a source, but neglects to put in quotation marks text that has been copied word-for-word, or close to it. Although attributing the basic ideas to the source, the writer is falsely claiming original presentation and interpretation of the information.
"The Resourceful Citer"The writer properly cites all sources, paraphrasing and using quotations appropriately. The catch? The paper contains almost no original work! It is sometimes difficult to spot this form of plagiarism because it looks like any other well-researched document.
"The Perfect Crime"Well, we all know it doesn't exist. In this case, the writer properly quotes and cites sources in some places, but goes on to paraphrase other arguments from those sources without citation. This way, the writer tries to pass off the paraphrased material as his or her own analysis of the cited material.
5. How to Recognize Unacceptable and Acceptable Paraphrases
What makes this passage plagiarism?
the writer has only changed around a few words and phrases,
or changed the order of the originals sentences.
the writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts.
If you do either or both of these things, you are plagiarizing.
This paragraph is also problematic because it changes the sense of several sentences (for example, "steam-driven companies" in sentence two misses the originals emphasis on factories).
6. Plagiarism vs. Paraphrasing
Many students have trouble knowing when they are paraphrasing and when they are plagiarizing.
In an effort to make their work seem "more original" by "putting things in their own words,"
students may often inadvertently plagiarize by changing the original too much or, sometimes, not enough.
7. How to Recognize Unacceptable and Acceptable Paraphrases
Why is this passage acceptable?
This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:
accurately relays the information in the originaluses her own words.
lets her reader know the source of her information.
8. Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism
1. Put in quotations everything that comes directly from the text especially when taking notes.
2. Paraphrase, but be sure you are not just rearranging or replacing a few words.
Instead, read over what you want to paraphrase carefully; cover up the text with your hand, or close the text so you cant see any of it (and so arent tempted to use the text as a guide). Write out the idea in your own words without peeking.
3. Check your paraphrase against the original text to be sure you have not accidentally used the same phrases or words, and that the information is accurate.
9. Important terms
Common knowledge: facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a lot of people.
Example: John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960.
This is generally known information. You do not need to document this fact.
However, you must document facts that are not generally known and ideas that interpret facts.
Example: According the American Family Leave Coalitions new book, Family Issues and Congress, President Bushs relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation (6).
The idea that Bushs relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation is not a fact but an interpretation; consequently, you need to cite your source.
Quotation: using someones words. When you quote, place the passage you are using in quotation marks, and document the source according to a standard documentation style.
Paraphrase: using someones ideas, but putting them in your own words. This is probably the skill you will use most when incorporating sources into your writing. Although you use your own words to paraphrase, you must still acknowledge the source of the information.
10. References
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml#original
http://www.plagiarism.org/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/