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1984 Research Guide: Plagiarism

For Ms. Beal's Class

General Guide to Plagiarism

Whenever you write a paper or give a presentation in which you use words, ideas, opinions or images that are from some other source, and are not your own original creations, you must give credit to the source.

plagiarism guide

Choosing When to Give Credit

Need to Document

No Need to Document
  • When you are using or referring to somebody else's words or ideas from a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, webpage, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other medium.
  • When you use information gained through interviewing another person.
  • When you copy the exact words or a "unique phrase" from somewhere.
  • When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, or pictures.
  • When you use ideas others have given you in conversations or e-mail.
  • When you are writing your own experiences, your own observations, your own insights, your own thoughts, your own conclusions about a subject.
  • When you are using "common knowledge" -- folklore, common sense observations, shared information within your field of study or cultural group.
  • When you are compiling generally accepted facts.
  • When you are writing up your own experimental results.

WHEN IN DOUBT: CITE!

HUN PLAGIARISM POLICY

The Hun School Honor Code

The foundation of any academic institution is the expectation that work is done and students conduct themselves in an honorable and ethical fashion.  When all members of a community of scholars take honorable work and behavior seriously, there is a sense of trust and respect built among all members.  When some members of the community do not conduct themselves honorably, the mutual trust and respect begin to break down.  Therefore all members of The Hun School community are expected to live by The Hun School Honor Code.

The Hun School Honor Code Philosophy:  As a student at The Hun School of Princeton, I seek knowledge with honor.  I am committed to achieving academic excellence while demonstrating respect, kindness, integrity, and trust both in and out of school.  I understand that the success of my education is directly tied to submitting my own work, and that is the only way that I can improve. 

Honor Code Violations: Students who are accused of violating the Honor Code may be referred by the Dean of Students to the relevant Council or Committee.  In general, violations include, but are not limited to, cheating on tests or quizzes, plagiarism, theft, or lying to a School employee about a school-related matter.  More specific descriptions are listed below.

In doing homework, it is also important to avoid the problem of plagiarism.  Plagiarism is defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary Online as, “the act of copying or stealing someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own work.”  Please note that the use of another person’s ideas can also be plagiarism.  Examples (provided by Plagiarism.org) include:

  • Turning in someone else's work as your own.
  • Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving proper credit.
  • Failing to put a quotation in quotation marks.
  • Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation.
  • Changing words but copying the sentence structure and meaning of a passage without giving credit.
  • Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not.

Please note: Plagiarism can occur in any department and any class.  Students may not write expository essays in their biology class, but plagiarism is possible, and students must be careful to use their own language and ideas and to credit their sources when they do not.

Preventing Plagiarism:  The purpose of documenting sources is to give credit to the people who provided information for your paper.  Remember that each teacher may have different requirements for documentation (what and how). One of your most important jobs is to know what your teacher’s requirements are for documenting your sources.  In addition, steps to take to avoid plagiarism include:

  • Consulting with your teacher: don’t guess or assume – ask.
  • Planning your work/paper ahead of time: plagiarism often happens when students are disorganized and rushing.
  • Taking effective notes: make sure you know which language and ideas belong to another source and make note of that source.
  • Knowing how to paraphrase: don’t simply replace one or two key words in a sentence written by another.  Put the information into your own words.  Credit the source.
  • When in doubt, cite your sources.