Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Nov. 1, 2001, edition 1 / Page 12
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Page 12 Focus Nov. 1, 2001 Focus Section Topic of the Week: Plag^rism What is plagiarism, how and why does it happen and ways to prevent it from occurring Exact definition of plagiarism difficult for many students Jennie Carman Reporter What is plagiarism? Well that all depends on whom you ask, English professor Iris Chapman defines it as “taking any type of in formation, print or not-print and using it as if it is your own without citing it.” Freshman Rob ert Crouch defines it as “when you straight up copy information and say it’s your own.” Elon University student handbook, which can be found online, defines it as “presenting the woric or ideas of another person as one’s own,. .without proper acknowledgment of the source.” There are several gray areas when it comes to plagiarism. Examples include how to cite para phrases, what ccmstitutes common knowledge and where group woik aids and individual work starts. Contrary to popular belief, picking out pieces of information from works of writing and changing a few words is plagiarism, As sistant Vice President of Academic Affairs,. Mary Wise, said. Paraphrasing is not simply changing a few words; it is taking the author’s idea and rewriting it in your own words. Even though paraphrases are not direct quotes, they still require suitable citation, or it will appear as if you are trying to pass off the author’s ideas as your own. Wise says a good rule to use is that if the information “is common knowledge, then it is safe to use,” She gives the example that every one knows who the first president of the United States was, so it is safe to use. However, it is not common knowledge what the current popu lation of the United States is, so that would need to be cited. If the information comes in the form of numbers, figures or unusual facts, it should be properly cited. The issues of where group work ends and individual work starts is a very tricky area. Make sure it is clear which ideas came from which group members and where they got them from. No matter how you define plagiarism, it is a major problem on college campuses across the nation. Penalties can be severe, ranging from failing the assignment to permanent removal fn)m the class. College students should be ex tremely interested in what can be done to protect themselves fiom committing plagiarism. A student’s first defense against plagiarism comes from an unexpected source-their pro fessors. Wise says it is vital for professors to inform their classes about the honor code by including it in their class syllabus and by de fining plagiarism and its penalties. Chapman does several things to help her students protect themselves. Besides teaching her students proper documentation, she stresses that students use authoritative sources. She en courages her classes to incorporate ethos, or the use of authority and creditability, in their writing. Chapman says there are two things students can do to protect themselves against plagia rism, The first is when researching, “never take notes in sentences,” and the second is to “show [the] drafting process” so professors can see where ideas originated. ■■■I r r r rr ^i ^ v fq ' I ^ ' V : ^ > J ^ i Amy Cowen/Asst. Photo Editor Some students do not know how to cite sources correctly. This often ieads cases ofaccidentaipiagiarism. Ten Ways to Avoid Academic Honor Code Violations 1) Read tfie syllabus for each class and ask ques tions to understand assignments. 2) Start your work early, and connplete assign ments on time. 3) Ask your instructors for input and feedback on your drafts. 4) Be familiar with with style manuals used in your courses. 5) Take notes carefully, and. record sources as your do your research. Indicate whether notes are paraphrases or direct quotes. 6) Schedule a session in the Writing Center on the first floor of Belk Library. 7) Arrange for tutoring in subjects that are diffi cult for you. TutoringJs k)cated on the first floor of Belk Library. 8) Do not share work or work closely together with another student unless doing so is pre-ap- proved by the instructor. 9) Oo not use assignments for muttipte classes or re-use previous assignments unless pre-ap- proved by the instructor(s). 10) If it feels questionable, ask your instructor for guidance before you act. - the E^n University Academic Honor Code booklet Honor code encourages mutual respect among students Katie Bonebrake Focus Editor The Elon University honor code is a dominating force on campus. It is the one thing that can be seen in every classroom. However, the honor code consists of more than what can be seen on the white foam board that is so prevalent. Until two years ago all incoming students were given a copy of the student handbook, which contained the honor code. “Now it’s on the Web so it’s even more acces sible,” Mary Wise, asstant vice presi dent of academic affairs, said. The honor code can be found at www.elon.edu/students/handbook/. Faculty and Elon 101 instructors en courage their students to locate and read the honor code Online, Wise said. According to Wise, most reported cases of plagiarism at Elon come from one of three sources. The first arises when a student has not had adequate training in citation and in correctly cites a source or fails to cite a source. The second occurs when a student waits to the last minute to write a paper and cuts and pastes information off the Internet into his or her own paper. The third, and least com mon, case occurs when a student downloads or purchases an entire paper off of the Intemet. These three types of violations are treated in the same manner. All violations of the honor code are reported by the completion of an incident report in the academic affairs office. Those filing the reports go directly to Wise, rather than confronting the student first. All those that suspect a violation are required by the faculty handbook to report the offense. “Elon faculty members want to have a good relationship with their students. Most experience this situation with great frus tration,” Wise said. She says that this system gives the student a voice and an opportunity to defend themselves. After the report has been filed Wise contacts the accused student. The student can make one of two possible choices- the first denying responsibly and the second accepting responsibility for the accused act. If the student denies responsibility for the viola tion, the case will go to a hearing board. The hearing board consists of three students, one faculty member and one staff member. The accused student is allowed to make an open ing statement and bring witnesses and an ad visor, Wise said. If the board finds the student to be responsible for the violation they will as sign an appropriate sanction. If the student initially accepts responsibil ity for the violation, the case will either go to a hearing board or an administrative hearing. If the student chooses the administrative hearing. Wise will give the appropriate sanctions. Stu dents are given the opportunity to appeal the outcome of the board if they meet preset quali fications, Wise said. If the student does not know how to cor rectly cite information, he or she may be as signed to the writing center to be educated as part of their sanction. Wise said. “You need to be able to correctly credit your source when you leave here,” she said. Some institutions do not have an honor code. “When there is not an fionor code, [the system] is more about policing and finding out what they did wrong,” said Wise. “As is the case with Elon, it’s about students saying to one another-we want to do this right.” “Elon students really take pridd in their work.”
Elon University Student Newspaper
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Nov. 1, 2001, edition 1
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