All
the work you turn in, for my class or any other class at FIU,
must be
your own (or, in the case of an approved group project, the work
must be your group's, conducted with scrupulous attention to course
policies). This doesn't mean that you should refrain from using
the work of other scholars—on the contrary, conducting this research
is part of your work. But you must give
credit to others when you rely on their scholarship.
To plagiarize
is, simply put, to take credit for someone else's work. It undermines
the spirit of responsible inquiry on which all scholarship
relies. You should not tolerate it in the work of others. I won't accept
it in any work I am responsible for grading.
Here is what FIU's English department has to say about academic honesty:
"Effective scholarly
discourse requires knowledge of the rules of documentation. When
you write a research paper, you must document
your sources; that is, give credit for the facts, interpretations,
ideas which you use in our work, and give credit in the proper
form.
Use of the accepted forms enables your reader to find easily the
works to which you refer. Although the rules of documentation
are revised
from time to time by the Modern Language Association (MLA), the American
Psychological Association (APA), and other groups which determine
forms of documentation in a given field, the rules are the same for
undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals who
publish
in the journals of their fields.
Be sure that
you know in advance which format your professor requires for a
research paper and consult a handbook (for example, the MLA
Handbook for research papers in any English class) or style guide
in your field for the details of documentation" (source: http://www.fiu.edu/~english/achonesty.html,
November 25, 2001).
The English Department goes on to say about plagiarism, specifically:
"Plagiarism
is the representation of the work of another as if it were your
own. It is a grave academic offense and can be punished
by dismissal from the university.
Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional. Unintentional plagiarism
occurs when the writer is unaware of the need for,or the rules of,
documentation. It is the student's responsibility to understand these
rules; plagiarism is no less serious an offense because it is unintentional.
Unintentional plagiarism often occurs when the student misunderstands
the function of paraphrase. When paraphrasing, it is not enough to
change a few words or to rearrange a sentence. The passage must be
digested and completely rewritten. Any exact use of the language of
the source requires quotation marks and documentation.
If the language
is the student's own, the idea of the passage may not be; paraphrasing
does not relieve the student of the responsibility
for documentation. Plagiarism occurs when the student presents as
his own the sequence of ideas, the arrangement of material, or
the
pattern of thought of someone else. The exception to the need for
documentation is what is known as "common knowledge" (information
that most educated people could be expected to know, for example,
that Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the moon).
If you have
any doubts about the way you have handled your source material
in your paper, discuss your problems with your instructor
before submitting your paper" (source: http://www.fiu.edu/~english/achonesty.html,
November 25, 2001).
If you have any
questions about how to cite materials properly, see my internet writing
guide or ask me (in class
or by email). Remember, ignorance
is no excuse. All FIU students are deemed to be bound by the Code
of Academic Integrity, which states:
Pledge
As a student of this university:
- I
will be honest in my academic endeavors.
- I will not represent
someone else’s work as my own.
- I will not cheat,
nor will I aid in another’s cheating.
For
more information about forms of academic misconduct at the university,
you may wish to consult the Office of Academic Affairs webpage
on academic misconduct.
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