KVHS Plagiarism Prevention Information

Why do I care about plagiarism?

It is important to know how to properly present information taken from sources such as books, magazines, and the Internet. Failure to properly present this information is can be considered plagiarism and can result in a mark of zero on the assignment as well as disciplinary action through the KVHS Discipline Policy. In college and university, penalties for plagiarism also include failing a course and being expelled from school.

Where would I use this information?

You will use this information in all your courses, especially in courses requiring research(such as social studies and modern history) and in courses requiring writing (such as English).

What Is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is a serious form of academic misconduct and intellectual dishonesty. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in a mark of zero on the assignment and may involve further disciplinary action.

Plagiarism includes all of the following:

quoting a source word for word, or almost word for word, without properly acknowledging the source of these words;

using someone else's ideas (including arguments and lines of thought) without properly acknowledging the source of these ideas;

using someone else's work without acknowledging it (this includes charts, pictures, and diagrams); and

submitting someone else's work as your own.

Plagiarism is not:

quoting someone while using quotation marks and providing a reference for the quotation;

presenting someone else's ideas or argument while providing a reference for them; and

discussing facts or ideas which are common knowledge or have been studied or discussed in class or provided by the teacher in the form of notes.

Examples of Plagiarism

Original Version

If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists.
--Flora Davis, Eloquent Animals, p.26

Student Plagiarism Example #1

If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists.

This is plagiarism because the student has taken the writer's work and presented it as the student's own work. It is word-for-word the writer's work, and there is no reference to the source.

Student Plagiarism Example #2
The existence of a signing ape unsettled linguists and startled animal behaviorists (Davis 26).

This is also plagiarism because, even though the student makes a reference to the original and attempts to paraphrase the writer's words. It is plagiarism because the student is using the same phrases and structure as the original version.

What's Acceptable?

When they learned of an ape's ability to use sign language, both linguists and animal behaviorists were taken by surprise (Davis 26).

This is acceptable because it properly paraphrases the original and provides a source reference for the information.

According to Flora Davis, linguists and animal behaviorist were unprepared for the news that a chimp could communicate with its trainers through sign language (26).

This is acceptable because it properly paraphrases the original and provides a source reference for the information. Note that because the author's name appears in the sentence, it is not required in the parenthetical citation.

According to Flora Davis, "If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists" (26).

This is acceptable because it puts the original words in quotation marks and provides a source reference for the information. Note that the quotation is a part of the student's own sentence.