Q & A on plagiarism for high school students

1. SCENARIO ONE
Agree
Disagree
It’s not plagiarism to cut and
paste a quote into the paper,
as long as you put quotation
marks around it.

2. SCENARIO ONE
Agree
Disagree
Whenever you quote text,
you must provide a source.

3. SCENARIO THREE
Agree
Disagree
I wrote a paper for a history
class that has a lot of
synergy with the current
class I’m taking. So, I took
most of what was in that
paper and then added some
new ideas for my current
class. It’s not plagiarism
because I wrote both papers
myself.

4. SCENARIO THREE
Agree
Disagree
Every teacher in every class
expects original work from
you. Using work completed for
a different teacher in a
different class is ethically
dishonest, and if your teacher
finds out, s/he could fail you.
Using a small portion of a
previously written paper could
be acceptable, but be sure to
include it, and other related
sources, in your citations.

5. SCENARIO FOUR
Agree
Disagree
I’m careful not to plagiarize
when I write a paper. I
always paraphrase what
someone says, putting it into
my own words. That way, I
don’t have to provide a
citation.

6. SCENARIO FOUR
Agree
Disagree
This is a very common
mistake students make. But, if
you are using someone else’s
ideas, even if you have
paraphrased them, you must
provide the source for those
ideas. Also, when
paraphrasing, make sure you
are being accurate, and not
misrepresenting what was
stated in your source.

7. SCENARIO FIVE
Agree
Disagree
I scanned a chart from my
textbook into my paper. I
didn’t have to cite it,
because it’s in our textbook
and we covered it in class.

8. SCENARIO FIVE
Agree
Disagree
Using materials from
anywhere requires a
citation. Don’t assume that
because your teacher is
familiar with your textbook,
that a citation isn’t needed.

9. SCENARIO SIX
Agree
Disagree
I wrote a paper about what
the temperature was like
during the battle at
Gettysburg in the Civil War. I
didn’t have to cite it because
everyone knows a big battle
was fought there and it’s all
common knowledge.

10. SCENARIO SIX
Agree
Disagree
The area of common knowledge
can be tricky. For instance, it is
common knowledge that Charles
Lindburgh made the first
successful cross Atlantic Ocean
flight. A citation would not be
necessary in that instance.
However, other information about
what happened during his flight is
likely to require a citation.
Likewise regarding specific
information about the battle at
Gettysburg.

11. SCENARIO SEVEN
Agree
Disagree
I surfed the Internet until I
found an idea for my paper.
When I did, I didn’t use any
of the information on the
original site, so I didn’t have
to cite it as a source.

12. SCENARIO SEVEN
Agree
Disagree
Correct. You used the entire
Internet as your source as
you searched for ideas. And,
you didn’t use anything
directly from that particular
Web site. Think of it as
doing a similar search in a
library – browsing the
shelves for a topic. In that
instance, you would not cite
a specific source, either.

13. SCENARIO EIGHT
Agree
Disagree
I copied some passages
directly from a journal I
found online. I cited the
passages I used in the text,
and then included the
complete citation
information in my
Bibliography, so I did not
plagiarize.

14. SCENARIO EIGHT
Agree
Disagree
This is the correct way to
treat material taken from
other sources, either as
direct quotes, or
paraphrased.

15. SCENARIO NINE
Agree
Disagree
I took a photo from the
Creative Commons Web
site for use in my paper. I
didn’t have to cite the
source because Creative
Commons is one of those
sites that posts photos for
free.

16. SCENARIO NINE
Agree
Disagree
Creative Commons is a free
repository of photos and
images; however, the artists
submitting the images still
expect their images to be
cited. Other image sources,
such as Flickr and Google
Photos, may charge for many
of their images, and also
require citations. Just because
something is free doesn’t
mean it doesn’t require a
citation.

17. SCENARIO TEN
Agree
Disagree
If I’m not sure about whether
or not something constitutes
plagiarism, it’s a good idea
to run it by a fellow
classmate. Usually, we can
figure it out together.

18. SCENARIO TEN
Agree
Disagree
There are a number of
sources you can consult to
determine if you are
plagiarizing, including the
sources included at the end
of this presentation. You can
also discuss it with your
teacher.

19. PLAGIARISM
Additional
Resources
 Plagiarism: Overview and
Contradictions, Purdue University,
Online Writing Lab (OWL)
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01
/
 YouTube: Grammar Bytes!
Presents: Plagiarism: Avoid
Academic Theft for Research
Success
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUSaQ5-mDRI

20. SOURCES
 Video by Bainbridge College, available through
YouTube,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q0NlWcTq1Y
 Avoiding Plagiarism, LibGuides at Mississippi
College, Leland Library,
http://mc.libguides.com/c.php?g=39008&p=247922
 Plagiarism Quiz, Grand Canyon University,
http://www.gcu.edu/Academics/Academic-
Integrity/Plagiarism-Quiz.php