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Citing your sources correctly is essential when doing research of any kind. Always consult your instructor if you don't know which style to use, or if you're unsure of how to cite something.
NEW MLA 2009; (Old edition MLA (PDF 85 KB)); APA (PDF 87 KB); Chicago Style: use these guides to help you create in-text citations and reference sheets for your research paper or project.
Plagiarism at Kirkwood
Click here for printable version (PDF, 74 KB)
What is plagiarism?
According to Webster, to plagiarize is "to steal or pass off the ideas or words of another as one s own . . . to use created productions without crediting the source . . . to commit literary theft . . . to present as new original an idea or product derived from an existing source."
What are you responsible for as Kirkwood students?
Kirkwood Students are responsible for authenticating any assignment submitted to an instructor. If asked, you must be able to produce proof that the assignment you submit is actually your own work.
How can you prove that you are not plagiarizing?
Engage in a verifiable working process on assignments. Keep copies of all drafts of your work, make photocopies of research materials, write summaries of research materials, hang onto Writing Center receipts, keep logs or journals of your work on assignments and papers, learn to save drafts of versions of assignments under individual file names on computer or diskette, etc.
What are the consequences of plagiarizing?
The inability to authenticate your work, should an instructor request it, is a sufficient ground for failing the assignment.
Are there other consequences?
Each plagiarism incident is reported to the Vice President for Academic Affairs office. A record of the incident is kept. If you are caught plagiarizing 3 times, you risk expulsion from school.
Checklist for Avoiding Plagiarism
1) Are you using your own independent material (i.e., material that reflects your own thoughts, opinion)?
__Yes __No
If Yes, OK. If No, you need to CITE.
2) Are you using common knowledge (i.e., something that everyone knows)?
__Yes __No
If Yes, OK. If No, you need to CITE.
3) Are you using someone else's independent material (i.e., material NOT your own thoughts)?
__Yes __No
If Yes, you need to CITE. If No, OK.
4) Do all the quotations exactly match their source?
__Yes __No
If Yes, well done! If No, you need to make sure they are correctly matched.
5) Have you used your own words and sentence structures for every paraphrase and summary related to another's work?
__Yes __No
If Yes, well done! If No, you need to make sure you use quotation marks around the author's/authors' words.
6) Have you included an in-text citation for every paraphrase and summary related to another's work?
__Yes __No
If Yes, well done! If No, you need to make sure you create an in-text citation for each reference to another's work, even when you put that idea into your own words.
7) Does your list of References include all the sources you have mentioned in your paper?
__Yes __No
If Yes, well done! If No, you need to make sure all of the sources you mention in your paper are listed on the References page.
Thanks to Instructor Erin Heppner-Elgin for permission to reproduce checklist here.
Additional Plagiarism and Citation Resources
Plagiarism Tutorial: Test Your Knowledge from the University of Southern Mississippi |
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