A STUDENT HANDBOOK

Cheating is finding ways to pretend you have learned the material or done the work when you have not .

Plagairism is a form of cheating by claiming someone else’s work, words, and/or ideas are your own.

Plagiarism may be deliberate or accidental.   Be sure to give credit where credit is due.

Document the sources of information used.

Use a Works Cited listing:

Every in text reference must match a listing in your “Works Cited.”

To see how to document and create a “Works Cited” –

• See a copy of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers available in the Media Center.

• The Media Center provides a handout of examples based on this handbook.

• Go to Westhill’s web site at http://www.westhillweb.com/ , go to “Media Center” and choose “Research Aids.”  

Use Parenthetical Documentation:

•  Parenthetical documentation is used in the text of your paper to document everything borrowed.   This includes: direct quotes, in-direct quotes, and paraphrasing.   That include any information and ideas that are not your own.

•  Refer to the source in parentheses within the text of your paper.  

•  References in the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of works cited.   However, only the information necessary to refer to the source in the works cited list and the specific location in the source are included in the documentation, i.e. author’s last name and page numbers.

•  Place the parenthetical documentation where a pause would naturally occur, usually at the end of a sentence.

Documentation Examples:  

Paraphrasing or Indirect Quote:   Note that the parentheses are at the end of the sentence but inside the punctuation.

This point has already been argued (Tannen 178-85).   The author’s last name is Tannen, the information is on pages 178-185.

Tannen has argued this point (178-85).   Same reference but author’s name is included in the text.

Brief quote:   Note that the parentheses are outside of the quotation marks but inside the punctuation.

It may be true that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is of primary importance” (Robertson 136).

It may be true, as Robertson maintains, that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is of primary importance” (136).

Longer quote:   Note that no quotation marks are used and the parentheses are outside the punctuation.

Elizabeth Bishop’s “In the Waiting Room” is rich in evocative detail:

It was winter.   It got dark early.   The waiting room

was full of grown-up people, artics and overcoats,

lamps and magazines.   (6-10)

Teachers know your writing and can recognize work that is different in style and not written by their student.

Teachers remember and can recognize work turned in pervious years by another student.

Teachers talk to each other and often find out that a student has turned in the same paper to them as they or a friend turned in to another teacher.

Teachers know the technology and can plug a phrase in your paper into a search engine and find the web site or source you copied from.

Don’t forget – all you have to do is give credit to your sources honestly.   And do some thinking of your own – it’s more rewarding.

The consequences for cheating/plagiarizing can range from failing the assignment to losing credit for the class.

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