| Girard City School District |
| Bylaws & Policies |
5505 - PLAGIARISM POLICY - GRADES 7-12
For the plagiarism policy at Girard High School, plagiarism is defined as:
| A. | using a paper from another source as your own paper (taking a paper from an Internet site, another student, etc.) | |
| B. | rewording (paraphrasing) another's words without citing the source of the information | |
| C. | using the exact wording and/or vocabulary from another source without citing the source of the information |
Here are some of the highlights about how to avoid plagiarism from Lester's
Writing Research Papers (Ninth Edition). Refer to this book (Chapter 5, Section H) if you want to read more about plagiarism.Rule for Avoiding Plagiarism
| A. | Let the reader know when you begin borrowing from a source by introducing the quotation or paraphrase with the name of the authority. | |
| B. | Enclose within quotation marks all quoted materials. | |
| C. | Make certain that paraphrased material has been rewritten into your own style and language. The simple rearrangement of sentence patterns is unacceptable. | |
| D. | Provide specific in-text documentation for each borrowed item, but keep in mind that styles differ for MLA, APA, the number system, and the footnote system. | |
| E. | Provide a bibliography entry in the "Works Cited" for each source cited in the paper. |
-- Taken from
Writing Research Papers (119)"Quotation marks are an absolute
must when using someone else's exact words. Citing a page number to the source is good, but you must also put quotation marks around a key word, a phrase, or a clause if the words are not your own" (Lester 119)."…facts available as common knowledge are exceptions. Even though you might read it in a source, you need not cite the fact that Illinois is known as the 'Land of Lincoln,' that Chicago is its largest city, or that Springfield is the capital city. Information of this sort requires
no in-text citation…" (119).Checklist for Common Knowledge Exceptions
Would an intelligent person know this information?
Did you know it before you discovered it in the source?
Is it encyclopedia-type information?
Has this information become general knowledge by being reported repeatedly in many different sources? (120)
"However, if you borrow specific ideas or exact wording from a source, you must provide an int-text citation to the source" (119).
Determination of Plagiarism
Plagiarism will be determined by the classroom teacher based on this policy.
Consequences for Plagiarizing
The first time the student plagiarizes in a class, the student will face the following consequences:
| A. | The student will earn an "F" for the assignment. The student will be required to do the assignment over so that the student will learn how to do original research work. The student will not receive any credit for the assignment but in order to pass the class the student must complete the assignment correctly. | |
| B. | The assignment and a letter stating that the student plagiarized will be placed in the student's permanent file. | |
| C. | A letter will be sent home to the student's parents explaining this incident. | |
| D. | The student will serve two (2) Saturday detentions (three (3) hours each). |
The second time the student plagiarizes in the same class, the student will face the following consequences:
| A. | The student will earn an "F" for the entire course. | |
| B. | The assignment and a letter stating that the student plagiarized will be placed in the student's permanent file. | |
| C. | A letter will be sent home to the student's parents explaining this incident. | |
| D. | The student will serve three (3) Saturday detentions (three (3) hours each). |
For additional plagiarism offenses in different classes, the student will face the following consequences:
| A. | The student will face the consequences that are listed under the first offense. | |
| B. | One (1) Saturday will be added for each additional offense. For example, if this is the student's second offense (in two (2) different classes), the student will serve three (3) Saturday detentions in addition to the other consequences. |
Plagiarism of the Final Paper in a Research Class
If the student plagiarizes any or all of the final paper in any type of research class (ex: Academic Research or Research), the student will fail the course.
The plagiarism policy is cumulative. It applies to the student's career as a Girard High School student. The student does not start with a clean slate each year. If the student plagiarizes in Freshman English and then plagiarizes in Senior Science, the student will face the consequences that go with a second offense in a different class.
Adopted 7/28/04