Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of other people's work without proper acknowledgment. No plagiarism is acceptable.

The main reason we are so intolerant of plagiarism is that it undermines the basis of scholarship. Partly this is a matter of giving credit where it is due to other authors, but it is also about giving credit where it is due to you as author. The point of good citation practice is to direct the reader's attention to where you have advanced the argument. That's where the reader wants to focus, and it is where you want her to focus as well. Good citation habits help you to keep clear in your own mind about where you are advancing the argument.

Blatant plagiarism involves the copying or extensive use of a source without citing or acknowledging it.

A more subtle form of plagiarism is footnoted paraphrase. In this case the student cites the source, but fails to indicate that a paragraph or passage is a quotation or extended paraphrase of the source. If you are quoting, you must indicate so by using quotation marks. If you are paraphrasing, you must indicate so either by specific wording in the text (for example, "Smith describes this process in the following terms...") or by appropriate citation ("This paragraph paraphrases Smith pp. 167-9").

Help from other people, both source and extent of help, must be acknowledged in an acknowledgments section at the beginning of your paper. If you are in any doubt about whether the extent of help compromises your claim to authorship, consult your adviser or instructor at an early stage. In general your adviser or instructor should be aware of any help you are receiving from other faculty members, fellow-students, friends, parents, or outside experts.

If you intend to combine your Senior Thesis or Senior Seminar work with work on a paper for another course, you must inform both instructors. If you plan to base your Senior Thesis or Senior Seminar paper on a paper you have written for another course, you must also inform your instructor.