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In all writing, for this or any other class, YOU MUST NEVER, EVER, use others' words as your own. I use the following as my definition of plagiarism:The attempt of any student to present as his or her own work that which he or she has not produced is regarded by the faculty and administration as a serious offense. Students are considered to have cheated if they copy the work of another during an examination or turn in a paper or an assignment written, in whole or in part, by someone else. Students are guilty of plagiarism, intentional or not, if they copy material from books, magazines, or other sources or if they paraphrase ideas from such sources without acknowledging them. Students guilty of, or assisting others in, either cheating or plagiarism on an assignment, quiz, or examination may receive a grade of F for the course involved and may be suspended or dismissed from the university." Northern Illinois University Undergraduate Catalog.This means: 1) CITE! You use others's words, even in paraphrase, give them credit! 2) *DO NOT* cut and paste and use those words as your own. YOU MUST CITE! Even if the source appears in your bibliography, or if you paste verbatim as if you wrote it and attach the source at the end of a paragraph, it's plagiarism! Direct quotes must appear in quotation marks and cited. 3) Even if you plagiarize out of ignorance, it is still plagiarism!! You plagiarize, you're hosed. Period. No exceptions, no excuses. You will receive a zero (0) on the assignment, and you risk being reported to the student judiciary. If you plagiarize on extra credit, you get a zero, you LOSE ALL PREVIOUS EXTRA CREDIT POINTS, and you will not be allowed to do further extra credit! If you have questions, let me see a draft of your paper.
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