Is this plagiarism?

Parents Forum
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<p>To preface this, I want to say that I do not think your daughter in any way intended to do anything dishonest. However, depending on the school, she may be guilty of a violation and be suspended. I'm not surprised that the parents on this forum don't see it as a problem; I wouldn't have either before I went to Princeton. However, the handbooks handed out in writing seminars specifically warn students that not using quotation marks is an act of plagiarism, even if a parenthetical citation is used. In this case, it was not an absolute direct quotation, but a paraphrase, but, as another poster said, the paraphrase was close enough to constitute the author's words, necessitating quotes. The questiions you need to consider right now are these:</p>

<p>1) Does the school's honor committee consider intent as a factor? For Princeton, at least, initent is not taken into consideration in the verdict because it is considered impossible to prove. Intent may be considered in the penalty phase, but I'm not positive. All that such committees generall consider is whether or not a violation has occurred, and whether or not the student should reasonably have known that his or her actions constituted a a violation.</p>

<p>2)Does the school have an honor code in writing? Was there a handbook outlining precisely what plagiarism is? If it did, and if this kind of thing was mentioned, it will be more difficult for your daughter.</p>

<p>3) How long were the quotations in question, and how much of the paper do they constitute? If we're talking about a few several word phrases, your daughter might be able to argue that she considered the language merely informative, and therefore did not consider it plagiarism to use it without quotes (i.e, if I were writing "George W. Bush was elected President of the US in 2000," I would probably not put quotes around it, even if my source were a book that used exactly those words. What your daughter did is less clear cut, based on your example, but I still think it might be argued, depending on context, that she thought it was OK because she was just stating a fact and not borrowing sentence structures, imagery, and ideas.) If, however, there are numerous examples of such borrowings, and some of them are lengthier, than it might be a problem.</p>

<p>Although I may have a better response tomorrow when I know more, for now, here's how I would approach this case:</p>

<p>First, I would be apologetic. If I referred to a "misunderstanding" I would make sure to take responsibility, i.e., "I'm sorry that my actions have caused a misunderstanding that led people to question my integrity."</p>

<p>Second, without blasting the professor, I would mention how unorthodox it is to be given a research paper and told not to use direct quotatioins. A research paper is going to inevitably inivolve information from elsewhere; I'm kind of at a loss as to why the professor would have specified that no quotations be used. I would emphasize that I was unsure how to incorporate my research into the paper without direct quotations, having never been asked to do this before. This brought me to the conclusion that I would have to paraphrase any factual information, citing my source.</p>

<p>I would then say that, while I now realize that it is wrong to paraphrase that closely without direct quotes, at the time I felt that all I was doing was presenting a few words worth of factual information, and providing the source. I did change the most highly descriptive and unique words, but thought the rest was so banal that it was, not originial expression, but merely a statement of fact. I might mention, if there was a clear guideline identifying such an act as plagiarism, that I felt that what I had done was different because a) I had changed words, just, apparently, not enough, and b) I was using extremely short phrases, while the example had been about whole sentences and paragraphs clearly lifted from elsewhere. If there was no clear guideline, I would simply say that I had no idea that this could be construed as plagiarism, since I was giving credit to the author.</p>

<p>I really feel for your daughter, and I hope it all works out. Hopefully, she will just be warned. If she acts contrite and tells the truth, the committee might be kind to her.</p>

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<p>Plagarism is a huge issue today. When I was in high school many years ago, I was taught that in order to avoid being suspected of plagarism, all words/phrases needed to be my own. We were required to rewrite any notes from reference materials into our own words (onto note cards with references) to prevent switching a few words around and calling it our own work. The teachers would then check the references against our note cards (and our final paper) to insure that we had followed the correct steps. Believe me, it taught me how to write my own words, even though I prefered having a pile of books in front of me to pick and choose ideas from!</p>

<p>Perhaps the lesson here should be that colleges expect you to already have had basic instruction on writing skills (including plagarism). Perhaps your daughter did not learn this in h.s., but I assume that she has learned her lesson now...</p>

<p>My son, his freshman year of engineering school, was written up for not listing all of the people that worked together on a lab. They called everyone in separately, heard their stories and dropped the charges after they had determined that the work had not been stolen, but that they had indeed worked together (which was allowed, but they should have listed all participants on every paper handed in). He learned his lesson early, never made the mistake again, and now is an engineer!!! If your daughter had not gotten a reprimand like this, she would be more likely to make the mistake again and again. Hopefully she has learned her lesson and will be sure to use ALL of her own words next time (and learn how to cite the sources accurately). </p>

<p>I believe that colleges SHOULD be rough on the kids about plagarism. They are giving their blessing to these young adults to go out into the world and represent their institution...</p>

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<p>Thank you again for all your comments. </p>

<p>This paper was written for a research seminar, and she chose to write on a topic that she had little/no previous knowledge about. Thus, all of her information came from the sources she found in peer-reviewed journals. Though she had opinions of her own, many were already stated in these articles, so - in order to avoid the possibility of being charged with plagiarism - she cited the source.</p>

<p>There were more statements in question than the example we gave earlier. This is the greatest extent of her "plagiarized" sentences; however, another passage that is under investigation is like:</p>

<p>Daughter: After Sally adopted the kitten and returned to her apartment, she was informed that her landlord would not allow pets inside the building. Jerry: Shortly after Sally returned to her apartment with her new kitten, she learned a distressing face. Her landlord would not permit pets inside the building.</p>

<p>Currently, the professor's charge against my daughter is that even though she changed some words in the sentence and cited the source, my daughter did not use quotes. (After the professor deducted points in my daughter's midterm paper for using quotes.)</p>

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<p>now I am not a great writer- I have even taken English 102 three times without completing becuase I got bogged down with intext citations</p>

<p>BUt I beleive that most consider incorrect citing of a passage to be plagerism- <a href="http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Writing_Center/resources/writers/gen-plagiarism.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Writing_Center/resources/writers/gen-plagiarism.html&lt;/a>
This was a pretty good source-
but I think it is pretty difficult to learn, especially when states like my own have graduation exams that encourage students to "falsify" information, just to get their point across
<a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002870594_writingwasl17m.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002870594_writingwasl17m.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I think the professor may have had a problem with the way your D prefaced her statement. If she was writing in MLA format, the citing would have been something like this:</p>

<p>According to Jerry, shortly after Sally returned to her apartment with her new kitten, she learned a distressing face. Her landlord would not permit pets inside the building (11-12).</p>

<p>In APA format</p>

<p>Shortly after Sally returned to her apartment with her new kitten, she learned a distressing face. Her landlord would not permit pets inside the building (Jerry, 2006).</p>

<p>Does your D have to write papers using APA or MLA style? I would suggest purchasing a good style manual for what ever format she needs to use for writing her papers so that she can have it as a guide to correctly cite (and give credit to) the works of others that she is using in her papers.</p>

<p>In addition, until she builds up a level of confidence where as she can do this on her own, she could go to the writing or academic skills centers where she can ask and get feedback as to whether or not she has cited something correctly.</p>

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<p>Strunk has a new illustrated version.</p>

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<p>My daughter's professor instructed the students to cite in this format:</p>

<p>Jerry (2006) believes that... OR ...allow pets inside the building (Jerry 2006).</p>

<p>This is the format that my daughter used in her midterm paper (in which the professor encircled all the quotation marks and deducted points) and in the final paper (where my daughter did not use direct quotes).</p>

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<p>Not using quotes doesn't mean change a few words and exclude the quotation makes. I think she missed the point.</p>

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<p>I think HIAA is right - that is in fact, plagiarism.</p>

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<p>Certainly this course has a syllabus and/or detail of instructions. Did your daughter provide that to you or make sure she has a copy for her appeal? You continue to compare the two papers for us but we, perhaps you also, don't know what the separate instructions were regarding each paper. I suspect they were different. You have also not shared the institution policy regarding P at the school. I am sure you must have determined this for yourself by now. I can tell you are upset but I am thinking you are naive.</p>

<p>Could you share the instructor's professional credential? Adjunct? Full Prof in Department. Regularly teaches this course and rarely files these charges? There is really a little more to this than you seem to share. Perhaps you don't know the answers. Did your daughter EVER meet outside of the course with this instructor? Was there any opportunity for a rewrite on Paper #1? Does your daughter know other students in this class? So much to factor in.</p>

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<p>My skills are pretty much limited to writing annual business reports where accidental plagiarism is hardly a danger. </p>

<p>But do I understand this issue correctly? Apparently the professor wanted a product that didn't contain quotes. However, lulu's d paraphrased something so closely, quotes would have been required regardless. Had she quoted, she would have been penalized with grade point deductions but not charges of misconduct. But because she did not quote, the professor is finding fault with the content and charging her with plagiarism. (Sheesh.)</p>

<p>I think Icargirl's advice is right on. She is absolutely correct in that if the purpose of the paper is to present research, doing so without quotations or paraphrasing would be difficult. In fact, it seems almost a trap that lands the writer in the gray where one person's opinion as to what constitutes unoriginal work is pitted against another's opinion. (This is why you kids need to major in accounting!) That lulu's d attempted to properly cite sources indicates she was trying like the dickens to avoid the trap. I sincerely hope that is enough of a defense.</p>

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<p>She needs to follow this through. An investigation is serious. She made some stylistic mistakes. My son's school teaches them not to paraphrase, but to rewrite completely in their own words any time they are not using quotes. Her sentences were very similar to the original, but it doesn't sound like intentional plagiarism. She must make them realize that.</p>

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<p>You're missing the point, ldmom. Her wording was so close that it might as well have been the direct quote. Obviously the teacher's point was to have the students to interpret things in their own words, thereby avoiding quotes. I still cite things I state in my own words if I did not know the information prior to reading it from the original source.</p>

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<p>As Samuel Johnson said to an aspiring writer: "Your work is both good and original. Unfortunately what is good is not original and what is original is not good."</p>

<p>The prof seems to have wanted an essay that was both good and original. Sometimes, the task of "writing in your own words" is beyond the capabilities of a writer. The student seems to have tried, but not succeeded in being both good and original, and settled for giving credit without using quotation marks. The essay thus ended being neither fish nor fowl: neither evidence-based piece of research nor original writing. But while it shows faulty citation style and not following instructions, it does not seem to me to show plagiarism or cheating.</p>

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<p>Hi, I think you (and several other posters) are correct in that this is a case where the student did not do the assignment correctly and it should be graded with that in mind. But a plagiarism investigation is very serious -- and this isn't plagiarism. Hazmat's definition looks to me like a pretty standard definition for use in academia guidelines, and it doesn't fit what she did -- which was to ignore/misunderstand the instructions to put ideas in her own words. Give her an "F" if need be, but a formal plagiarism investigation? No way.</p>

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<p>Guys:</p>

<p>There is something missing from this picture. Referring a student to the Judicial Committee is a major pain in the butt for the professor. </p>

<p>Based on the facts presented here, we have a hamfisted citation. Maybe even an inept, slap-dash paper that the professor was angry about. However, we have a citation, so there is no clear intent to cheat or plagiarize. I cannot imagine a professor going through the aggravation of a committtee hearing based on these facts. A poor grade and/or a student conference would suffice.</p>

<p>Lulu500: I would urge you to find out what this is really about. Have you personally read the letter notifying of the judicial hearing? Has your daughter discussed this with the professor? There's more to this story, IMO.</p>

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<p>"However, lulu's d paraphrased something so closely, quotes would have been required regardless."</p>

<p>What she did was not paraphrasing--she copied nearly word for word.</p>

<p>"Had she quoted, she would have been penalized with grade point deductions but not charges of misconduct. But because she did not quote, the professor is finding fault with the content and charging her with plagiarism. (Sheesh.)"</p>

<p>Had she direct quoted, she would have been penalized. She is not being penalized because she did not use direct quotations, but because she tried to pass off direct quotations as her own words. The professor doesn't have an issue with the contact as much as he has an issue with the lack of content provided by her. </p>

<p>"She is absolutely correct in that if the purpose of the paper is to present research, doing so without quotations or paraphrasing would be difficult. In fact, it seems almost a trap that lands the writer in the gray where one person's opinion as to what constitutes unoriginal work is pitted against another's opinion."</p>

<p>The purpose of a college paper is usually to make your own original point using the work and research of others as proof of your point. This requires summarizing others' ideas and subsequently citing them--that seems to be what the professor wanted. There's no trap or gray area. They don't want you to paraphrase someone else's sentence by repeating that sentence in your own words--they want you to summarize an entire work in a few sentences of your own words and then explain how that supports your point. None of your words should resemble the original author's despite the fact that you are discussing their ideas.</p>

<p>The professor's problem, based on what we know, is most likely that she didn't write the paper herself (essentially). She used someone else's words. When a professor asks for a 10 page paper, they want to read 10 pages of your own analysis and see how well you are able to explain and formulate a point (because that usually indicates that you understand the material). Professors don't allow direct quotations because they don't require any thought from the student--it's just copying word for word. From the professor's point of view, that's exactly what she did--handed in someone else's work, almost word for word, and (by not citing correctly) tried to hide it. </p>

<p>"However, we have a citation, so there is no clear intent to cheat or plagiarize. I cannot imagine a professor going through the aggravation of a committtee hearing based on these facts. A poor grade and/or a student conference would suffice."</p>

<p>I agree that there's something missing from the story, but I can understand where would be angry with a student who didn't bother to write his/her own paper, which the professor most likely believes is the case.</p>

<p>"Hazmat's definition looks to me like a pretty standard definition for use in academia guidelines, and it doesn't fit what she did -- which was to ignore/misunderstand the instructions to put ideas in her own words."</p>

<p>I disagree--I think that it clearly violates the most schools' academic conduct codes (including the one Hazmat posted)--she tried to pass off someone else's words, however inadvertantly, as her own. That is clearly plagerism. While the professor's instructions may or may not have been clear, this is something that most kids learn about every year in school by the time they hit intermediate school. I'm sure that the professor expects her to know that this is inappropriate.</p>

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<p>If she's a freshman, a warning should suffice. If not, I think it's blatant plagiarism.</p>

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<p>I think it depends on the school. I mean if this girl came out of a high selective boarding school or other public and should have learned this long ago.........not a chance that is gonna happen. Maybe for a kid who had disadvantage or other circumstance but maybe not even then. As I asked prior: who/what is the Prof? Does the school have a writing center, did this student seek advice from a writing center? There is usually a record of this.</p>

<p>as to warning: sounds like that happened on paper#1. So.......she has entered the penalty phase. Didn't learn or seek outside advice.</p>

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<p>Ryabis:</p>

<p>I agree. The examples given clearly constitute plagiarism.</p>

<p>Here's what Prof. Colin Purrin writes on his plagiarism website at Swarthmore:</p>

<p>
[quote]
Most plagiarism cases on this campus seem to be of the "paraphrase" variety, in which students take stretches of 2 or more words from the source, add a few words of their own, and then end the sentence with a citation. Students often try to ply the CJC members with excuses such as "I used my computer's copy/paste feature but forgot to add quotation marks because I was in a hurry." Or they will try, "I didn't know that that constituted plagiarism." Many students invoke both simultaneously, to cover all the bases.

[/quote]
</p>

<p><a href="http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/plagiarism/types.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/plagiarism/types.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>However, when I read through the actual plagiarism findings by the Judiciary Committee, the violations are invariably more severe. This means that, either the professor handled this kind of situation or referred it to Committee and the Deans opted to handle the case informally without a full committee hearing.</p>

<p>That's why my gut tells me there's more to this story. Either the actual allegations include more serious, willful intent. Or, this not the first time this freshman student has been admonished.</p>

<p>It's very important that Lulu500 (and the student) fully understand all of the charges being made. If the full story is as presented, then a likely punishment would be a no-credit for the exam. But, if there's more, then the student might well be looking at a suspension.</p>