Plagiarism:

Derived from the Latin word Plagiarius, plagiarism is defined by Alexander Lindly as "The false assumption of authorship: the wrongful act of taking the product of another person's mind, and presenting it as one's own." (Plagiarism and Originality. New York: Harper, 1952, p. 2). Plagiarism may take the form of repeating another's sentences as your own, adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own, paraphrasing someone else's argument as your own, or even presenting someone else's line of thinking in the development of a thesis as though it were your own. In short, to plagiarize is to give the impression that you have written or thought something that you have in fact borrowed from another. Although a writer may use another person's words and thoughts, they must be acknowledged as such.

Plagiarism is cheating. Any student caught plagiarizing the work of another will, at the very least, receive an "F" for the course, and could lead to expulsion from the University. Your attention is again directed to the Senate Policy 49-20 "Academic Integrity" with regards to this important topic. Plagiarism is considered to be any one or more of the following:

1. Extracting any sentence from another text without quotation marks and a supporting citation.


2. Extracting a portion of any sentence from another text without enclosing it in quotation marks and a supporting citation.


3. "Cut & Paste" or “Mosaic” plagiarism occurs when a student eliminates or adds one or two words to an existing sentence, or abbreviates a compound sentence. (For example, the first of the three following sentences is the original in a text, and it appears as a properly cited quotation. Those that follow the first sentence would be considered "cut-and-paste" plagiarism. "The German sociologist Max Weber, although best known to students of public administration for his analysis of rational bureaucracy, has had a broad impact on the social sciences" (Denhardt, 1993, p. 30). "It has been said that Max Weber, although best known to students of public administration for his analysis of rational bureaucracy, has had a broad impact on the social sciences." "The German sociologist Max Weber has had a broad impact on the social sciences."


4. Also considered under this title is any paper submitted in which the cited material is not designated by quotation marks in the text of the paper. It has been my experience that authors of such papers are attempting to shield themselves under a mantle that has come to be known in political circles as "Plausible Deniability." In short, the defense "I didn't know what I was doing was wrong" will not be accepted.


5. A good rule of thumb would be, if you use four or more of the original words of an author in succession, then they must be enclosed by quotation marks and a proper citation should accompany their use. Contained in this endnote are important observations and statements from Penn State and other national and universities on the topic of plagiarism. Please review these carefully as you will be held responsible for their contents.