WHAT IS:
Academic integrity?
Academic integrity means doing your own work all of the time.
Academic dishonesty?
Academic dishonesty comes in two forms-cheating and plagiarism.
Cheating?
Cheating also comes in two forms:
1) Taking a fellow student’s words, work, test answers, or ideas and
claiming them as your own.
2) Lending your words, work, test answers, or ideas to a fellow
student to claim as his or her own
Plagiarism?
As defined at plagiarism.org , “plagiarism is the improper use of, or failure
to give credit to another person’s writing, visual, or musical representation, or
ideas.”
Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language clarifies,
in saying that “you may certainly use other persons’ words and thoughts,
but the borrowed material must not appear to be your creation. In your
writing you must document everything you borrow, not only direct
quotations and paraphrases, but also information and ideas.”
How do research and plagiarism differ?
When completing research projects, you will be required to find and
utilize information from source documents, such as books, magazines,
newspapers, and websites. You must be careful, however, not to present
others’ words or ideas as your own; in that case, you will have plagiarized
their material. To avoid plagiarism, you must document your sources, both
inside your paper and on a works cited page, as instructed by your teacher.
How do cheating and plagiarism differ?
Plagiarism can be defined similarly to cheating - with two major exceptions
1) Plagiarism applies more specifically to research-oriented projects and
papers
2) Cheating typically involves personal relations, whereas plagiarism
extends to information available in print or non-print sources.
Other Frequently Asked Questions:
May I work with other students on homework assignments?
Unless otherwise stated by the teacher, you may not work with other students on
homework assignments. Doing so could result in cheating accusations if the
wording on your paper resembles that of another student.
May parents and other family members help me complete my homework,
particularly essay assignments?
Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with parents and other family members
“quizzing” you to help you study for objective test items, such as vocabulary questions.
We would also encourage family members to read alongside of you and discuss your
reading with you.
All of the ideas and the vast majority of the wording should be entirely proofread,
but even then, it would be better for them to assist you in fixing your own mistakes rather
than in outright fixing them for you.
Help at home can become an issue if we suspect that the ideas and wording in
your written work are not entirely your own. Then we would compare the work you’ve
completed inside of class with the work you’ve done outside of class. If too much of a
contrast exists between the two, you may at that point be accused of academic dishonesty.
What happens if I am caught either cheating or plagiarizing in any of the ways
previously describe?
You will receive a 0 on the assignment in question.
Why is academic integrity such an important issue?
Human beings learn by doing. If you have not done the work you claim is yours,
what have you learned besides how to be dishonest?
If, on the other hand, you always maintain the highest standards of academic
integrity, your mind and spirit will expand to an unprecedented degree while you are a
student here, and you will find yourself equipped to meet the rigorous demands of your
bright academic future awaiting you.
Modified from Wake County Public School information.