These scenarios are common situations for college students. As you read through them, remember that in addition to plagiarism there are other forms of academic dishonesty.
The scenarios and video on this page should take approximately 5 minutes to read and watch.
You have to write a five-page essay on a topic assigned by the instructor. You use a lot of material from the Internet in your essay and don't have time to cite it properly. In fact, you don't really remember where you found a lot of the information. You didn't note the sources when you were researching. The professor didn't say anything about citation. Are you guilty of plagiarism?
Response:
Yes. You are responsible for correctly citing all ideas, phrases and passages taken from other authors wherever they occur in your work, even in drafts of your papers. Failure to do so is plagiarism, a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy.
You ask a friend, who is a good writer, to look over your paper. She is happy to help and finds many awkward phrases and unclear assertions, which she re-writes for you. She even develops a few new arguments to help support your thesis. You are happy because she was able to express clearly and persuasively what you had been trying to say all along. You hand in your paper with the changes she made. Are you demonstrating academic honesty?
Response:
No. It is a good idea to have others proofread your work for mistakes in spelling, punctuation, syntax and style. But you are being dishonest for claiming authorship of any content added by your friend.
Your instructor would have every right to report your actions under Okanagan College's Academic Integrity policy, if he or she suspects that you have included another person's writing in your paper without citing it.
Your instructor allows collaboration on homework assignments and encourages study groups but still expects you to do your own work. You and two friends discuss the problem and work it through together. Portions of your final work are identical, but you assume this should be okay, since most of the work is your own. Are you correct to assume this?
Response:
No. In classes where collaboration on graded assignments is allowed, you can share ideas and discussion but must still do your own work. Always make sure you understand the extent of collaboration your instructor allows. If you are not sure, ask your instructor for clarification. Most instructors do not allow students to turn in identical work or assignments that contain identical work.
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