Statement of Plagiarism

English Department

Schaumburg High School

Plagiarism may be defined as “The offering of the words or ideas of another person as one’s own (Lester 78).  While the majority of plagiarism may be averted through comprehensive instruction of documentation skills, instances of plagiarism still may occur.  When a teacher finds an instance of plagiarism, he/she must consider the severity of the infraction.  The English Department recognizes the differences between unintentional and intentional plagiarism.

Unintentional Plagiarism:  misrepresentation due to lack of knowledge or carelessness

      Examples:

                        •     Improper paraphrasing

                        •     Minor documentation errors

                        •     Failure to introduce quoted material in the text

                        •     Omitting punctuation of quoted material

                        •     Omitting punctuation of works cited entries

      Action:

                        •     Remediation when possible

                        •     Appropriate point deduction on final paper

Intentional Plagiarism:  willful misrepresentation of material

     Examples: 

                        •     Omission of documentation

                        •     Direct quotations presented as paraphrased material

                        •     Direct quotations presented as one’s own thoughts (copying)

                        •     Omission of works cited

                        •     Fabrication of sources

                        •     Recurrent discrepancies between cited material and original text

      Action:

                        •     Automatic “0” on entire assignment*

                        •     Notify counselor, administrator, and parent(s)

* In the case of the senior research paper, an “0” mathematically results in an “F” for the entire course

(E403, E405).