Plagiarism Plagiarism is literally a form of theft. It is claiming someone else's words and/or ideas as your own. If you copy someone else's words and/or ideas into an essay without giving credit to the writer or paraphrase someone else's words and/or ideas without giving credit, you are plagiarizing. If plagiarism can be proven the following sequence will be considered: 1. For the first offense, the student will receive an "F" or zero on the essay, and the student's quarter grade will be lowered by one grade. A conference with the student and parents is mandatory. 2. For the second and subsequent offenses, the student will receive an “F" for the quarter, and parents will be again contacted. It is simple to avoid plagiarism. Writers must give the source of their materials by using in-line citations and Works Cited pages for quotations or when using other's ideas. Referencing Other's Work A quotation is using someone else's words in your text. It does not matter if a character is speaking or if the narrator is merely telling the story. Either is considered a quotation and requires in-line citations and a Works Cited page. In-line citations tell the reader who wrote the quoted work and what page the quote can be found on. The author's last name and the page number are put in parenthesis usually placed after the sentence. For Example: Holden says, "I can't stand all those phonies at the party" (Salinger 15). "Little by little life returned to normal. The barbed wire which fenced us in did not cause us any real fear," says Elie (Weisel 9). Note: If you give the author's or name in your essay, you only need to write the page number after the quote. For Example: Salinger writes that Holden "can't stand all those phonies at the party" (15). Note: When writing about a single work of literature, it is usually necessary only to put the author's name in the first reference; thereafter, use only the page number. Introducing and Explaining Quotes When you use quotes from a work of literature, usually introduce the quote by giving the context in which the quote was used and who said it. You should also explain the point you are trying to make by using the quote. For Example: When explaining to his children about the Ewell family, Atticus tells them they must "learn to walk a mile their shoes" (Lee 48). Atticus is a man who knows his children must learn to accept diversity in the world. For Example: When he arrives in Salem, a lot of people are curious about why his books are so heavy. Hale says, "The must be, they are weighted with authority" (Miller 1191). At this point, he is very confident that his books will give him the knowledge to solve Salem's witchcraft problems. Below is a sample paragraph that uses appropriate in-line citations and introduces and explains the quotes. The satire of Huckleberry Finn is very obvious in the chapter where Twain describes Pokeville and the goings on in this horrible Arkansas town. In this chapter, Twain mocks the "country life" that many saw as ideal. "Pokeville is the exact opposite of what the romantics thought village life in 1850's American should be like," writes critic Johnson Gregory (237). Country life is shown as filthy, mean, and ugly. Huck says the "streets was filled with mud, thick as tar, and as sticky too. You couldn't hardly walk for all the pigs layin about" (Twain 163). This is not a romantic view of small town life. Pokeville is clearly meant to show how ugly parts of America were at this time. The people in the town are no better than the town's streets. They are described as "shiftless loafers, standin around, looking for something to do besides spitting tobacco" (161). Their primary source of entertainment seems to be "dossin a dog with turpentine, (and) settin it afire" (162). Obviously Twain is showing the ugliest side of American country life. He "shows a genuine dislike for all that was rural in America at this time" (Rolyat 76). Twain is obviously appalled by what America's small towns could be like, and he lays it on thick to show how horrible country life could be. |