Plagiarism

According to the University Policy on Cheating and Plagiarism, “plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, failure to indicate the source with quotation marks or footnotes where appropriate if any of the following are reproduced in the work submitted by a student:

• A phrase, written or musical.
• A graphic element.
• A proof.
• Specific language.
• An idea derived from the work, published or unpublished, of another person.”

Plagiarism at Carnegie Mellon

In academic life, plagiarism can include failing to cite references in your work or not attributing ideas contained in your work to the original source of those ideas. It can occur when students cut and paste material from a web resource directly into their assignments or when they sample graphic or music files without attribution. Putting someone else’s ideas into your own words also requires the appropriate citation or it constitutes plagiarism.

Of the 161 total number of academic integrity violation reports that were submitted to the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs during the 2011-2012 academic year, 35% were cases of plagiarism that carried a range of consequences. However, it is important to know that plagiarism is 100% avoidable and there are many strategies that both students and instructors can employ to prevent these types of violations from happening.