Plagiarism Myths you may have heard (or repeated)
and
THE FACTS
| Myth: | Everything on the Internet is Public Domain, which means I can take it and do anything I want with it. |
| Reality: | There are things on the Internet that are in the Public Domain; that is, they are not protected by patent or copyright laws. But there is a great deal of information that is NOT in the Public Domain. However, the issue of plagiarism is an issue of authorship -- did you create the ideas, works of art, sounds, arrangement of words -- or did someone else? If someone else did it -- it's plagiarism unless you give credit appropriately.. |
| Myth: | I read the article and then I put it all in my own words. That's not copying (or plagiarism) -- I paraphrased everything! |
| Reality: | Paraphrasing text without giving credit for the ideas contained within the text is plagiarism. Check the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or your writer's guide for more information on this common misperception. |
| Myth: | My teacher showed me how to cut-and-paste from the Internet when I was in the 5th grade. She would never do anything illegal!!! |
| Myth: | I only cut and pasted little parts of it -- the stuff that sounded better than I could write. That's OK, right? |
| Reality: | Cutting and pasting is not in itself wrong or illegal. NOT GIVING CREDIT for ideas, words, sounds, graphics, etc. that you did not create IS. Letting people believe you are the creator of material that you really didn't do, is unethical and can get you into trouble. |
| Myth: | Everybody does it, so how could it be wrong? |
| Reality | According to Title 17 of the United States Code of Laws (this is the section that deals with copyright) plagiarism is illegal. Not to mention that is specifically mentioned and condemned in the ABAC catalog. |
| Myth: | Only your English professors care if you plagiarize. |
| Reality: | Don't try that one out on your other professors. Plagarism is taken VERY seriously by academics. Scholarly ideas in academe are like money in other parts of society. Stealing other people's ideas is every bit as bad as emptying out someone's bank account -- you are taking something that does not belong to you and perhaps keeping the person who is the rightful owner of that property from reaping the rewards that creating that property should bring. Working in an institution that has a reputation for tolerating academic dishonesty can be a death sentence for a scholar's career. It is in your professors' best interest to be very interested in how academically honest you are. |
| Myth: | If I buy (or download) a paper from one of those Internet sites and change the title, the professor will never know. |
| Reality: | Professors are often smarter than they look. Some of them are very good at finding things on the internet. Even the ones that are not very good have learned that the librarians can help them if they receive a paper that just does not seem quite right. If you buy a paper, all you have done is purchase ownership of the physical thing. Attempting to pass off this paper as your own work is fraud. Again, check the ABAC catalog's section on Academic Dishonesty, the MLA Handbook, or your writer's guide. |
| Myth: | My girlfriend wrote the paper and gave it to me, so I own it. |
| Reality: | Your girlfriend's paper is HER intellectual property and trying to pass it off as your work is fraud. Both you and your girlfriend are at risk of being penalized for academic dishonesty if you are caught. |
