Hopkins School District #270

HHS Policy Statement on Academic Honesty
Reviewed by the Administration Team - 9/2010

Plagiarism: The unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another author and representation of them as one's own (Random House Webster's College Dictionary, 2000)

In simpler terms, plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas in your writing and not properly giving the other person credit.

Examples of plagiarism:

• Copying an article from the Internet or print source and turning it in as your own paper with no quotation marks and no sources indicated.
• Copying parts of articles from a number of sources and putting them together in your own paper, with no quotation marks and no sources indicated.
• Paraphrasing a paragraph from a book, article, or website without indicating the source.
• Using a few sentences from a book, article, or website word-for-word in your paper and not using quotation marks AND indicating the source.
• Using the same structure, thesis, or concept that an author uses in a book, article, or website and not indicating the source.

How to avoid plagiarism:

• When you use information from a book, article, or website, always indicate where your information came from within the text of your paper. It is NOT enough to list your sources in a bibiliography attached to your paper. Even if you are paraphrasing someone else's ideas or words, you need to indicate the author in the text of your paper.
• Avoid copying and pasting from the Internet or photocopying information from books. Instead, TAKE NOTES and keep careful track in your notes of where your information is from.
• Keep track in your notes of whether information is a paraphrase or a word-for-word quotation (use quotation marks for quotes), and keep track of the source and page number.

Cheating: Taking OR GIVING answers or information about assignments or tests or any class related work.

Examples of Cheating:

• Copying someone else’s answers on a test.
• Using a crib sheet on a test without the teacher's permission.
• Copying someone else’s homework OR letting someone copy your homework.
• Sharing test answers electronically during a test (via cell phone, PDA, or other device).
• ”Working together” on an assignment without permission.
• Telling a student from a later class what the test covered or what specific questions ask.

How to avoid cheating?

• Simple—ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS do YOUR OWN work.
• NEVER let someone copy your work on a test or assignment.
• NEVER talk about a test in the halls or at lunch, no matter how much someone begs you to spill the beans!

Cheating and plagiarism are dishonest and wrong. They will not be tolerated at Hopkins High School.