Essays, Ethics And The 'p'-word
What is considered plagiarism?
Questions and Answers
- 1.
In preparing your essay you read a Wikipedia article for an overview of the topic. You don't end up directly using any quotes or facts from the article in your final essay but the article did help you understand the topic. Do you need to add a reference for the Wikipedia article in your bibliography?
- A.
Yes
- B.
No
- C.
Maybe
- D.
No Idea
Correct Answer
A. YesExplanation
If the article helped you to understand the topic in anyway you should add a reference to it in your bibliography.Rate this question:
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- 2.
Your friend is stuck on how to start her essay so you email her your draft to read and to help her, after all, she's getting desperate and the essay is due tomorrow! When your lecturer reads your two essays she notices that both of your introductory paragraphs are really similar. Are you both in trouble or just your friend?
- A.
Just your friend is in trouble
- B.
You both are
- C.
Your lecturer is just being picky
Correct Answer
B. You both areExplanation
In this situation both students are in trouble and disciplinary action may be taken against both students. You should never lend your essay to a friend before submission no matter how desperate they are. Instead you can give suggestions and brainstorm ideas together and tell them what books or websites were helpful to you. There are severe penalties for copying work both for the 'provider' and the 'recipient'.Rate this question:
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- 3.
You photocopied a whole bunch of pages from a magazine at the library and forgot to write down the reference or you lost it somewhere in the studio! It's now the night before the essay is due and the library is long closed. Can you just submit the essay without that one reference?
- A.
Yes, the lecturer will never notice so its okay
- B.
No, I don't think that's a good idea
- C.
Avoid the problem for the next 2 hours and watch videos on YouTube
Correct Answer
B. No, I don't think that's a good ideaExplanation
If you cant get to the library to find the reference you should search online for the magazine and issue number and date etc. Many magazines have good websites with all this information or you can try the SP library website. Make every effort to find that reference! If you really cant find anything, then take out all the parts of your essay that rely upon that reference source and submit your essay without it.Rate this question:
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- 4.
You saved about 100 pictures of Fallingwater for your essay and now you can't remember which websites you took the pictures from. But that's okay because pictures don't have to be referenced right?
- A.
Right
- B.
Wrong
- C.
Not sure
Correct Answer
B. WrongExplanation
All images you use in your essays should have references. You can choose to put a footnote next to the image title and a footnote at the bottom of the page or put a figure number and have a list of images in your bibliography.Rate this question:
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- 5.
You and your 2 good friends worked on your essays together. You shared the same books, magazines and websites to prepare your essays. You even shared your Pocky and Hello Panda. Your three essays sound really similar, but you all wrote your essays individually. Is this considered plagiarism?
- A.
Yes, your essays are really similar
- B.
Yes, you used the same sources to write
- C.
No, I didn't eat the Strawberry Pocky
- D.
No, we each wrote our own essays so its okay
Correct Answer
D. No, we each wrote our own essays so its okayExplanation
It is okay to share reference sources with your classmates and even to discuss ideas together. Just as long as what you write are your very own words and own interpretation of what you read. If you have covered the same topic using the same sources there may be similarities between your essays but they shouldn't be identical in wording and argument.Rate this question:
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- 6.
I forgot about the essay until the last minute so I decided to get all resourceful and collaborative. I posted up my essay topic on answers.com or on a forum and some dude at UCLA replied with some good ideas. I don't need to write a footnote for that do I? I just asked another student some questions.
- A.
Yes I do
- B.
No I don't
- C.
Maybe, I'm not sure
Correct Answer
A. Yes I doExplanation
The dude at UCLA just did all your thinking for you! You need to give him credit.
Plus, in doing this you short-change yourself as you didn't learn anything - all you did was just copy someone else's ideas. When it comes to more difficult things later on, you won't be able to manage on your own because you never developed your own thinking skills.
Next time plan ahead!Rate this question:
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- 7.
You come across an excellent summary of what you want to say about your essay topic. Its so good its like the author read your mind. You don't want to add a lengthy quote in your essay so you paraphrase the passage, changing a few words here and there. You add a footnote to reference the source you took. Do you need to put quotation marks around the paraphrased passage?
- A.
No, because its not a quote
- B.
Yes, because you only changed a few words
Correct Answer
B. Yes, because you only changed a few wordsExplanation
If you have only changed a few words and the bulk of the sentence is still the authors words, then you should put quotation marks around their words, phrases or terms (in addition to the footnote). If you have substantially changed the sentences and inserted your own ideas, then a footnote to refer to the source is sufficient.Rate this question:
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- 8.
In preparing your essay you find one book that says everything that you need. Should you look for more sources?
- A.
Yes, one is not sufficient
- B.
No, one excellent source is enough
- C.
No, I can't be bothered
Correct Answer
A. Yes, one is not sufficientExplanation
You should look for at least several (more than 3!) sources across different formats (book, journal/magazine, website) to ensure that you have a balanced point of view about the topic.
Only using one source may also be considered plagiarism because it shows that you have relied on just one persons ideas rather than reading several and making your own decisions about what you read.Rate this question:
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- 9.
One of your friends tells you that her older brother helped her to write her essay because she is not very good at writing. Is this considered cheating?
- A.
Yes, you should always write your own essays
- B.
No, its fine to get help
- C.
Maybe
Correct Answer
A. Yes, you should always write your own essaysExplanation
While it is fine to get help with your work, you should always do your own assignments. It is your own responsibility to do your own work and is unethical to present another's work as your own. Also, the purpose of the assignment is for you to learn and improve, if you don't do your own work you will never learn. If you are stuck or unsure, please ask your tutors!Rate this question:
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- 10.
The essay questions are released and you immediately know what topic you want to do. You aren't heading straight home tonight, so you 'reshelve' the best books at the library so no one else borrows them before you can pick them up the next day. Is this okay?
- A.
Yes, I'm borrowing them tomorrow
- B.
No, its not fair to my classmates
Correct Answer
B. No, its not fair to my classmatesExplanation
'Re-shelving' or hiding books in the library so no-one else can find them is unethical and very unfair to your classmates, particularly if there is only one copy of the book and it is in high demand.
You are grown ups! Gather all those in your class who want the book and organise amongst yourselves a borrowing or photocopying schedule that is fair and benefits everyone.Rate this question:
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- 11.
This year's essay topic has some overlap with last years. Is it okay to re-use some of your essay material from last year in this year's essay?
- A.
Yes, its my own words
- B.
Yes, I'll be adding new sources and lots of new material
- C.
No, its not okay to re-use
Correct Answer
C. No, its not okay to re-useExplanation
If you have already been graded on the essay or assignment, you cannot re-submit it for another subject. You must do original (non-recycled) work for every subject. Each time you produce an assignment you learn something, you build on previous knowledge. Recycling assignments means you don't learn anything.Rate this question:
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- 12.
Some information for your essay is very basic biographical data about the artist you are writing about, so you just copy and paste 3 sentences from a website which nicely summarise his life. Is this okay?
- A.
Yes, if it is just basic information
- B.
No, you can't just copy and paste
Correct Answer
B. No, you can't just copy and pasteExplanation
Copy and pasting of information from websites (or just typing up from a book) is not okay. You must summarise the information in your own words. Anything more than 2 sentences directly copied from a website will be considered plagiarism and will be punished with a straight '0' for your essay.Rate this question:
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- 13.
You do most of your research on chinese or other non-english websites. In writing your essay you do your own translation into english of the quotes you need. Do you need to put quotation marks around the quotes if you have rewritten them through translation?
- A.
No, its now your own words
- B.
Yes, its still a quote
- C.
No, its considered paraphrasing
Correct Answer
B. Yes, its still a quoteExplanation
The meaning and ideas remain the authors even though you translate the quote, so you need to put quotation marks around the quote.
You also need to add a footnote referencing the original article and you should also add the original quote in Chinese in the footnote. Also add a note to say that you translated the quote into English yourself.Rate this question:
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- 14.
You fall sick with the nastiest flu and highest fever you have ever had just one week before your essay is due. You go see the doctor and get a 5 day MC. After you get better you realise that you can't complete your essay on time, so you alter the date on your MC to include the day of essay submission. Is this acceptable?
- A.
Yes, I was really sick
- B.
No, you should never change an MC
Correct Answer
B. No, you should never change an MCExplanation
Changing anything on an MC is a punishable offence and will be taken very seriously. Students may face a disciplinary committee, suspension or automatic failure for the assignment.
Don't even think about changing your MC!Rate this question:
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- 15.
You make a very thorough set of endnotes and a bibliography but forget to print them out. You submit your essay anyway without the endnotes and bibliography. Is this considered plagiarism?
- A.
Yes, because there are no references
- B.
No, because you did do them, you just forgot
Correct Answer
A. Yes, because there are no referencesExplanation
Essays without references at all will be graded '0'.
No references means that all the ideas you have written are your own originals! If that's not true then its plagiarism.
Saying that you forgot is not an excuse.Rate this question:
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- 16.
In researching Russia in the 19th century, you read widely and thoroughly. When you write your essay you carefully indicate all your quotes with quotation marks and provide a detailed bibliography at the end your essay. However, you don't have any footnotes, endnotes or in-text citations. Is this considered plagiarism?
- A.
Yes, because you have no footnotes, endnotes or in-text citations
- B.
No, because you have a bibliography
Correct Answer
A. Yes, because you have no footnotes, endnotes or in-text citationsExplanation
Essays with incomplete references will have grades deducted.
If you have no footnotes, endnotes or in-text citations, no one will ever know which of your sources you took the quote or information from. That means you have not attributed the ideas or words to their rightful author.Rate this question:
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- 17.
I really like photography, so for my essay on Singapore I went around taking pictures of HDB flats and other relevant buildings. The images are all my own originals so I don't need to reference them right?
- A.
Right, the images belong to me
- B.
Wrong, I should credit myself
- C.
Both of the above
Correct Answer
C. Both of the aboveExplanation
Give yourself some credit for your own original work. Be proud of your work and stick your name on it!Rate this question:
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