PLAGIARISM:THE GAME

What do you know about plagiarism? How can you avoid it?

Let’s find out!

(based on a presentation by Elinor Appel)

GAME RULES

I will ask you questions about plagiarism. The

answers will be either TRUE or FALSE.

If you know the answer, raise your hand and

answer the question by saying TRUE or FALSE.

If I call on you, and you answer correctly, you get a

prize!

PRACTICE QUESTION: TRUE OR FALSE?

Plagiarism is copying someone else’s work

without citing the source. [Do you know what “to

cite” means?]

Image source: SJLibrary.org

TRUEPlagiarism is using somebody else's words, images, or

ideas as your own. Plagiarism is a type of cheating. When

you cite your source, you are giving credit to the person

who did the work. This is necessary in American colleges.

Image source: “Plagiarism: The New Global Trade.” BBC.org

QUESTION 1Jack is working on an essay about global

warming, but he doesn’t know how to express his

thoughts in good English.

While searching the Internet for ideas, Jack finds an amazing essay with

the perfect topic, and best of all, it’s free! So he cuts and pastes it into

his Word document and puts his name on top.

Jack plagiarized: TRUE or

FALSE?

TRUE

Jack is now a literary criminal. Cutting and pasting

content from online resources without crediting them is

plagiarism. If a teacher is suspicious of your perfect

English, she can just Google and find the document, and

then you will receive a zero!

QUESTION 2

Vicki doesn’t know what to do. Her compare/contrast paragraph is due in

the morning, and it is already late at night. She is too tired to work.

Suddenly, she remembers a paragraph she wrote for her class last quarter

on almost the same topic. She received an A on that assignment! Vicki

happily makes a few small changes to her old paragraph and turns it in.

Vicki is a plagiarist! True or

False?

TRUEVicki is now a plagiarist. You cannot turn in an old paper in

place of a new one, even if you wrote it yourself. Surprise!

Sorry Vicki. Goodbye.

QUESTION 3

Drew is called into his instructor’s office. His

instructor has discovered that Drew bought his

paper from an online essay-writing service.

Drew is now in serious trouble!

TRUE or FALSE?

TRUE

Drew is in terribly serious trouble. Buying essays

online means you did not do the work your teacher

asked you to do.

Drew will receive a “0” on his paper.

Drew will also be reported to the International

Programs office, and maybe even the Vice

President of Student Services.

Dan may even be expelled from school.

QUESTION 4

Laura was writing a paper on Toni Morrison’s book

Beloved. She looked in a library book and found a

good quote to use in her paper.

Laura included the quote in her paper, and gave the author credit, citing

the author’s name and book title in her paper.

Laura avoided plagiarism:

TRUE or FALSE?

TRUE

Laura has done exactly what she is supposed to do.

Yay, Laura!

BONUS QUESTION

How can you avoid plagiarism? (There is more than

one answer!)

T H AT ’ S T H E E N D O F O U R G A M E ! C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S – A N D R E M E M B E R

Don’t turn in an old paper as a new paper.

Don’t cut and paste work you found online and put

it in your paper. Even one sentence is plagiarism!

Don’t buy papers online.

Ask your instructor, a Loft tutor, or a librarian if

you are unsure about what plagiarism is.

THANK YOU!

Today you learned a lot about

plagiarism!