Academic integrity is a central concept at Westminster. You are expected to follow all guidelines as cited in your student handbook. Plagiarism includes stealing, borrowing, buying or distributing research papers, creative papers, speeches, etc., including anonymous publications and online publications. Plagiarism includes:
1. copying phrases, sentences, or sections from a source and failing to indicate that it is a direct quote.
2. paraphrasing or making slight changes to passages, and attempting to pass them off as your work (three words is a passage).
3. inserting passages from another source within your own writing and failing to identify them as a quote.
4. taking original ideas (not just exact words) from a source and failing to cite your source in a citation.
5. submitting work that is not your own.
6. self-plagiarism is when a student uses a paper they have written for another class, which is also considered a plagiarism offense.
In all of these cases, a student would be guilty of plagiarism, a serious offense. Independently of whether or not you intended to plagiarize (intentions are difficult to determine), if there is evidence of plagiarism, disciplinary action will occur. While plagiarism is sometimes difficult to detect, it must be discouraged by any means.
I will be using Turnitin to evaluate plagiarism in your papers. I am required by the college to notify the academic dean of any plagiarism cases, and a letter will be placed in your file. If there are no repeat cases, that letter will be removed after you complete your degree here. The additional possible disciplinary actions include failure for the assignment, and lowering of grade and/or failure for the course.
Please see your college catalog for further details. The college academic integrity policy is clearly specified. * I am indebted to Tom Taylor and Jackie Gusell for this policy
Citing an Article:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number if available). Retrieved from url OR doi:
Swanson, E., Hairrell, A., Kent, S., Ciullo, S., Wanzek, J., & Vaughn, S. (2014). A synthesis and meta-analysis of reading interventions using social studies content for students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 47(2), 178-95. retrieved from http://www.doi.org/10.1177/0022219412451131
Citing a Book Chapter
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.
Eberhard, J. (2012) Sustainability and neuroscience. In S. Rassia (Ed.), Sustainable environmental design in architecture : Impacts on health (3-6) New York: Springer.
Citing a Book:
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.
Tillis, A. (2005). Manuel Zapata Olivella and the "darkening" of Latin American literature. Columbia: University of Missouri Press.
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