Plagiarism+(also+see+Copyright)

The Policy on Academic Integrity can be found on the FCBOE web site under Policies, then District Policies, then Students (J), then JCD Student Academic Integrity. Along with the Language Arts Research Standard, the Board Policy is very clear in requiring students to practice ethical behavior in all their school work.

We often find that an assignment can encourage or discourage plagiarism by the way it is structured. David Loertscher, in his book __Ban Those Bird Units__, calls for teachers to assign beyond low-level, copy and paste assignments and to reach for tasks that require students to analyze, reflect, create, question, compare and contrast, problem solve, and collaborate. Until we help teachers move away from school work that invites students to simply cut and paste, we will continue to be plagued with plagiarized work.

This article by Jamie McKenzie of __From Now On__, is worthy of inclusion here. http://fno.org/feb07/topic.html


 * You can avoid plagiarism.**
 * When you are taking notes, make sure that you copy all original passages in quotation marks.
 * Paraphrase by really putting ideas into your own words; go beyond changing a few words. Recognize that paraphrasing of unique ideas and facts also requires citation.
 * As you write, return to the text and check your paraphrase against the original source to make sure you haven’t unintentionally copied.
 * Use graphic organizers to restructure your facts and ideas.
 * Use your own voice to put a new twist on old information.
 * When in doubt, cite!

You don’t have to cite everything. Facts or ideas referred to as “common knowledge” do not have to be cited. Common knowledge includes facts that are found in many sources, facts that you assume many people know. A rule of thumb is that if you find a fact in three or more sources, it may be considered common knowledge. An example of common knowledge is that John Adams married Abigail Smith. However, you must document little-known facts and any ideas that interpret facts, even if they are paraphrased. For instance, even if you don’t use McCullough’s words, you should absolutely document McCullough’s belief that this marriage may have been the most critical decision of Adam’s life. (from McCullough, David. __John Adams__. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001)
 * What is Common Knowledge?**

A helpful resource for teachers and students is to print a list of examples to be used when citing a source and to refer students to additional online sources to help with their citation formats whether it is MLA, APA, Chicago style, etc.
 * Citation Formats**

Online automatic citation generators include: http://www.easybib.com/ http://www.noodletools.com/ http://citationmachine.net/