Rockridge Social Studies

Plagiarism is a serious offence. According to the New Shorter Oxford Dictionary, plagiarism is "the action or fact of ...literary theft." It is the verbatim copying of someone's words or thoughts without acknowledging the original source of those words, thoughts or facts.

 

 

• Every verbatim quotation, unique idea or statistical reference must be cited and thus acknowledged within the work. Failure to do so may lead to a failing grade. 

 

• Students who alter a few words of a copied work are still guilty of plagiarism and subject to a failing grade. If an idea that is unique to an author is paraphrased, it too must be cited. 

 

• Ideas that are accepted as common knowledge within a course of study do not have to be cited. For example, it is common knowledge that appeasement was one of the causes of the World War Two. This would be an idea that would not have to be cited.