Answer: Plagiarism, in plain and simple terms, is the stealing of someone
else's words or ideas. If you don't know what constitutes plagiarism,
please visit the UW site at:
http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm#plagiarism
We love to see YOUR work, and that is certainly the best way to get the
best possible grade. Don't worry that the English may not be perfect, though
you should strive to use the clearest English possible. Get a friend to read
your material and suggest changes. Rob has taken and taught courses in Portuguese
and Swahili, and can certainly relate to the problems a person that knows
English as a second language has. Only know that the more you write, the easier
it is and the better you will be. Strive to relate ideas as best you can.
Using pictures and figures certainly helps, as this language is Universal.
For help in how to avoid plagiarism on your web site:
http://depts.washington.edu/trio/train/howto/avoid/guidelines.shtml
This is one way you can check for plagiarism:
http://depts.washington.edu/trio/train/howto/avoid/index.shtml
Since the Epost and Peer Review requirements are individual efforts, responsibility
clearly rests with the individual student. In the case of group projects,
things get a little more fuzzy, but we must initially consider that responsibility
for the content of the entire project rests with each student individually.
Here are the ways suggested to avoid plagiarism problems in your group project.
First, make plagiarism a point of group discussion - what it is, and how
to avoid it. If the group discusses the issue from the start of the
project, it will be much easier to avoid. Each student should be very
careful to identify in quotes any copied material with its source, and immediately
label any figures, tables, or other material. If you use a figure that
you created, or a picture you yourself took, then credit yourself in your
project. Don’t wait to write the source of your material down later.
Do it when you have it in front of you.
If you do all of this consistently, and check the project in the same way
we do, you should have no problems.
We're looking forward to seeing those beautiful, fact-filled, original and
properly cited posts on the web!