Students at The Dr. G. W. Williams Secondary School are expected to think independently and work honestly. Each student must develop habits that contribute to genuine academic, personal, and social growth. Students are to demonstrate academic honesty at all times, and to achieve with integrity.
Academic Dishonesty includes cheating and plagiarism.
Cheating involves:
Ø the act of copying the work of others during a test or examination.
Ø the unauthorized giving or receiving of information or assistance during a test or examination.
Ø the bringing of unauthorized material into a test or examination.
Ø the submission of a project, assignment, homework, or essay (in part or whole) that was written by or purchased from another, as your own work.
Ø the submission of the same or substantially similar work for evaluation in two courses, unless both teachers have given prior approval.
Plagiarism includes:
Ø material taken from oral, visual, printed, or electronic sources and used without proper acknowledgement.
Ø submission(s) in which the words have been re-arranged, summarized, or paraphrased without acknowledgement.
Ø essays/assignments which have been partially or entirely composed by another.
Be aware that teachers are very familiar with methods of detecting plagiarism and often use a variety of on-line educational tools, such as Turnitin. Notwithstanding, if a teacher suspects that a submission is not original work, then it is the responsibility of the student to demonstrate that the work is his/her own.
How to Avoid Plagiarism:
Ø Don’t copy and paste text from print or electronic sources. Instead create jot notes where you paraphrase or summarize an author’s ideas in your own words. Keep track of source information when you make jot notes by recording the author’s name, publisher, year of publication, web site address, etc. There are forms available in the library to help you with creating jot notes and recording source information.
Ø Acknowledge all sources. Use footnotes, endnotes, embedded references, a bibliography, a works cited list, etc. Be specific about what is taken from each source. Guides to MLA referencing (embedded references and works cited lists) are available in the library.
Ø Have a trusted adult peruse your rough work or draft copy.
Consequences for Cheating and Plagiarism
Students involved in acts of academic dishonesty will be referred to a school administrator. Consequences may include; parental/guardian contact; awarding a mark of zero for the evaluation or assignment; and suspension from school. Consequences will escalate for repeated acts. A record of the student’s name and the plagiarized work will be filed by the teacher in the Main Office.