In the NSU student handbook, plagiarism is defined as “the adoption or reproduction of ideas, words, or statements of another person as one’s own without proper acknowledgment.” Plagiarism thus occurs when you take someone’s ideas OR if you take the expression of those ideas (the words, images, etc.) AND then fail to acknowledge their source. Usually, acknowledgment of the source is done through quotation marks identifying the words being used, parenthetical citation in the text, and an entry on the references page.
Plagiarism is one of the four forms of academic dishonesty outlined in the NSU student handbook, including:
The focus of this module is plagiarism, but plagiarism may overlap with other forms of academic dishonesty. For instance, if you allow another student to copy your own work, that student is plagiarizing, but YOU are also breaking the academic dishonesty standards by “facilitating academic dishonesty.”
Instructors have wide latitude in how they respond to plagiarism, and the form of plagiarism committed will often determine the severity of the consequences. Consequences can range from a reduced grade to being dropped from your academic program. The instructor is usually required to contact you if a grade is being based on the suspicion of plagiarism, and will typically provide an account of the evidence that has led to this conclusion. If a determination is made that you have plagiarized, there will be a process through which you can challenge this determination if you believe that you did not engage in plagiarism.
Remember, the stage of the writing process may also matter in how an instructor responds to suspected plagiarism. For instance, if you fail to acknowledge a source in an early draft, an instructor may simply ask you to add the citation, but if you fail to acknowledge a source in a final draft intended for grading, the consequences may be more severe. It is always to your benefit, therefore, to raise questions about the appropriateness of your citation methods as early in the process as possible.
Note that different colleges and departments may have different procedures for how they respond to or identify plagiarism. Some instructors use plagiarism detection services, for instance, that automatically flag suspect passages. Contact your instructor or department if you have questions.