Academic Integrity

Academic integrity means getting the most out of your time at SUNY Cortland.  You can read the College's academic integrity statement in the handbook for a full definition and examples, but in general violations of academic integrity include plagiarism, cheating, and otherwise dishonest academic actions.  Although cheating is rarely accidental, many cases of plagiarism can be avoided by having a clearer idea of what it entails.  You may know that purchasing an essay from the Internet is plagiarism, but do you know if the following constitute plagiarism as well?

• Copying and pasting from your source document without using quotation marks or an in-text citation
• Submitting a paper for more than one class
• Changing only a few words from your source document when you paraphrase
• Paraphrasing but not giving an in-text citation
• Borrowing too heavily from a source document's ideas or rhetorical structure, even if you paraphrase

ALL of the above are examples of plagiarism!  So what can you do about it?  And why should you care?

This guide was designed to help you understand what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it.  Although there are negative consequences when plagiarism is detected (as outlined in the handbook), perhaps the most negative consequence is the impact on your own future.  As SUNY Oswego writes in their tutorial, "plagiarism keeps you from learning, turns your presentation of what and how you know into a lie, and places you outside of the community you are spending a lot of time, effort and money to become a member of" ("Good Learning"). 

"Good Learning Versus Plagiarism Tutorial." SUNY Oswego. State University of New York at Oswego, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.