Plagiarism and Cheating

Please inform yourself about plagiarism before you begin your course.

1. Read the NOVA Online policy statement on academic dishonesty

2. Read the official NVCC statement on academic integrity

3. Read my policy on plagiarism and cheating

Any instance of academic dishonesty, cheating, plagiarism on any assignment or exam will result in a grade of 0 for that assignment or exam and may result in an immediate grade of "F" in the course.

4. Read my policy on citing sources

For a paper assignment in one of my courses in which you are using the required book (or primary source), simple page number in parenthesis is fine (32)--because I know what source you are using.
For a paragraph writing assignment, simply use quotation marks around your quote. You do not need to include a citation because I know the specific document that you are using.
For a paper assignment in which you are referencing multiple sources, you can use footnotes to cite your sources. You can also use parenthetical URL (www.course.edu/Gilgamesh/paper.html), but if the URL is a long one, you are better off using a footnote.
You may also check the Citing Sources noted below for further information. If you have any questions, please check with your instructor.

If you understand the issue of plagiarism/cheating, you should proceed with your course. If you need further explanation of plagiarism and citation issues, please check with your instructor or some of the resources listed below.

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Plagiarism information at NVCC

Citation Help & Plagiarism

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Plagiarism information at some major universities

Indiana University's, Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Recognize and Avoid, has some good examples of plagiarism. See also the general Writing Resources.

The Purdue University Online Writing Lab has a very well done website on Avoiding Plagiarism.

The Writing Place at Northwestern University has Avoiding Plagiarism with a set of nice tips for writers.

Another good resource is Using Sources, by Sharon Williams at Hamilton College, with some general remarks and detailed explanation of examples.

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Citing Sources

Duke University Libraries, Citing Sources, is a good worksheet.

Georgetown University Library, Manage Bibliographies & Citations, provides links to information about the various systems for citing sources.

A Brief Citation Guide for Internet Sources in History and the Humanities by Melvin Page, East Tennessee State University, provides a short comparison site of MLA, APA and Chicago citation of online resources styles.

APA, MLA, Turabian, and Chicago Citation Styles is a good starting place to learn about MLA, APA and Chicago style systems.

Citing Electronic Information in History Papers, by Maurice Crouse, University of Memphis, is useful.

Internet Resources on Citing: The Trademark of a Good Writer

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Here is a video that you can watch about plagiarism: The punishable perils of plagiarism - Melissa Huseman D’Annunzio.

Listen to some brief remarks about plagiarism as a mp3 file. You can also read the information as a txt file