Plagiarism is both the intentional and unintentional use of another person’s ideas, opinions, or theories without clearly acknowledging the source.  Plagiarism is the theft of ideas and is considered cheating.  This includes, but is not limited to, the use of free or purchased essays and papers (in whole or in part) from any source.

To avoid plagiarism, you must:

• document the source of each direct quotation.
• document any original idea, theory, or opinion found in your reading or research.
• document the ideas of others, even when you have summarized or paraphrased them in your own words.  To paraphrase, carefully read the text then rewrite entirely in your own words.  Double check your version against the original to avoid accidentally copying words or phrases.
• document the source of data or other information from surveys, scientific experiments, and research studies.
• use original thoughts to connect the documented ideas, theories, and opinions used in your research papers and essays.
• give accurate and complete citations for all material using the style detailed in the MLA Handbook.

Because women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage, single mothers rarely earn enough to support themselves and their children adequately. And because work is still organized around the assumption that mothers stay home with children, even though few mothers can afford to do so, child-care facilities in the United States remain woefully inadequate.

Here are some possible uses of this text. As you read through each version, try to decide if it is a legitimate use of May's text or a plagiarism.

Version A:

Since women's wages often continue to reflect the mistaken notion that men are the main wage earners in the family, single mothers rarely make enough to support themselves and their children very well. Also, because work is still based on the assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities for child-care remain woefully inadequate in the United States.

Plagiarism – In Version A there is too much direct borrowing in sentence structure and wording. The writer changes some words, drops one phrase, and adds some new language, but the overall text closely resembles May's. Even with a citation, the writer is still plagiarizing because the lack of quotation marks indicates that Version A is a paraphrase, and should thus be in the writer's own language.

Version B:

As Elaine Tyler May points out, "women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage" (588). Thus many single mothers cannot support themselves and their children adequately. Furthermore, since work is based on the assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities for day care in this country are still "woefully inadequate." (May 589).

Version C:

As Elaine Tyler May points out, "women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage" (588). Thus many single mothers cannot support themselves and their children adequately. Furthermore, since work is based on the assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities for day care in this country are still "woefully inadequate." (May 589).

Plagiarism – Version C shows good paraphrasing of wording and sentence structure, but May's original ideas are not acknowledged. Some of May's points are common knowledge (women earn less than men, many single mothers live in poverty), but May uses this common knowledge to make a specific and original point and her original conception of this idea is not acknowledged.

Version D:

Women today still earn less than men — so much less that many single mothers and their children live near or below the poverty line. Elaine Tyler May argues that this situation stems in part from "the fiction that men earn the family wage" (588). May further suggests that the American workplace still operates on the assumption that mothers with children stay home to care for them (589).

This assumption, in my opinion, does not have the force it once did. More and more businesses offer in-house day-care facilities. . . .

No Plagiarism – The writer makes use of the common knowledge in May's work, but acknowledges May's original conclusion and does not try to pass it off as his or her own. The quotation is properly cited, as is a later paraphrase of another of May's ideas.

(Source: http://ccc.commnet.edu/mla/plagiarism.shtml)

Grading Policy Regarding Plagiarism
In the first instance of plagiarism, the student will receive a zero (0) on the essay or paper, and his or her parent will be contacted. In addition to the aforementioned consequences, the student will receive an administrative referral and the offense will become part of the student’s discipline record.