According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, to plagiarize is to "...steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own: use (another's production) without crediting the source...". ("Plagiarize." Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster, 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.)
This includes words, photos, music, data, research, film, etc...
At the academic level, the consequences can include failing the assignment to expulsion.
For current JIS policy concerning plagiarism see the student handbook.
All JIS HS teachers have turnitin.com accounts and will require students to submit a number of assignments for originality reports. Assignments are quickly compared with millions of resources to help ensure students are completing their own work
Three Skills to Avoid Plagiarism
Direct Quotations
When the writer uses the exact words from a source.
Quotations should be used sparingly and when the language is important.
These words are, of course, surrounded by quotation marks.
Quotations must be combined with the writer's original words. Example: We know Santiago, "...had seen many great fish" (Hemingway 63).
Omitted words are noted by ellipses (...), but one must be certain the context of the quote stays the same.
Long quotations of more than four lines are set off by a colon, NOT enclosed in quotation mars, and indented 10 spaces/2 tabs.
Paraphrasing:
As always, if you use someone's information, it needs to be cited even when using your own language.
Therefore, paraphrasing is expressing someone else's idea and/or work in your own words.
Use a parenthetical citation at the end of the paraphrase. Example: ..until the idea becomes a reality (Smith 62).
Summarizing
A shortened version and/or broad overview of a source that focuses on the key points.
Written in one's own worlds
Use a parenthetical citation at the end of the summary. Example: ..the law will take effect in 2014 (Lewis and Buckley).
From thevisualcommunicationguy.com (2014)
Click to Enlarge
Multimedia Projects
Just like one should be certain to cite other people's work when typing papers, the same is true in multimedia projects (videos, podcasts, presentations, etc...).
Any time you use someone's photo, music, video, animation, etc... it must be cited AND you must determine if your purpose falls within FAIR USE (see below.
The easiest way to ensure one's multimedia resources fall within legal guidelines is to utilize tools that search for resources that already give user's rights. Some include:
Look for resources with a CREATIVE COMMONS license. Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables creators to give permission to share some or all aspects of their work with others.
