Academic Integrity

Writing English compositions is a fundamental part of college academics in the U.S. In most classes, students can expect to have to write a paragraph or an essay at some point. Just like exams, instructors use a student’s writing to evaluate his or her knowledge about a particular topic. When grading an essay they do not simply look at how clearly a student expresses their ideas, they also make sure that the ideas are authentic. This means that students must avoid plagiarism.
Plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas or written words without acknowledging where they come from or using another writer’s words without quoting or paraphrasing. Turning in a paper written by someone else, copying or rewording a text without saying where the information was taken from are examples. Universities and colleges in the U.S. take this offense very seriously and often take harsh punitive measures on plagiarizers. Instructors will not give students credit for a plagiarized assignment. They may even fail the student from the course or have them expelled from the school depending on the extent of the ...