A Scavenger Hunt about Plagiarism for Freshmen

 

 

 

Online image. West Haven Public Schools. Works Cited. 9 Oct. 2007.

<www.whschools.org/page.cfm?p=906>.

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion

 

Introduction:

 

Has this ever happened to you?

• You are sitting in homeroom waiting for the bell to ring when one of your friends leans over and asks you if you finished your report for social studies class.  She tells you she’s been so busy practicing for the basketball game on Friday that she forgot to do it.  She wants you to be a pal and let her copy it or at least put it in her own words.  Is this plagiarism?

 

• You are writing a report and find a website that has great information but you forget to write down the address of the website.  You include the information in your report anyway, and just don’t cite your source. Is this plagiarism?

 

• You are putting together a biography of Ray Bradbury.  As part of your research, you download images from Google instead of putting your own artwork on the project because your teacher told you this was acceptable.  Is it plagiarism if you don’t tell where the pictures come from?

 

Online image. Google. 9 Oct 2007.  www.google.com

 

 

 

 

 

The Task

 

All of the examples above are examples of a crime known as plagiarism.

Plagiarism is another name for stealing someone else’s words or ideas. Even though it seems unimportant, it is important.  It is like any other form of stealing. Someone is being cheated, and unfortunately the one who is cheated the most is the person who plagiarizes material.  

Plagiarism has serious consequences attached to it such as a failing grade on a project or being expelled from school.  By examining and being able to identify different forms of plagiarism, you can learn how to avoid committing it and/or avoid being a victim of it.  In this assignment, you will investigate the meaning of plagiarism and the proper way to cite sources.

Online image. LSU Libraries. Tiger Tail. 11 Oct 2007.

http://www.lib.lsu.edu/instruction/tigertail/nf/module3/plagiarism.htm

 

 

 

 

The Process and Resources:

 

Part I - In Class:

Follow the directions below.  Write your answers on the worksheet. The resources you need to complete the assignment are hyperlinks, underlined in blue.

1.      Use an online dictionary to write a definition of the term “Plagiarism”.      (10 points)

2.      Read through the following section from the Purdue University web site on plagiarism. List 5 examples of sources that must be cited or credited to avoid plagiarism, and 5 examples of situations that do not require documentation.  You may use bullet points to create a list.  (20 points)

3.      David Gardner, on his website Plagiarism and How to Avoid It , lists two techniques to avoid being caught in the plagiarism trap.  Summarize and explain these two techniques in your own words.  Use complete sentences.    (20 points)

 

 

 

 

Part II - Homework:

 

Follow the directions below. Write the answers on your worksheet.  Additional resources you need to complete the assignment are listed below in the purple box.  Check to be certain you have completed all the required elements for full credit!

 

 

Resources

Landmark's Citation Machine "is an interactive Web tool designed to assist teachers and students in producing reference citations for crediting information from other people. You merely... Click the type of resource you wish to cite, Complete the Web form that appears with information from your resource, and Click “make citations to generate standard MLA citations." This is a time-saver and makes building a bibliography easy. Easybib provides a tool for creating bibliographies by entering information into a form. You can also save your bibliography as you go along. One drawback is that this free version of doesn't have as many citation formats as you may need. OWL , The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University, has over 200 free resources including guides to citation styles, research tips, and effective writing.   Note: These resources are also available on the CCHS Library Resources page.   Word 2007 Citation Tool

 

1. Using the internet, find a website to research the biography of your own favorite author. Not sure who to choose? You may pick an author of one of your English books. (5 points)

 

2.  Write a paragraph summarizing the information contained on the website that you selected in #1.

·         You must refer to the anti-plagiarism techniques that we discussed in the library when writing your summary.

• Use your own words and use complete sentences.
• Include at least 3 key points or facts presented in the website in your summary.
• Print out the first page of the website that you selected and attach it to your assignment sheet.   (20 Points)

 

3.  Using the citation resources listed above, create the proper citation for the website that you selected.   (10 points)

 

4.  Using the internet, find a picture/image related to the author you selected in #1. Print the image and attach it to your assignment sheet.  (5 points)

 

5.  Using the citation resources listed above, create the proper citation for the image that you selected.  (10 points)

 

 

Evaluation

 

 

 

      You will be evaluated in two ways:

ü      How accurately you answered the questions for the in-class assignment – Part I.   (50 pts.)

ü       Completion of the HW assignment – Part II.  (50 pts.)

 

Your work will count as a homework grade in your English class.

 

Conclusion

     

Plagiarism is a growing problem with the increased use of the internet.  Combating it involves education about what it is and how it can be destructive to intellectual and artistic freedom.  You need to develop a strong set of values and recognize the need to respect others' ideas and literary and academic expressions.  Hopefully with this lesson you are better prepared to fulfill this task. 

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Keleher

Library

Central Catholic High School

Last updated on: October 22,2008

 

 

 

 

 

Modified from a webquest designed by

Mrs. Ellis

Mee1305@elms.k12.oh.us

Available @ http://wneo.org/WebQuests/TeacherWebQuests/plagiarism/plagiarism.htm