Academic honesty or academic integrity is a set of values held by the academic community. These values are defined by the Center for Academic Integrity as "commitment, even in the face of adversity, to...honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility."

There are four basic types of academic dishonesty: cheating, facilitation, plagiarism, and fabrication. Sometimes plagiarism is used as a catch-all term for all kinds of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is using somebody else's ideas or expression of ideas (writing, art, music, speech, etc.) and representing them as your own.

More specifically, plagiarism is the "unattributed use of a source of information that is not considered common knowledge. Three acts are considered plagiarism: (1) failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas, (2) failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks, and (3) failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words."
~~Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual

Get to know the Academic Honesty Policy at your school. It is the student's responsibility to understand and adhere to policies. Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional, but in all cases violations are taken seriously and disciplinary action will be taken. Avoid getting into trouble by reviewing the rules and making sure you understand them.

Institutional Policies:

• UWB Policy on Academic and Behavioral Conduct
• UW Student Conduct Code
• CCC Student Code of Conduct see "standards of classroom behavior"

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Strategies for staying out of trouble

1. Get familiar with the academic honesty policy and make sure you understand it.
2. Plan ahead. Give yourself enough time to plan, research, write, and edit your work.
3. When you need help or clarification, ask!
4. Document your research as you write. It's difficult and time-consuming to retrace your research after the fact.

More guides and tutorials:

Avoiding plagiarism exercises (Diana Hacker, Pocket Style Manual)

Select:
1. Electronic Research Exercises
2. APA, MLA, or Chicago (choose one)
3. Avoiding plagiarism

Northwestern University's "How to Avoid Plagiarism" guide

UCLA's "Bruin Success with Less Stress"

Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) "Avoiding Plagiarism" handout

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Part of academic honesty is understanding how to appropriately cite the work of others. Here are some tools that will assist you when making citations.

The Writing Center at University of Wisconsin-Madison created an excellent website for writers. Check out their page on paraphrasing and quoting successfully.

Diana Hacker's Research and Documentation Online

Michael Havey's The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing

The purpose of citations is to point others to the sources you used. Citation styles are standard systems for giving credit to others whose words or ideas you use in your work. Several styles are commonly used at Cascadia and UWB; your instructor will likely specify which citation style to follow. Be sure to refer to a style guide so that your citations consistently follow the rules for the style you are using. Style guides are available in the Writing and Research collection on the first floor of the Campus Library. For more information, see the Campus Library's style guides page. The library also offers quick reference handouts (PDF files) for the following styles:

• American Psychological Association (APA)
• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• Chicago Manual of Style/Turabian
• Council of Science Editors (CBE)

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GETTING HELP

When you have questions about your instructors' expectations for assignments, ask! Make use of office hours and take the time to seek guidance.

If you would like help with your writing or class projects, campus resources are available. Writing tutors and consultants won't "fix" your writing, but they will offer feedback and strategies for strengthening your work.

CCC Open Learning Center is a computer lab that also houses the Math and Writing drop-in tutoring centers.

UWB Writing Center supports writers of all abilities at any stage of the writing process. In addition to one-on-one consultations, the Writing Center periodically offers writing workshops.

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