Reminder about essay plagiarism

Hi all,

Several university administrators have asked us to circulate a stern reminder to students about plagiarism. It is high season for essay-writing and, sadly, also for OSAI plagiarism cases.

Please review the definition of plagiarism according to the UofT Academic Code. Please also review how not to plagiarize.

The Code describes plagiarism as “to represent as one’s own any idea or expression of an idea or work of another in any academic examination or term test or in connection with any other form of
academic work, i.e. to commit plagiarism” (B.i.1.a). The further definition given is: “the wrongful appropriation and purloining, and publication as one’s own, of the ideas, or the expression of the ideas … of another” (Appendix A).

Note in particular that failure to identify specific use of an author’s exact words by quotation marks, even when the use of the work is otherwise fully documented with a citation, an offense under the Code. It “merits severe sanctions when found”.

Cheers,
Prof. Peet.