Plagiarism and the Honor Code
Academic integrity is part of the James Madison Honor Code. This means students may not give or receive help during examinations. A student must do all the work on a paper bearing his/her name. JMU defines plagiarism as “ the deliberate copying, writing or presenting as one's own the information, ideas or phrasing of another person without proper acknowledgment of the true source. ” In the following cases, such a misleading impression is given:
1. Failure to give credit in a footnote for ideas, statements of fact, or conclusions derived from another writer.
2. Failure to use quotation marks when quoting directly from another writer, whether an entire sentence or only a phrase is quoted. In addition, all quotations must always be footnoted.
3. Close and extended paraphrase of another writer even if credit is given in a footnote.
4. Footnoting directly to a source that is quoted or cited by another author but that has not been examined by the writer of the paper, unless proper credit is given in a footnote.
Plagiarism need not be deliberate; it may be committed unintentionally through carelessness or ignorance. Since accidental plagiarism in a paper is indistinguishable from deliberate dishonesty, a student must be alert to avoid the sort of carelessness or ignorance that may leave him or her open to a charge of having plagiarized another's work. Students who are suspected of violating the Honor Code will receive a failing grade and be brought before the Honor Board. For further information see: