Nagoya University
Japan-in-Asia Cultural Studies Program
Rev. 1.1 (February 2015)

STATEMENT ON PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
1. What is Plagiarism?
There  are  many  definitions  of  plagiarism  floating  about.  For  our  purposes,  plagiarism  is  defined  as:    Failure   to   acknowledge   the   use   of   another’s   ideas,   phrasing/language,   or   other   materials  and   to   duly   credit   your   sources.   This   applies   not   only   to   deliberate   lack   of  acknowledgement;   negligent   or   careless   failure   to   acknowledge   and   credit   borrowed  materials  is  also  plagiarism.    
Common   knowledge   need   not   be   cited,   and   failure   to   do   so   is   not   plagiarism.   “The   earth   is  round.”  Fine.  No  citation  needed.       Citation   is   necessary   for   both   direct   and   indirect   borrowing   of   material.   Whether   you   quote,  summarize,   or   paraphrase,   you   must   give   credit   to   the   original   author(s).   The   mechanics   of  citation   vary   case   by   case   (when   do   you   need   quotation   marks?   page   numbers?)   and   are  addressed   in   citation   guides.   The   important   point   for   the   purposes   of   this   guide   to   academic  integrity  is  that  you  must  cite  when  you  reference  someone  else’s  work.    
MIT’s  academic  integrity  guidelines  summarize  the  problem  nicely:    If  you  use  the  words,  ideas,  or  phrasing  of  another  person  or  from  published  material,  you  must  • Use  quotation  marks  around  the  words  and  cite  the  source,  or  • Paraphrase  or  summarize  acceptably  and  cite  the  source.  
If  you  use  charts,  graphs,  data  sets,  or  numerical  information  obtained  from  another  person  or  from  published  material,  you  must  also  cite  the  source.  
You  must  always  acknowledge  your  sources  by  citing  them.  In  this  way,  you  have  the  right  to  use  another’s  creative  output  by  giving  that  person  credit  for  the  work  s/he  has  done.  

2. Why is Plagiarism a Problem?
First,   plagiarism   is   dishonest.   We   pair   the   concepts   of   plagiarism   and   academic  honesty/integrity   because   they   are   opposites.   In   other   words,   plagiarism   is   cheating.   Because  plagiarism   covers   a   wide   spectrum   of   cheating   behaviors,   it   can   be   subtler   and   less   deliberate  than   copying   your   classmate’s   test   homework   or   test   answers,   faking   lab   results,   etc.,   but  plagiarism  is  an  equally  severe  infraction  that  will  result  in  equally  severe  consequences.       In   Japanese,   plagiarism   is   called   tōsaku   ( 盗作 ),   which   means   “stealing   (someone’s)   work.”  Stealing.  It  is  theft  of  intellectual  property,  in  this  case  the  words  or  ideas  of  another  person  or  group.  You  may  not  come  from  an  intellectual  or  academic  culture  in  which  copying  like  this  is  discouraged,  but  Nagoya  University  belongs  to  an  intellectual  and  academic  culture  in  which  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  indicate  the  providence  of  the  words  and  ideas  we  borrow  in  order  to  make  our  own  arguments.       

1/3Nagoya University
Japan-in-Asia Cultural Studies Program
Rev. 1.1 (February 2015)

Second,  plagiarism  detracts  from  your  education.  Stealing  the  work  of  others  does  not  help  you  learn.    
Harvard’s  undergraduate  Writing  Program  puts  it  this  way:    Academic  writing  is  essentially  an  ongoing  conversation  among  scholars.  As  a  college  student,  you  are  part  of  the  community  of  scholars  who  are  working  to  answer  genuine  questions  in  their  fields  by  building  on  the  knowledge  and  ideas  that  others  have  contributed.  When  you  use  sources  to  write  a  paper,  you  have  the  responsibility  to  represent  others’  ideas  accurately  and  to  contribute  your  own  ideas  to  the  discussion.  Your  professors  expect  you  to  do  your  own  thinking,  and  they  assign  research  and  writing  so  that  you  can  figure  out  what  you  think  rather  than  reporting  or  parroting  someone  else’s  thoughts.  You  actually  don’t  learn  anything  when  you  take  your  ideas  from  someone  else;  you  learn  by  analyzing  the  ideas  you  have  read  about  and  developing  your  own  responses  to  them.  

3. Avoiding Plagiarism
There   are   many   excellent   sources   on   the   internet   from   prestigious   higher   learning   institutions  around   the   globe.   Here   are   a   few   that   can   serve   as   preliminary   guides   for   understanding  academic  integrity  and  avoiding  plagiarism:  OWL @ Purdue
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/  One   of   the   best   and   most   comprehensive   academic   writing   sites   for   students.   The   link   to  Avoiding   Plagiarism   is   on   the   right   side   of   the   top   page,   but   the   entire   OWL   (Online  Writing  Lab)  site  is  worth  exploring  more  fully.  

Student’s Guide to Writing in East Asian Studies @ Harvard
http://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/writing_in_east_asian_studies.pdf  A   general   writing   guide   for   East   Asian   studies.   Includes   a   link   to   the   Harvard   College  Writing   Program’s   “Guide   to   Using   Sources,”   which   in   turn   has   a   link   to   Avoiding  Plagiarism.

Academic Integrity @ MIThttps://integrity.mit.edu/  A   simply   written   guide   to   academic   honesty/integrity.   Pay   particular   attention   to   the  section  on  Writing  Original  Work.  
This  flowchart  can  help  self-­‐‑diagnose  plagiarism.         4. Consequences of Plagiarism in JACS Courses
Academic   dishonesty   is   a   serious   offense.   Many   institutions   of   higher   learning   consider   it  2/3

Nagoya University
Japan-in-Asia Cultural Studies Program
Rev. 1.1 (February 2015)

serious  enough  to  warrant  immediate  course  failure  and/or  expulsion.       JACS  recognizes  both  the  seriousness  of  academic  dishonesty  and  the  fact  that  you  are  students,  in  other  words  learners.  Nobody  is  perfect,  and  we  all  deserve  an  opportunity  to  grow,  learn,  and  overcome  our  past  mistakes.  We  will  do  our  best  to  assist  you  in  avoiding  plagiarism,  and  will  be  sensitive  to  the  reality  that  mistakes  happen.  To  avoid  putting  the  faculty  in  the  position  of   determining   what   is   accidental   and   what   is   deliberate,   cite   thoroughly   and   proofread   even  more  thoroughly.  You  should  all  be  proofreading  your  own  work  anyway  prior  to  submission,  so  make  citations  a  part  of  that  process.  Better  yet,  have  a  friend  look  at  your  work,  and  do  the  same  for  her.  An  extra  pair  of  eyes  is  a  good  thing.    
With   that   in   mind,   you   should   be   aware   that   dire   consequences   await   plagiarism.   You   will  receive   no   credit   for   any   deliberately   plagiarized   assignment,   or   one   that   exhibits   gross  negligence  of  these  guidelines.  Egregious  or  repeated  academic  dishonesty  will  result  in  course  failure  and  potential  expulsion  from  the  JACS  program.     5. SourcesThe  following  sources  were  used  in  the  preparation  of  this  guide:  •Council  of  Writing  Program  Administrators.  2014.  “Defining  and  Avoiding  Plagiarism:  The  WPA  Statement  on  Best  Practices.”  http://wpacouncil.org/positions/WPAplagiarism.pdf.  

•MIT.  2015.  “Academic  Integrity  at  MIT.”  Accessed  February  20.  https://integrity.mit.edu/.  

•President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College.  2015.  “Harvard  Guide  to  Using  Sources.”  http://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do.  

•thevisualcommunicationguy.com.  2014.  “Did  I  Plagiarize?  The  Types  and  Severity  of  Plagiarism  Violations.”  http://i.kinja-­‐‑img.com/gawker-­‐‑media/image/upload/svf7tixzpsrghcov2w8e.jpg.  

•Writing  Lab,  OWL  at  Purdue,  and  Purdue  University.  2015.  “Purdue  OWL.”  https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/.  

3/3