T Y Academic integrity demands responsible use of the work of other scholars. It is compromised by such practices as plagiarism and cheating. Cheating is the copying or the use of unauthorized aids or the intentional falsification or invention of information in any academic exercise or the presentation of a single work in more than one course without the permission of the instructors involved.
Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or words of another as one's own.
While it may be argued that few ideas are original, instructors expect students to acknowledge the sources of ideas and expressions that they use in essays. To represent them as self-created is dishonest and academically reprehensible. One may quote or paraphase other writers if they have stated an idea strikingly, as evidence to support one's arguments or conclusions, or as a point against which to argue, but such borrowing should be used sparingly and always indicated in a footnote. The aim of scholarship is to develop one's own ideas and research. Only by trying to develop one's own thoughts and arguments will one mature academically.