Understanding Plagiarism
A Grade 7 ELA worksheet on understanding plagiarism, identifying its forms, and practicing proper citation.
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Understanding Plagiarism
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Read the information below about plagiarism, then answer the questions that follow. Be sure to use complete sentences and provide thorough explanations.
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. This means using words, phrases, sentences, or even entire ideas from another source without telling your reader where you got them. It's like borrowing a toy from a friend and then telling everyone it's yours without mentioning your friend. In school, plagiarism is a serious offense because it is a form of cheating and dishonesty. When you plagiarize, you are not learning to think for yourself or develop your own ideas, which is a big part of why you are in school!
There are many forms of plagiarism. Sometimes it's obvious, like copying and pasting directly from a website. Other times, it's more subtle, like changing a few words in a sentence but keeping the original sentence structure and idea without giving credit. Even if you don't mean to plagiarize, it's still considered plagiarism if you don't properly cite your sources. To avoid plagiarism, always put quotation marks around exact words you take from a source and cite where they came from. When you put an idea in your own words (paraphrase), you still need to cite the original source. Proper citation gives credit to the original author and allows your readers to find the source if they want to learn more.
1. Which of the following best describes plagiarism?
Accidentally forgetting to put a period at the end of a sentence.
Using someone else's ideas without giving them credit.
Writing a paper entirely in your own words.
Asking a friend for help with your homework.
2. Why is plagiarism considered a serious offense in school?
It makes your paper too long.
It is a form of cheating and dishonesty.
Your teacher might not like the source you used.
It shows you are a good researcher.
3. Changing a few words in a sentence from a source is enough to avoid plagiarism, even if you don't cite the source.
True
False
4. If you use an idea from a book, but put it into your own words, you still need to cite the book.
True
False
5. Plagiarism is presenting someone else's or ideas as your own.
6. To avoid plagiarism when using exact words, you should put them in and cite the source.
7. Imagine you are writing a report about the solar system. You find a really interesting fact on a science website. Describe two ways you could use this fact in your report without plagiarizing.
8. Why is it important to give credit to the original author when you use their ideas or words?