Consequences of Mild, Moderate & Severe Plagiarism
If you use someone else’s words or ideas without properly crediting them, you could be committing plagiarism. The consequences of plagiarism vary based on the severity of the offense.
Level of plagiarism | Examples | Likely consequence |
---|---|---|
Mild |
|
Grade penalty or automatic zero |
Moderate |
|
Failing grade on course |
Severe |
|
Academic probation or expulsion |
Plagiarism can also have serious consequences in high school and during the college application process. Many high schools use plagiarism checkers and treat plagiarism the same way colleges do, and admissions officers will typically disregard your application if they find you’ve plagiarized any part of it.
What colleges say about the consequences of plagiarism
Plagiarism in college has serious consequences, even when committed by accident. You can usually find the details of your institution’s plagiarism policy and examples of plagiarism in your code of conduct. If you’re unsure about the specifics, ask your instructor.
Some examples from different institutions are shown below.
“Academic Integrity Code violations are treated very seriously. The misperceived short-term gain from these acts is not worth the long-term consequences of the penalty.
“Sanctions for code violations include loss of credit for the assignment, a failing grade for the course, a permanent notation on the transcript, and dismissal from the university. Second offenses will result in suspension or dismissal from the university.”
Source: American University
“While it is recognized that scholarly work often involves reference to the ideas, data and conclusions of other scholars, intellectual honesty requires that such references be explicitly and clearly noted. Plagiarism is a serious academic offence.”
Source: University of Calgary
“If you are found responsible for academic misconduct, appropriate grade penalties for the infraction will be at the discretion of the instructor in accordance to the syllabus or the course/department policy, if applicable. Grade penalties can range from a grade reduction on the assessment to failure of the course.
In addition, you may also be assigned college sanctions by the Office of Student Academic Affairs. Most first-time offenses of academic misconduct result in a college-level sanction of disciplinary probation.
Source: University of Michigan
“An instructor who determines that a student has cheated or plagiarized has a range of many options, which may be as severe as giving the student a failing grade for the course. Furthermore, the student may face other penalties as stated in the college’s Student Conduct Policy. Finally, it must be understood that a student who knowingly aids in another student’s cheating e.g., permitting the other student to copy a paper or examination question, is as guilty as the other of the offense.”
Source: Cerro Coso Community College
Why is plagiarism so serious?
You might wonder why universities and other organizations impose such serious consequences for plagiarism, even when it’s accidental.
Plagiarism amounts to theft, and there are good reasons for institutions (and for you!) to take it seriously. Plagiarism:
- Is dishonest: When done deliberately, plagiarism indicates that the person responsible is not honest about their work, which is a problem in any context.
- Harms the person you’re plagiarizing: It’s easy to see why you wouldn’t want your writing stolen and passed off as someone else’s—especially in publishing.
- Hinders the learning process: If you’re stealing words and ideas from others, your own creativity is not being tested, and you’re not learning.
- Obscures the sources of ideas: All academic writing builds on the ideas of others, and it’s important that the reader can clearly trace where those ideas came from.
- Results in bad writing: Whatever the quality of the text(s) you’re plagiarizing, a paper made up of a patchwork of different unacknowledged sources is usually a mess.
Frequently asked questions about plagiarism
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