What Is Plagiarism - Reading Work Sample Middle School Worksheet printable pdf download

Reading Work Sample

Vale Middle School –– What is Plagiarism?

Instructions:

Read the following article carefully and make notes in the margin as you read.

Your notes should include:

o Comments that show that you understand the article. (A summary or statement of the main

idea of important sections may serve this purpose.)

o Questions you have that show what you are wondering about as you read.

o Notes that differentiate between fact and opinion.

o Observations about how the writer’s strategies (organization, word choice, perspective,

support) and choices affect the article.

Your margin notes are part of your score for this assignment.

Student ______________________________________

Class Period ___________________________________

What Is Plagiarism?

Notes on my thoughts,

reactions and questions as I

Chris just found some good stuff on the Web for his science report about sharks. He

read:

highlights a paragraph that explains that most sharks grow to be only 3 to 4 feet

long and can't hurt people. Chris copies it and pastes it into his report. He quickly

changes the font so it matches the rest of the report and continues his research.

Uh-oh. Chris just made a big mistake. Do you know what he did? He committed

plagiarism (say: play-juh-rih-zem). Plagiarism is when you use someone else's

words or ideas and pass them off as your own. It's not allowed in school, college, or

beyond, so it's a good idea to learn the proper way to use resources, such as

websites, books, and magazines.

Plagiarism is a form of cheating, but it's a little complicated so a kid might do it

without understanding that it's wrong. Chris should have given the author and the

website credit for the information. Why? Because Chris didn't know this information

before he came to the website. These aren't his thoughts or ideas.

Plagiarism Steals Ideas

The word plagiarism comes from a Latin word for kidnapping. You know that

kidnapping is stealing a person. Well, plagiarism is stealing a person's ideas or

writing. You wouldn't take someone's lunch money or bike, right? Well, someone's

words and thoughts are personal property, too.

What should Chris have done? He should have written down the name of the website

and the name of the person who wrote the article. Then he could have added it and

given credit to the source. Teachers have different rules on how you list sources.

Sometimes, you provide a list at the end of a report. Other times, a teacher might

want you to list the source immediately after the information you took from that

source. Or you might just make it part of the sentence (for example: "According to

the National Institutes of Health, breathing secondhand smoke can cause problems

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What Is Plagiarism - Reading Work Sample Middle School Worksheet