In Truth We Trust

I understand the pressures grades can sometimes cause. It could be the standards you’ve set for yourself, or the fact that parents, teachers, counselors, friends, and prospective colleges judge you, in part, by the grades you receive, but plagiarizing work is not an option. Plagiarism occurs when you take someone else’s words or ideas and pass them off as your own. Sometimes you might not even know you’re doing it. Maybe you found a great passage in a research book, an encyclopedia, or on the internet, and so you cut and paste it into your own paper without acknowledging the author. After all, you’re doing something you’ve been told to do repeatedly by your teachers: backing up your ideas with evidence. But even though your deception wasn’t intentional, you’ve still committed a crime: intellectual theft. Universities take plagiarism seriously. At ASU, it will get you expelled, and your record will follow you as you enroll in another college.

I expect you to read assign...