Best of scruples

WRONG

maybe

WHITE

LEFT

RIGHT

never

RIGHT

RIGHT

LEFT

WRONG

maybe

WHITE

maybe

maybe

maybe

maybemaybe

maybe

RIGHT

maybe

black and white

WRONG

wrong

absolute

justice

the right thing

what

is

the

question?

AND

maybe

IT’S A QUESTION OF

S C R U P L E S

EXPLORING THE GRAY AREA

You find a library copy card

with $5 on it and no name.

Do you turn it in to the

library?

YES

Consider if you lost the card.

Wouldn’t you want to be

able to retrieve it after you

discover it missing?

Your instructor grades your

test wrongly. You get five

extra points by mistake.

Do you tell her about the error?

YES

You certainly would correct

her if you lost five extra

points. She might even give

you the extra points for being

honest!

A friend must take a test

he missed. He asks you

to tell him what topics

were covered on the test,

so he knows what to

study. Do you tell him?

NO

He would have an unfair

advantage knowing what

subjects were covered. Or

the instructor might be using

several different versions of

the test and you may be

giving out wrong information.

You have a direct quote from

a respected source. You

rewrite it (paraphrase) using

your own words. Do you need

to cite the source?

YES

Yes, always give credit for

someone else’s work, even if

you paraphrase rather than

quote it.

You and a fellow student

swapped papers and helped

each other edit and rewrite

certain sections.

Is that cheating?

MAYBE

You need to clarify with your

instructor just what kinds of

collaboration are acceptable.

You wrote a paper last year in

a history class which you

could use for an English

presentation.

Is it okay to use the paper in

this way?

MAYBE

Ask the teacher if it’s okay to

rework the paper. However,

you may need to research the

topic again and rewrite quite a

bit. Also, some professors may

consider your using a paper for

another class as “self-

plagiarism. ”

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed., section 2.7.1, p.

74 (Reusing a Research Paper)

You know a friend did a paper

on a topic you can use for one

of your classes. You get

permission from her to rewrite

her paper. Are you plagiarizing

your friend’s work?

YES

This is plagiarism even with

her permission because you

didn’t do the work. You just

copied it and changed it

slightly.

You want to use a photo from a

web site for a class

presentation. Can you use it

without citing it?

NO

You must give credit to the

photographer.

You are taking a test and you

suspect a student might be

cheating, but you can’t be sure.

Do you report her?

YES

You can do so anonymously,

but it’s a good idea to do so.

Sources

Dilemmas written by Claire Gunnels and Monica

Norem. Contributing ideas from Prof. Julie

Wilbur, Tracy Williams and Rose Botkin, Cy-Fair

College.

Power Point design by Barbara Gunnels, Studio

Magic.org

Bonham, Tracy. “Up to the Roof.” Perf. Tracy Bonham

and Blue Man Group. The Complex. Lava, 2003.

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