This document discusses various scenarios involving using and attributing information from outside sources in school assignments. It presents situations where a student uses facts about Martin Luther King Jr. and polar bears without citation, paraphrases information about polar bears without full citation, quotes Martin Luther King Jr. without citation, and cites a book in a report on polar bears. Each scenario asks whether the action described is acceptable or not acceptable use of outside information.

1. The Plagiarism Game

2. OK or NO WAY?
You are writing a report about
Martin Luther King, Jr. You
know he was a civil rights
leader. You put that in your
report without citing a source.

3. OK or NO WAY?
You found a website about polar bears which states,
“The bear's stark white coat provides camouflage in
surrounding snow and ice. But under their fur, polar
bears have black skin—the better to soak in the sun's
warming rays.”*
You change it to:
Polar bears have white coats but under their fur they
have black skin.
and add it to your report

4. OK or NO WAY?
You found a website about polar bears which states,
“The bear's stark white coat provides camouflage in
surrounding snow and ice. But under their fur, polar
bears have black skin—the better to soak in the sun's
warming rays.”*
You change it to:
Polar bears have white coats but under their fur they
have black skin.(
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mamm
)

5. OK or NO WAY?
You are still working on that Martin Luther
King, Jr. paper and you love one of the lines
from a speech he gave and you want to use it
in your paper.
In your paper you write:
Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired many
people with his words, “Darkness cannot
drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do
that.”

6. OK or NO WAY?
You are still working on your polar bear
paper and you found some more
information in a book by Marcia Freeman.
You write:
Polar bears are fascinating animals. They
live in the arctic where it is very cold. They
swim in the frigid water, their “webbed feet
help them swim”. (Freeman, 13)

7. OK or NO WAY?
You are making a poster to go with
your polar bear project. You draw
some pictures then print out
information you found on the National
Geographic website. You glue this
information onto your poster.
OK or not OK?