Academic integrity at USC Law

Students received a briefing this week on the academic integrity policies of USC and the law school. When accepting an offer to attend USC, students also accept to abide by the Student Conduct Code and uphold academic standards.

The most common forms of academic dishonesty are: plagiarism, cheating, submitting false records, and unauthorized collaboration.

“We consider plagiarism to be one of the most serious offenses of academic dishonesty,” said Chloe Reid, USC Law associate dean.

If students are found to have plagiarized, they may be punished regardless of their intent to do so, Reid said. Consequences vary from case to case and range from failing grades on a paper or in a class to suspension or the revocation of law school admission.

Jean Rosenbluth, director of legal writing and advocacy and adjunct professor of law, said the majority of plagiarism cases in law school stem from either faulty/non-existent attribution, or non-authorized collaboration.

Most students recognize that borrowing another’s words is plagiarism. However, “it’s still plagiarism if you take five words, a paragraph, six paragraphs, ten pages – and you paraphrase it,” Rosenbluth said. “That is plagiarism, and it’s going to get you in trouble.”

Even using someone else’s ideas but failing to cite them as coming from an outside source is plagiarism, she said.

To avoid unintentional plagiarism, Rosenbluth suggests re-reading any writing assignment with the specific goal of checking for attribution. Also, look over each source that will be cited in a paper – along with sources that won’t be cited, but were looked at carefully – to ensure any ideas or phrases are appropriately credited.

Although the Internet makes it easier to plagiarize, it also makes it easier to catch plagiarists because many articles are available online, said Brian Raphael, assistant director of the law library.

“We’re trying to teach you to be independent researchers,” Raphael told students. “Really use the law school to develop good habits and behave responsibly and ethically. When you get a job, you’re going to need to be able to do assignments on your own.”

Raphael recommended that students start on projects early, because feeling pressured for time may make plagiarism or collaboration more tempting. Also, librarians are always available to assist with research.

For more information on USC’s academic integrity policy, visit the Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards web site.