Academic success at university may require different study and work strategies than you have used in the past. What International Students Should Know About Academic Integrity* provides 4 tips which have been used below to organize NU-specific resources. Review these carefully to understand academic integrity and incorporate it into your work here at NU.
* Anayat Durrani, US News & World Report, August 9, 2023
"Plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas or words without giving them proper credit. Plagiarism can range from unintentional (forgetting to include a source in a bibliography) to intentional (buying a paper online, using another writer’s ideas as your own to make your work sound smarter). Beginning writers and expert writers alike can all plagiarize. Understand that plagiarism is a serious charge in academia, but also in professional settings."
Purdue OWL, Avoiding Plagiarism
When quoting someone else's work, and when paraphrasing* an idea from someone's work, you must cite the source. If you use the exact wording of the source, indicate the quoted text with quotation marks.
There are many citation styles. The most commonly used styles are:
Which style to use is often specified by the faculty person teaching the course. If you don't see a statement in the syllabus, ask about any style requirements for writing assignments.
Become familiar with strategies provided at the Purdue OWL Avoiding Plagiarism website.
* Paraphrasing = restating someone's idea using your own words.
Northwestern University Syllabus Standards - Note that, "Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with this information. Additional course-specific policies and resources may be listed on the syllabus provided by your instructors." The Academic Integrity Standard specifies that,
"Any form of cheating, including improper use of content generated by artificial intelligence, constitutes a violation of Northwestern’s academic integrity policy."
Without an explicit statement from a faculty member in the course syllabus allowing use of any form of Generative AI (ChatGPT, Claude, DALL-E, CoPilot, etc. etc.) don't do it.
University Academic Integrity Policy, Office of the Provost - review this site for the University policies, practices, and the possible penalties for violations of the academic integrity policy. Each school has its own procedures to enforce these rules and who to talk to about any concerns.
Violations of Academic Integrity may take many forms, including the following, which are listed under the Principles Regarding Academic Intregrity: cheating, plagiarism, fabricating academic work, obtaining an unfair advantage, helping others to cheat, falsifying documents or records, or unauthorized access to computer systems or records. Knowing what these actions consist of, and how to avoid them, will ensure your successful progress through your academic program. Be sure to spend time reviewing the information provided at the Provost's Academic Integrity website.
Undergraduate Writing Resources from the Cook Family Writing Program include writing classes, The Write Place, NUWrite, Purdue OWL, among others
The Write Place - peer writing consultations. Whether you are writing a paper for a class, composing application letters and essays, or working on some other writing project, a Writing Place consultant can help you at any stage of the writing process, from talking about ideas, to developing a plan, to revising and editing a draft.
NUWrite - brings together a variety of resources from handouts such as Common Punctuation Errors to Quotation and Citing Advice to offices and programs on campus.
Purdue OWL - The Online Writing Lab (OWL) offers online reference materials and services for creating citations, cover letters, major-specific writing help, and general writing advice. See also these sections: Avoiding Plagiarism; MLA Style Guide; APA Style Guide.
The Write Place Services for Graduate Students Faculty and Staff - individual consultations, writing groups, workshops, writing retreats, and more!