Why Does Academic Integrity Matter?

A significant difference between academic writing and other types of writing is that academic writing requires you to clearly cite the original source of words and ideas that are not your own.

The proliferation of digital media, for instance Google, Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter, etc., enables you to quickly and easily generate, share, and access a wealth of information (Infographic: cheating and plagiarism in the digital age). This situation may lead you to consider simply copying and pasting text from online sources for your class assignments or any written projects. However, make sure that you avoid this careless behavior because it may cause you to fail the course and could even result in your suspension, as outlined in the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Academic Code of Conduct.

Now, you might wonder, "How can I know if I am doing something wrong?" or "How can I avoid any plagiarism/cheating problems?" In order to meet these needs, this module was designed to help you learn (1) what academic integrity means, (2) why it matters, (3) what consequences you could face due to academic dishonesty, and (4) how you can avoid academic dishonesty.

This module will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. There is one quiz at the end of this module to check your understanding of the materials.

Are you ready? Let's learn!