Writing Resources & Assistance

The St. Catherine University Student Code of Conduct and Community Expectations defines plagiarism as "deliberately presenting work, words, ideas, theories, etc., derived in whole or in part from a source external to the student as though they are the student's own efforts." (section IV, number 3).

Plagiarism is one of the types of academic dishonesty that violates the academic integrity standards at St. Kate's. The consequences for plagiarizing can be serious.

All students should review the following policies:

• Allow yourself plenty of time to research, and write your paper. Running up against a deadline can cause some students to make poor choices regarding academic honesty.
• Learn how to document your sources. The Library has a citation guide for every citation style used at St. Kate's.
• Keep careful notes that distinguish between your own ideas, your summaries of the ideas of others, and the exact words you have copied. And keep copies of the articles and content that you will reference in your academic work.
• Most importantly, ask for assistance with any aspect of the writing process. Peer writing tutors are available through the O’Neill Center for Academic Development.

This 25-30 minute course will introduce you to the concept of academic integrity, and how its principles relate to the proper use and documentation of sources in your academic work. We recommend that all students review this tutorial to deepen their understanding of what plagiarism is and how to prevent it.

The St. Kate's IT Department has provided access to two software programs that will assess the originality, grammatical and mechanical aspects of your writing. (Note that librarians do not provide technical assistance for these programs). 

Turnitin Feedback Studio is a tool for checking the originality of written content you submit as assignments within Brightspace D2L. Turnitin provides information about the originality of one's writing in order to prevent plagiarism. Turnitin must be enabled by your instructor in your course management system.

Grammarly is a tool used to correct grammar errors and enhance your writing. Services include Advanced Grammar Rules, Contextual Spell Checker, Vocabulary Enhancement, Plagiarism Checker, and Corrects Writing Mistakes. Grammarly can be freely downloaded with your St. Kate's email address.

The ServiceNow links below provide information about these programs (you must login with your St. Kate's username and password to access ServiceNow).