Academic Policies
Academic work at the Grey School must show the pupil’s own understanding. Sources support that work by supplying information, evidence, and other perspectives. Proper attribution allows an instructor to distinguish the pupil’s contribution from the material on which it draws and allows a reader to consult the original source.
First-year Apprentices should take Writing and Citing: How to Not Plagiarize, in the Lore Department, among their first courses. The guidance below applies to formal assignments, examinations, Merit Challenges, Lodge projects, and other School work.
Plagiarism and academic honesty
Plagiarism is the use of another person’s words or ideas without giving that person credit, presenting the material as though it were one’s own. It includes the use of purchased papers, copied assignments, and material taken from websites or books without proper attribution. A failure to cite a source, or an incomplete citation, can also amount to plagiarism even when the omission was unintentional.
The School treats plagiarism as a form of cheating. Academic dishonesty may lead to disciplinary action or dismissal. Learning to recognize borrowed material and record its source is therefore part of preparing responsible academic work.
Pupils should produce original work wherever possible and identify every source whose words, information, or ideas they use. This responsibility applies whether material is quoted exactly, paraphrased, or used to support an argument. The pupil remains responsible for the submitted work and for the accuracy of its attribution.
The Policy on AI Use by Pupils explains the permitted use of artificial intelligence as an aid to research and learning. That assistance does not remove the obligation to submit one’s own work or cite the sources used.
The purpose of sources
Sources help a pupil investigate a subject, examine evidence, and develop an informed answer. An assignment may require research, or the pupil may consult sources to address a question that arises during study.
A useful starting point is to make an outline of what one already understands and identify what remains uncertain. Research can then address those gaps. As the work develops, the pupil should consider what each source contributes, whether its information is relevant, and how it relates to the pupil’s own reasoning.
The finished assignment should consist mainly of the pupil’s own thoughts and ideas. Sources support questions and conclusions; they do not replace the pupil’s contribution. An answer assembled from other people’s statements does not demonstrate the same understanding as an answer that explains and evaluates those statements.
Direct quotations
Quoted text is appropriate when the exact wording matters to the point being made. The School’s limit is one to three lines of quoted text. A pupil must not reproduce a larger passage merely because a citation has been supplied.
Place exact quotations in quotation marks and identify the source in the Works Cited list. Copying and pasting is acceptable only for this limited use of accurately quoted and attributed material. It is not an acceptable way to construct the substance of an assignment.
For example, the Handbook’s Highspire chapter states, “Access to Highspire is by permission of the University.” A pupil discussing campus access could quote that statement to examine its precise wording, while supplying the source in the Works Cited list. The explanation of what the rule means must remain the pupil’s own work.
Paraphrasing
A paraphrase expresses a source’s meaning in the pupil’s own words. It requires understanding the material well enough to explain it independently. Rearranging a copied sentence or replacing a few words with synonyms does not produce an adequate paraphrase.
A practical method is to:
Read the source carefully, returning to it until its meaning is clear.
Set the source aside and explain its main point in one’s own words.
Compare the explanation with the original to ensure that the meaning has been represented accurately.
Cite the original source.
Using the Highspire example, a pupil might explain that membership in the School does not by itself authorize a visit to the physical campus. That explanation is a paraphrase rather than an exact quotation, but it still draws on the Handbook and requires a citation.
Paraphrases are not placed in quotation marks. Attribution remains necessary because the information or idea came from another source, even though the wording is now the pupil’s own.
Recording a source
Citations acknowledge the work of others and give readers enough information to locate it. All pupils are expected to cite sources. The School’s simplified models below provide the details needed to identify books, websites, magazines, and School classes.
Record source details while researching. Doing so makes it easier to distinguish notes copied from a source from observations or explanations written independently.
Books
Include the author’s name, the book’s title, and its publication year. Give the first author’s surname before the first name. Additional authors may be listed in first-name, surname order. Initials may be used instead of a full first name. Italicize the title.
Examples:
Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic. 1988.
Lindahl, Carl, John McNamara, and John Lindow. Medieval Folklore. A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs. 2002.
Websites
Include the author’s name when available, the page or site title in quotation marks, the URL, and a date when one is provided. If no author is identified, begin with the title. A missing author does not remove the need to identify the page.
For the example used above:
Grey School of Wizardry. “Highspire Campus.” https://www.greyschool.org/items/highspire-campus.
The URL identifies the page being discussed. A citation should lead the reader to the material actually used, rather than merely to a website’s general home page.
Magazines
Include the author’s name, the article title in quotation marks, the magazine title capitalized and in italics, and the month and year of publication. List the first author by surname and first name; additional authors may appear in first-name, surname order.
Example:
Brown, Michelle. “Bats: the Cutest Superheroes You Never Met.” Pangaia. January–March, 2005.
Grey School class materials
Identify the instructor by surname and first name and give the class title in quotation marks. This identifies the School material that informed the work and distinguishes it from the pupil’s independent contribution.
Other material
Sources may also include conversations, films, maps, illustrations, and other forms of communication or evidence. Provide the author’s or speaker’s name, a title or description, a date, and other identifying details as appropriate. The purpose is to make clear whose work was used and what the source was.
Preparing a Works Cited list
Place a list headed Works Cited at the end of the assignment, paper, or challenge submission. Arrange the entries alphabetically. Include the sources used in the work, whether they supplied a direct quotation, a paraphrased idea, an illustration, or information supporting the pupil’s explanation.
A short list might read:
Brown, Michelle. “Bats: the Cutest Superheroes You Never Met.” Pangaia. January–March, 2005.
Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic. 1988.
Grey School of Wizardry. “Highspire Campus.” https://www.greyschool.org/items/highspire-campus.
Attribution is required whenever another source’s work is used, including in less formal activities such as Lodge Challenges. A reader should be able to recognize the pupil’s own contribution and identify the work that supported it. This is a practical expression of the honesty expected throughout Grey School study.