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A Note on Plagiarism

A Note on Plagiarism

Plagiarism is academic theft. Unacknowledged use of another's words or key phrases, or unacknowledged paraphrasing of another's ideas or order of ideas constitutes plagiarism. Representation of another's material as one's own paraphrase - even if cited - is plagiarism. Students are obliged to acknowledge their indebtedness to another's fact's ideas, arrangements or phraseology. While they should investigate what has been thought or written about a particular subject prior to discussing it themselves, they are reminded that such research must be properly acknowledged. Naturally, students are expected to provide original ideas or theories related to the material they use. Simply piecing together previous published materials is a waste of time for students and their instructors, since the students fail to consider the significance of the material in relation to their own ideas. The primary danger associated with plagiarism is not the fear of being caught but the self-delusion of having accomplished something worthwhile.


Avoiding Plagiarism (excerpted from Strategies for Successful Writing, by James A. Reinking et al., New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993)

Plagiarism occurs when a writer uses another person's material without properly acknowledging the debt. Sometimes plagiarism is deliberate, but often it happens because students simply don't understand what must be acknowledged and documented. Deliberate or not, plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable. Any summary, paraphrase, or quotation you include in your paper must be documented. The only types of information escaping this requirement are listed below.

1. Common Knowledge. Common knowledge is information that most educated people would know. For instance, there's no need to document a statement that the Disney theme parks in California and Florida attract thousands of visitors each year. However, if you include precise daily, monthly, or yearly figures, then documentation is necessary.

2. Your own conclusions. As you write your paper, you incorporate your own conclusions at various points. Such comments require no documentation. The same holds true for your own research. If you polled such students on a campus issue, simply present the findings as your own.

3. Facts found in many sources. Facts such as the year of Shakespeare's death, the size of the 1992 national budget deficit, and the location of the Taj Mahal need not be documented.

Any piece of information not set off with quotation marks must be in your own words. Otherwise, even though you name your source, you plagiarize by stealing the original phrasing.

The following passages illustrate the improper and proper use of source material.

Original Passage

One might contend, of course, that our country's biological diversity is so great and the land is so developed-so criss-crossed with the works of man-that it will soon be hard to build a dam anywhere without endangering some species. But as we develop a national inventory of endangered species, we certainly can plan our necessary development so as to exterminate the smallest number possible…

James L. Buckley, "Three Cheers for The Snail Darter,"

National Review, September 14, 1979: 1144-45.

The Library Research Paper

Plagiarism

Our country's biological diversity is so great and the land is so developed that it will soon be hard to build a dam anywhere without endangering some species. But as we develop a national inventory of endangered species, we certainly can plan our necessary development so as to exterminate the smallest number possible.

The writer clearly plagiarizes. The absence of Buckley's name and the failure to enclose his words in quotation marks create the impression that this passage is the student's work.


Plagiarism

Our country's biological diversity is so great and the land so developed that in the near future we may pose a threat to some creature whenever we construct a dam. By developing a national inventory of endangered species, however, we can plan necessary development so as to preserve as many species as possible (Buckley 1144).

This version credits the ideas to Buckley, but the student has plagiarized by failing to put quotation marks around the phrasing (underlining above) that was copied from the original. As a result, readers will think that the passage represents the student's own wording.


Proper Use of Original

America has so many kinds of plants and animals, and it is so built up, that in the near future we may pose a threat to some living thing whenever we construct a dam. If, however, we knew which of our nation's plants and animals were threatened, we could use this information to preserve as many species as possible (Buckley 1144).

This student has identified the author and used her own words. As a result, no plagiarism occurs.


Plagiarism is a serious offense because it robs the original writer of recognition. Students caught plagiarizing risk failure.