PLAGIARISM

KSU Community Medicine Unit

October 2012

Objectives

At the end of this lecture, the student should be able to:

Describe the basic concepts / types of plagiarism

Understand what is / is not plagiarism

Discuss some examples of plagiarism

Describe how to avoid plagiarism

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Headlines

Intellectual property
Citation
Definitions
Classifications
Examples of plagiarism
Avoiding plagiarism

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Intellectual Property
Basically, a persons IDEAS and WORDS are owned
by that person.
Thus, written texts and the original ideas within them
are considered to be intellectual property (Hacker)
If you use an authors property, you must follow
certain conventions.
If you fail to do so, you STEAL someone elses
property.
Doing so is not only an ethical offense, but also a
LEGAL offense.
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What is Citation?
A "citation" is the way you tell readers that
certain material in your work came from
another source.
It also gives your readers the information
necessary to find that source again,
including:
information about the author
the title of the work
the name and location of the company that
published your copy of the source
the date your copy was published
the page numbers of the material you are
borrowing

You Commit Plagiarism When

You fail to cite quotations and borrowed
ideas
You fail to use quotation marks ( )
around another authors words, phrases,
or sentences
You fail to summarize or paraphrase in
YOUR OWN WORDS

Definitions
- Simply stated: theft of words
- Presenting anothers original thoughts or ideas as
your own
- Using anothers exact words without proper
citation
- Presenting an idea as new and original
when it comes
from an existing source
(Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary)
- When you use another authors intellectual
propertylanguage, visuals, or ideasin your
own writing without giving proper credit, you
commit a kind of academic theft called plagiarism
(Hacker)
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Classifications of
Plagiarism

First: intentional / non-intentional

Second: words / structure /
ideas / authorship / self
Third: global / patchwork /
incremental

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FIRST CLASSIFICATION

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Unintentional Plagiarism
Paraphrasing poorly: changing a few
words without changing the sentence
structure of the original, or changing
the sentence structure but not the
words.
Quoting poorly: putting quotation
marks around part of a quotation but
not around all of it, or putting
quotation marks around a passage
that is partly paraphrased and partly
quoted.
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Citing poorly:Plagiarism
omitting an occasional

Intentional Plagiarism
Passing off as ones own pre-written
papers from the Internet or other
sources.
Copying an essay or article from the
Internet, on-line source, or electronic
database without quoting or giving
credit.
Cutting and pasting from more than
one source to create a paper without
quoting or giving credit.
Borrowing words or ideas from other
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students or sources
without giving

SECOND CLASSIFICATION

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Plagiarism: Type (1) WORDS of

Definition
The use of anothers exact words without citing
the author
Incorrect
Plagiarism is the reproduction of someone
elses words, ideas or findings and presenting
them as ones own without proper
acknowledgement.
Correct
Plagiarism is the reproduction of someone
elses words, ideas or findings and presenting
them as ones own without proper
acknowledgement

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Plagiarism: Type (2) STRUCTURE

Definition
Paraphrasing anothers words by changing
sentence construction or word choice with citation
Paraphrasing while maintaining original sentence
construction with acknowledging the source

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Plagiarism: Type (3) IDEAS

Definition
Presenting anothers
ideas as your own
without giving the
person credit
Submitting a paper
without citing or
incorrectly citing
anothers ideas

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Plagiarism: Type (4)

AUTHORSHIP
Definition
Turning in a
replication of
anothers work
Submitting a paper
that you got off the
internet or from a
friend and presenting
it as your own

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Plagiarism: Type (5) SELF

Definition

The use of previous work for a separate

assignment
Although these were your original words
and thoughts, receiving credit for a
previous assignment is considered
cheating
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THIRD CLASSIFICATION

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Third Classification
Global: stealing a speech entirely
from a single source and passing it off
as ones own
Patchwork: stealing ideas or language
from two or three sources and
passing them off as ones own
Incremental: failing to give credit for
particular parts of a speech that are
borrowed from other people
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Challenge

Plagiarized or acceptable
writing?

nal Passage: Original Source

The oldest and most familiar version of
environmental concern might be called romantic
environmentalism. Still a guiding spirit of the
Sierra Club and the soul of the Wilderness Society
and many regional groups, this environmentalism
arises from love of beautiful landscapes: the
highest mountains, deepest canyons, and most
ancient forests. As a movement, it began in the
late nineteenth century when America's wealthy
discovered outdoor recreation and, inspired by
writers like Sierra Club founder John Muir,
developed a reverence for untamed places. For
these American romantics, encounters with the
wild promised to restore bodies and spirits worn
down by civilized life.
Shades of Green Author: Jedediah Purdy

Student

Plagiarized or Acceptable?

The type of environmentalism that

most people are familiar with is
also the oldest: romantic
environmentalism. This type of
environmentalism leads the spirit
and soul of the Sierra Club, the
Wilderness Society and other
groups. People who follow romantic
environmentalism admire striking
landscapes like tall mountains,
deep canyons, and old forests
(Purdy)

Answer

PLAGIARIZED!

See next slide for explanation

What Went Wrong ?

The type of environmentalism that most people
are familiar with is also the oldest: romantic
environmentalism. This type of environmentalism
leads the spirit and soul of the Sierra Club, the
Wilderness Society and other groups. People who
follow romantic environmentalism admire striking
landscapes like tall mountains, deep canyons,
and old forests (Purdy).
This is too similar to the original. The sentence structures and
order of ideas are too similar to the original passage.
The citation at the end is nice, but does not absolve the student
from the responsibility of paraphrasing carefully.
The yellow words were copied directly.

Original Source
Most insects are cheap, tasty and a good
natural protein source requiring less land and
feed than raising cows or pigs. Many insects
are far cleaner than other creatures. For
example, grasshoppers and crickets eat fresh,
clean green plants whereas crabs, lobsters and
catfish eat any kind of foul, decomposing
material as a scavenger (bottom water
feeder). By weight, termites, grasshoppers,
caterpillars, weevils, house flies and spiders
are better sources of protein than beef,
chicken, pork or lamb according to the
Entomological Society of America. Also, insects
are low in cholesterol and low in fat.
Author: William F. Lyon, Insects as
Human Food

Plagiarized or Acceptable?
Whats the ideal high-protein, low fat food? Surprisingly,
the answer is insects. While most Americans could
never imagine eating a big, juicy cockroach, insects
actually taste good and can provide a good natural
protein source. Insects also require less land and feed
than raising cows or pigs. Plus, insects are more
sanitary than livestock. The most difficult part of
accepting insects as a healthy food is their appearance.
However, many insects resemble crustaceans, and
people have no problem eating shrimp, crabs, and
lobster. Besides, insects are far cleaner than most sea
creatures. While many insects eat only fresh, clean
green plants, crabs, lobsters and catfish eat any kind of
foul, decomposing material because they are
scavengers (Lyon 12).

Answer

PLAGIARIZED!

See next slide for explanation

What Went Wrong ?

The sections in red (below) are plagiarized the
underlined parts are copied directly.
The citation at the end acknowledges the information as
Lyons, but not the words and sentence structure. The
writer needs to use quotes.
Whats the ideal high-protein, low fat food? Surprisingly,
the answer is insects. While most Americans could never
imagine eating a big, juicy cockroach, insects actually
taste good and can provide a good natural protein
source. Insects also require less land and feed than
raising cows or pigs. Plus, insects are more sanitary
than livestock. The most difficult part of accepting
insects as a healthy food is their appearance. However,
many insects resemble crustaceans, and people have no
problem eating shrimp, crabs, and lobster. Besides,
insects are far cleaner than most sea creatures.
While many insects eat only fresh, clean green
plants, crabs, lobsters and catfish eat any kind of
foul, decomposing material because they are

More Examples
Original Wording: "Such 'story myths' are not told for their
entertainment value. They provide answers to questions
people ask about life, about society and about the world in
which they live" (10).
Misuse of Source (1): Specifically, story myths are not for
entertainment purposes rather they serve as answers to
questions people ask about life, about society and about
the world in which they live.
Comment:
The student copied words and phrases from the original
without acknowledging their source. Although the student
has rearranged some phrases and made minor stylistic
changes, this version still follows the basic wording and
structure of the original while the student repeats ideas as
if they were his or her own.
http://depts.drew.edu/composition/Avoiding_Plagiarism.htm

More Examples
Original Wording: "Such 'story myths' are not told for their
entertainment value. They provide answers to questions
people ask about life, about society and about the world in
which they live" (10).
Misuse of Source (2): Davidson explains that story myths
answer questions people ask about life, about society and
about the world that we live in (10).
Comment:
Less obviously, this example is also classified as plagiarism.
Although the student cites the source of the ideas, he or
she presents Davidson's exact words as if he or she
authored them. As is often the case in such plagiarism,
where the words are changed the changes render the
material less clear (shifting from "people" to "we" for
example).
http://depts.drew.edu/composition/Avoiding_Plagiarism.htm

Strategies to Avoid
Plagiarism
Isolate the reasons why plagiarism
occurs
Identify the different types of
plagiarism
Integrate plagiarism prevention
Cite sources when using Internet
materials
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Plagiarism Prevention:
Be Authentic

Develop a topic based on previously written material

but write something new and original

Rely on opinions of experts on a topic but improve

upon those opinions

Give credit to researchers while making your own

contribution

Follow a standard documentation method such as

MLA or APA format

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Plagiarism Prevention:
3 Word Rule
If you copy 3 or more words verbatim
(word for word) from a source, you
must use quotes around those words
and immediately reference the source
(use in-text citations) .
Every phrase, sentence, or paragraph that
you copy from another source must be
enclosed in quotations; then, you must
immediately provide a source.
http://www.d.umn.edu/~tpederse/Docs/A-Plagiarism-Case-Study.htm

Plagiarism Prevention:
Paraphrasing and Summarizing
When taking notes, follow these steps:
Read the information a couple of times
Take notes in your OWN words WITHOUT
LOOKING AT YOUR SOURCE
If you want to quote an author, be sure
to use quotation marks around an
authors exact words.

Red Flag
A major red flag that indicates
plagiarism is the use of vocabulary not
often used in your conversational, or
everyday, language.
Teachers can usually tell the difference
between your own writing from anothers,
so be sure to give credit to your source.

Possible Penalties of Plagiarism

Although plagiarism can be intentional or

unintentional, both have consequences. Possible
penalties include:
Receiving zero on the assignment
Failing the course in question
Suspension from school / college
Expulsion from academia

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In Conclusion, Please Avoid:

Copying and pasting complete papers from electronic

sources
Copying and pasting passages from electronic sources
without placing the passages in quotes and properly
citing the source
Having others write complete papers or portions of papers for
you
Summarizing ideas without citing their source
Pulling out quotes from sources without putting quotation
marks around the passages
Too closely paraphrasing - not putting the
information in your own words (even if it's cited)
Quoting statistics without naming the source unless you
gathered the data yourself
Using words and passages you don't understand and
can't explain
Self-plagiarizing - using one paper for more than one class
without the permission of your professors
Making up sources
Making up bibliographic or citation information (page
numbers, etc.)
Using photographs, video, or audio without permission

References

Hacker, Diana. A Writers Reference. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St.

Martins, 2007.
MLA handbook for writers of research papers. (7th ed.). The Modern
Language Association of America. New York: 2009.
MLA Formatting and Style Guide from the OWL (Online Writing
Lab) at Purdue: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
Anything youll ever need to know about plagiarism is here:
http://www.plagiarism.org/learning_center/home.html

Avoiding Plagiarism from Purdues OWL site:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

Lucas SE. Ethics and public speaking. McGraw-Hill, 2007

Pedersen, Ted. A Plagiarism Case Study. University of Minnesota
Duluth. <http://www.d.umn.edu/
~tpederse/Docs/A-PlagiarismCase-Study.htm>
Plagiarismand How to Avoid It! Drew University.
<http://depts.drew.edu/composition/Avoiding_Plagiarism.htm>.
What is Plagiarism? Plagiarism.org.
http://www.plagiarism.org/learning_center/what_is_plagiarism.html
Visit www.centralia.edu/academics/writingcenter/

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