Source: http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/b1/b1e9be76f623d290c09378a71114144ebef59a36f68586db2f95bd3718f3d24b.

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A Plagiarism Guide for Students

"Imitation is the sincerest form of
flattery." (Charles Caleb Colton)
"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." (Oscar Wilde)

• Let's just get a couple of things out in the open.

– When you copy someone, you are not flattering them.
– It's one thing to emulate someone's style, to dress like the Hollywood
celebrity of the moment, or the latest hero.
– It's quite another to copy someone's writing. That's plagiarism. Another
word for it is stealing.

• A lot of people may have never considered the two to be one and
the same, but they are.
– Taking someone else's creative work and calling it your own is theft,
plain and simple.
– While you're not in danger of any plagiarism cops showing up at your
door to arrest you for plagiarizing a term paper, you are still putting
yourself, your academic career, and possibly even your professional
career at risk when you copy other people's work.
 What is Plagiarism?
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to
‘plagiarize’ means:
– to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's
own
– to use (another's production) without crediting the source
– to commit literary theft
– to present as new and original an idea or product derived
from an existing source.

“In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves

both stealing someone else's work and lying
about it afterward.”
(http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism)
 You are Plagiarizing if You…

• are copying from published sources without

adequate documentation
• are purchasing and submitting pre-written papers
• are letting someone else write your paper
• are paying someone to write your paper
• are submitting someone’s unpublished work as your
own are cutting and pasting from websites and don’t
give credit
• are changing every 5thword and don’t give credit
• are changing pronouns (he/she/they) and don’t give
credit
We've covered this briefly, but let's take a moment to look at the actual definition:
– Plagiarism: an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another
author without authorization, and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by
not crediting the original author.

• It's important to know the full definition, and note that it includes not just using
someone else's work but "closely imitating" it.

• So if you've ever thought that changing a word here and there, or flipping around the
order of a piece of writing was enough to avoid plagiarizing the work, you may have
been plagiarizing without realizing it.

• This is called negligent plagiarism, but it's still not an excuse, and won't prevent you
from suffering any consequences.

• While plagiarism can be defined as copying someone's writing word for word, that's not
the only type that exists, and why you may be plagiarizing without even knowing it.

• Be aware, though, that ignorance of what plagiarism is would not be a defense were
you shown to have been copying someone's work in any manner.
 Why does it Happen?

• Lack of knowledge and skills

– Students are unaware of procedures for citation and paraphrasing
(Estow, Lawrence, & Adams, 2011; Walker, 2008)

• Authorial identity insecurities

– Students are insecure about sounding unimpressive (Ballantine & Larres,
2012)

• Cultural differences
– Martin (2012) found that individualist oriented students were more likely
to plagiarize (Western culture is more individualist)

• Cognitive issues
– Students do not perceive what they are doing as unethical (Walker, 2008)
 Types of Plagiarism

• Think about whether you might have ever

done any of these things when preparing
assignments.

• You might need to change a few habits to

avoid risk.
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/education-teaching-essay-
plagiarism-plagiarists-cheats-cheater-jman176_low.jpg
 Copying and Pasting

• This is pretty self-explanatory.

Source:http://www.plagiarismchecker.net/
img/copy-paste.jpg

• Copying a sentence, paragraph, passage, page, or

entire written work, and then pasting it into your own
document to hand in as your own work is plagiarism.

• This is the most obvious type of content theft, and it

shouldn't be any surprise that it's wrong, and that the
consequences for it would be dire.
 Imitating Reasoning Style
• If you take a piece of content, and go sentence by sentence, paragraph
by paragraph, copying the ideas and rationales the writer used, but
wording the sentences differently, you're copying the author's
reasoning style, and the format that was used in the original work.
– For example, a piece might follow a logical format that presents a problem,
asks how it can be solved, and then offers a solution.

• Many households across the country are watching their electric bills
creep up as summer temperatures continue to be higher than normal.
Rather than cranking up the air conditioning to stay comfortable,
alternative or additional cooling methods can help control those costs:
– raise the thermostat by at least two degrees
– use fans in the rooms that are occupied most often
– keep window shades down to block heat and sunlight
If what you write follows that same logical
progression, even if you use completely different
wording, you are committing style plagiarism.

• Families are paying more this summer to keep their

homes cool as the country contends with a heat
wave. Running the air conditioner more often may
be tempting, but there are other ways to keep both
indoor temperatures and expenses down:
– increase the thermostat setting by two or more degrees
– put a fan in the room to circulate air
– reduce heat generated by sunlight by using shades on
the windows
 Switching Words
Exactly as the phrase suggests, this type of plagiarism
entails changing word order from that of the original.
For example:
• A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is
in contact with both the surface of the earth and a
cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a
cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as
twisters or cyclones, although the word cyclone is
used in meteorology, in a wider sense, to name any
closed low pressure circulation. [Source: Wikipedia]
And with Word-switch Plagiarism:

Tornadoes, also called cyclones or twisters, are columns of

air that rotate while in contact with both a cumulonimbus
cloud and the earth's surface. The air column may also be
in contact with a cumulus cloud's base, in rare cases.

• You can see how nearly all the same words are used,
but simply appear in different order.

• No original thought went into the plagiarized piece.

• It's still copying someone else's writing.

 Copying Metaphors
• Writers will often use metaphors to enhance their
work, and to provide vivid visualizations of items or
ideas they're presenting.

• For example:
– The stars glittered like precious jewels against the velvet
fabric of the sky.

• If, in your writing, you also compare the stars to jewels,

or the night sky to velvet, you are copying the author's
metaphors, even if all the other words around them are
different, and your original contributions.
 Taking Ideas
• Not all nonfiction writing is the statement of
facts.
• Writers may present new ideas, or new
perspectives on existing ideas.
• They may draw unique conclusions built on
existing data.
• To take those perspectives, conclusions, or
original thoughts as though you came up with
them on your own is idea plagiarism.
Source: http://www.haliburtonnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Funny-
Facebook-Wikipedia-Google-Pics.jpg
 Why do Students Plagiarize?
• Sadly, plagiarism is a common occurrence in academic institutions across the
country, and around the world.
– It's frequently discovered in high schools, colleges and universities, and even graduate-
level schools and programs.
– Why, in learning institutions that encourage original thought and the sharing of ideas, do
so many students plagiarize?

• One answer may be the pressure students face to get good grades, or to get into
certain colleges or programs.
– It can be easy to feel that those goals can't be left to chance, and copying existing work
creates more of a sure situation.
– And college is expensive.
– A bad grade is like money wasted, whether you're paying for your education, or someone
else is.

• On that note, students who attend universities on scholarships may not be able
to afford bad grades, or they run the risk of losing those scholarships.
– That's a scary thought, especially for those who can't afford to pay for school themselves.
 Greatest Challenge
“The students are so blinded and jaded by the
concept of stealing. They burn CD's off the Internet,
each other's CD's, etc. They see nothing wrong with
this and they do not see anything wrong with taking
other people's words.”
(Snyder, N. Garber, G. & Dobs, A.. (2006). Southeastern Plagiarism Survey
and Results. b Tenessee Libraies. 56 (2). Memphis, TN: Tenessee Libray
Association.nrnr)
• It may also be that students feel overwhelmed, especially in college or specialty
programs such as law school or medical school where the course loads can be
daunting, and the expectations extremely high.
– Plagiarizing a paper or other writing assignment means it can be completed more quickly
when there's no real research or original thought involved, freeing up time for other
assignments and work.

• And let's be honest -- for some, it's a matter of laziness.

– It's easier to copy someone else's work than to put in the time and effort to create
something of your own.
– Then you can do the things schoolwork is keeping you from, such as going out with friends,
playing sports, sleeping, playing video games, whatever it is you want to do.

• All of these things are understandable -- but not excusable.

– There's a difference. Everyone feels overwhelmed from time to time, whether in school, at
work, or at home.
– Everyone sometimes takes on more than they can handle.
– And of course everyone prefers to spend their time doing fun things.

• Education requires hard work. No one denies that. But it's going to become even
more difficult if you're caught plagiarizing.
 Isn't Information on the Internet Free for
Anyone's Use?
• The short answer is no.
– Over time, as the Internet has grown and become a primary source for
information for so many people, it can be easy to think that much of it is
freely available, there for the taking.

• But all information has to come from somewhere, has to have a

source. Information does not simply appear on the Internet.
– It's placed there, either by the people who created it, or the
organizations that curated it.
– Work created by someone is intellectual property, and it's protected by
United States and international copyright law.

• Whenever you use information you find on the Internet, you must
cite the source where you found it.
Source: http://www.plagiarismchecker.net/img/book-report-plagiarism.gif
 How Will Anyone Know if You Copy Their Work?
• It's much easier than you may think to discover instances of plagiarism, whether the
information was taken from an online source, or from a print source that has been
digitized and uploaded to an online source.

• Finding copies of written work can be as simple as placing a unique string of words
into a search engine, but many tools exist for the sole purpose of discovering
plagiarism.

• The creation of those tools has been necessitated by the prevalence of online
plagiarism.

• As technology has advanced, so has the ability of these tools to discover even the
smallest instances of plagiarism, even on small sites with little traffic.

• And because so many books (including encyclopedias) have been digitized and shared
online, it's nearly as easy to find passages copied from print sources.

• Now more than ever, if you plagiarize, you risk being found out fairly quickly and
easily by anyone who takes the time to look, whether by design or by accident.
 The Consequences of Plagiarism
• As a student, you are especially vulnerable to consequences
brought about by plagiarism.

• If you're caught copying someone else's work -whether it's

something you found online, in a book, or in another student's
paper - you may encounter any of several consequences:
– a reduced or failing grade on the assignment
that contained the copied material
– Grade of “f” for class
– a reduced or failing grade for the entire
semester
– Reprimand
– Probation
– suspension
– Expulsion Source: http://www.plagiarismchecker.net/img/grading-
plagiarism.jpg
 In addition:
• whenever you enroll in another class, or if you've been expelled and try to enroll in another
school, the plagiarism charge may follow you.
• It can have an effect on whether or not another school decides to accept you as a student.
• And even if you are allowed entry to another school, you'll be starting with a lack of trust
from your professors, the administration, and possibly your fellow students, if word gets out
about your previous trouble.
• If you're caught plagiarizing in high school, you may have difficulty getting into the college
you want, or any college, for that matter.
• If you're caught plagiarizing in college, you may lose the ability to graduate with any honors,
or to participate in any special programs the school may offer to deserving students.
• It's also possible that plagiarism will follow you beyond college.
• After you graduate, when you're trying to find a job, if potential employers discover that you
have previously plagiarized published work, you may have a difficult time getting hired.
• No employer wants to hire a dishonest employee. Getting back to plagiarism essentially
being theft, this means an employer would have to be amenable to hiring a thief to work in
their company.

• Would you hire someone you thought might steal from you?
Source: http://www.plagiarismchecker.net/img/Steal-essay.jpg
 How to Avoid Plagiarism
• It seems easy at first glance -- just don't steal other
people's work.
• But if you were previously unaware of the many
types of plagiarism, and have engaged in one or
more of them, you may find it difficult to break the
habit.
– First and foremost, be original.
– Write your own thoughts.
– Draw your own conclusions.
– Share your own ideas.
– This is the best way to avoid plagiarism.
• That said, there will be times when you must write about existing
facts and data, and for some information, you'll be limited in the
number of ways you can express it.
• For example, there are only so many ways to write instructions for
starting a car.
• You make sure the car is in Park with the emergency brake on,
you put the key in the ignition, turn it, apply a little gas if
necessary, and the car starts.
• How many original ways can that be worded? Not many.
• Such instances are understandable as being limited in the number
of ways they can be written.
• Few people are going to claim you plagiarized a vehicle's
operating manual because you listed the steps to start a car.
• But for information that's not so common or widely known, but
that you're unable to word in an original way because it doesn't
come from your ideas or perceptions, you must cite the source.
 Things to Remember
Give credit whenever you use:
– another person's idea, opinion, or theory.
– any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings-any pieces of
information-that are not common knowledge.
– quotations of another person's actual spoken or
written words.
– paraphrases of another person's spoken or written
words.
How to Recognize Unacceptable and Acceptable
Paraphrases
• Here’s the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of
Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.:
– The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were
the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new,
larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the
East, they transformed farm hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a
rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities
(like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centers
of production as well as of commerce and trade.

• Here’s an UNACCEPTABLE paraphrase that is plagiarism:

– The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population
were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies
became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands
into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With
industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived
which turned into centers of commerce and trade as well as production.
What makes this passage plagiarism?

• The preceding passage is considered plagiarism for two

reasons:
– the writer has only changed around a few words and phrases,
or changed the order of the original’s sentences.
– the writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or
facts.
• If you do either or both of these things, you are
plagiarizing.

NOTE: This paragraph is also problematic because it

changes the sense of several sentences (for example,
"steam-driven companies" in sentence two, misses the
original’s emphasis on factories).
Here’s an ACCEPTABLE paraphrase:
• Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was
typical of northeastern industrial cities of the
nineteenth century. Steam-powered production had
shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing,
and as immigrants arrived in the US, they found
work in these new factories. As a result, populations
grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was
one of these manufacturing and commercial
centers (Williams 1).
 Why is this passage acceptable?
• This is acceptable paraphrasing because the
writer:

– accurately relays the information in the original

– uses her own words.
– lets her reader know the source of her
information.
 Here’s an example of quotation and paraphrase
used together, which is also ACCEPTABLE:

• Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of

northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century.
As steam-powered production shifted labor from
agriculture to manufacturing, the demand for workers
"transformed farm hands into industrial laborers," and
created jobs for immigrants. In turn, growing
populations increased the size of urban areas. Fall River
was one of these hubs "which became the centers of
production as well as of commerce and trade" (Williams
1).
 Why is this passage acceptable?
• This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:
– records the information in the original passage accurately.
– gives credit for the ideas in this passage.
– indicated which part is taken directly from her source by putting the
passage in quotation marks and citing the page number.

• Note that if the writer had used these phrases or sentences in her
own paper without putting quotation marks around them, she
would be PLAGIARIZING. Using another person’s phrases or
sentences without putting quotation marks around them is
considered plagiarism EVEN IF THE WRITER CITES IN HER OWN
TEXT THE SOURCE OF THE PHRASES OR SENTENCES SHE HAS
QUOTED.
 Plagiarism and the World Wide Web
• The World Wide Web has become a more popular source of information for student papers,
and many questions have arisen about how to avoid plagiarizing these sources.
• In most cases, the same rules apply as to a printed source: when a writer must refer to ideas
or quote from a WWW site, she must cite that source.

• If a writer wants to use visual information from a WWW site, many of the same rules apply.

• Copying visual information or graphics from a WWW site (or from a printed source) is very
similar to quoting information, and the source of the visual information or graphic must be
cited.

• These rules also apply to other uses of textual or visual information from WWW sites; for
example, if a student is constructing a web page as a class project, and copies graphics or
visual information from other sites, she must also provide information about the source of this
information.

• In this case, it might be a good idea to obtain permission from the WWW site’s owner before
using the graphics.
Source: http://www.plagiarismchecker.net/img/plagiarism1.gif
 Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism
1. Put in quotations everything that comes directly from the
text especially when taking notes.
2. Paraphrase, but be sure you are not just rearranging or
replacing a few words.
• Instead, read over what you want to paraphrase carefully;
cover up the text with your hand, or close the text so you
can’t see any of it (and so aren’t tempted to use the text
as a “guide”).
• Write out the idea in your own words without peeking.
3. Check your paraphrase against the original text to be sure
you have not accidentally used the same phrases or words,
and that the information is accurate.
 Terms You Need to Know (or What is Common Knowledge?)

• Common knowledge: facts that can be found in numerous places and are
likely to be known by a lot of people.
– Example: John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960.

• This is generally known information. You do not need to document this fact.

• However, you must document facts that are not generally known and ideas
that interpret facts.
– Example: According to the American Family Leave Coalition’s new book, Family
Issues and Congress, President Bush’s relationship with Congress has hindered family
leave legislation (6).

• The idea that “Bush’s relationship with Congress has hindered family leave
legislation” is not a fact but an interpretation;  consequently, you need to
cite your source.
 Quotation
• Using someone’s words.
– When you quote, place the passage you are using in
quotation marks, and document the source according
to a standard documentation style.

• The following example uses the Modern Language

Association’s style:

– Example: According to Peter S. Pritchard in USA Today,

“Public schools need reform but they’re irreplaceable
in teaching all the nation’s young” (14).
 Paraphrase
• Using someone’s ideas, but putting them in
your own words.

• This is probably the skill you will use most

when incorporating sources into your writing.

• Although you use your own words to

paraphrase, you must still acknowledge the
source of the information.
Reference
• Produced by Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana
University, Bloomington, IN
 How to Recognize Plagiarism
Word-for-word
• Word-for-word plagiarism is committed when
a writer takes a sequence of 7 or more words
from another source, but fails to identify the
quoted passage, fails to provide the full in-text
citation crediting the author(s), and fails to
provide the bibliographic reference.
 Read the Example Carefully!
Original Source Material: Technology has Source: Frick, T.
significantly transformed education at (1991). Restructuring education through
several major turning points in our technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta
history. In the broadest sense, the first Kappa Educational Foundation.
technology was the primitive modes of
communication used by prehistoric
people before the development of spoken
language. Mime, gestures, grunts, and
drawing of figures in the sand with a stick
were methods used to communicate --
yes, even to educate. Even without
speech, these prehistoric people were
able to teach their young how to catch
animals for food, what animals to avoid,
which vegetation was good to eat and
which was poisonous.
 PLAGERIZED
• In examining technology, we have to
remember that computers are not the first
technology people have had to deal with. The
first technology was the primitive modes of
communication used by prehistoric people
before the development of spoken language
Plagiarized Version
In examining technology, we have to remember
that computers are not the first technology people
have had to deal with. The first technology was the
primitive modes of communication used by
prehistoric people before the development of
spoken language
Explanation: This version is word-for-word
plagiarism. The student copied, word-for-word,
text from the original source material. No credit
was given to the author of the text and quotation
marks were not used. Also, the student did not
provide the full in-text citation and reference.
Correct Version
In examining technology, we have to remember
that computers are not the first technology people
have had to deal with. Frick (1991) believes
that "... the first technology was the primitive
modes of communication used by prehistoric
people before the development of spoken
language" (p. 10).
Reference:
Frick, T. (1991). Restructuring education through
technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa
Educational Foundation.
Explanation: Note in this example that the quoted
passage begins with the author and year of the
publication (in-text citation). Quotation marks are
used to indicate that this passage is a word-for-
word quotation from the original document.
The full in-text citation also includes the page
number of the passage quoted (the locator).
The full bibliographic reference tells the reader
where the source of the quotation can be found.
 Practice: 
• Please read the original source material
carefully and then select the entry, either (A)
or (B), that you think has not been plagiarized.
Original Source Material:  A naïve mental
model in the context of computer
programming is that a computer is an
intelligent system, and that giving
directions to a computer is like giving
directions to a human being.
(A)  (B)
One kind of mental model for the
computer is the naïve model. A naïve
mental model in the context of computer
programming is that a computer is an
intelligent system. This model is naïve
because giving directions to a computer is
like giving directions to a human being.  directions to a computer is like giving
Reference:
Merriënboer, J. J. van. (1997). Training
complex cognitive skills. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
Source: Merriënboer, J. J. van.
(1997). Training complex cognitive skills.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational
Technology Publications.
 
One kind of mental model for the
computer is the naïve model. According to
van Merriënboer (1997), "A naïve mental
model in the context of computer
programming is that a computer is an
intelligent system, and that giving
directions to a human being" (p. 145).
Reference:
Merriënboer, J. J. van. (1997). Training
complex cognitive skills. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
 Answer
• Your choice "A" was incorrect.
– This example is word-for-word plagiarism because it
includes words copied directly from the original work without
use of quotation marks and also fails to cite the author and the
page number of the quote where it is located within
the reference provided.

• Your choice "B" was correct.

– This example has not been plagiarized. Quotation
marks enclose the quoted text, and the full in-text
citation indicates the author and page number where the
quotation is located in the original source. The full bibliographic
reference is provided, so that the reader can find the source.
Source: “Plagiarism checkers - do they help students cheat?” Retrieved on 2/02/17, Retrieved Via <
http://www.plagiarismchecker.net/img/archive/plagiarism1.gif>