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Plagiarism

What is plagiarism?

(Adapted from S.E. Bramer (1995) Widener University)

Plagiarize: to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as your own; use a created production without crediting the source; to commit literary theft; to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source. (From: Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary 9th Edition, 1981, p.870).

What does this mean for you?

  • First, it is unacceptable to copy something from a book, newspaper, journal or any other printed source. It is theft. The most blatant example of this is to directly copy something word for word. It does not matter if it is only a phrase. If it is not yours, either do not use it or place it in quotes and reference it. There are various methods for doing this. The important thing is that the reader can tell what is yours, and what is someone else's.
  • Another reason to use references is to show from where you get information. When you state a fact, unless it is 'general knowledge' you must say where it comes from. Otherwise, a careful reader will have no way to verify your statements. It may be subjective to decide what is 'general knowledge' is, but it helps to keep your audience in mind.

*** For short quotes use quotation marks in the sentence. For longer quotes it is appropriate to indent the entire passage.***

As an example, what is your reaction to the following statement?
 Wetlands emit 150 million tons of methane each year (Wuerz, 1994, p. 18).
Without the reference, why should you believe it?

The examples above may seem obvious. However things start to get a bit grey when you paraphrase. There is one simple solution - DO NOT PARAPHRASE! Only use someone else's writing when you want to quote precisely what they wrote. Otherwise - USE YOUR OWN WORDS. This avoids ambiguity about who wrote it and prevents charges of plagiarism.

Learn to write in your own style. You may be influenced by authors that you find clear and easy to understand, but your writing needs to be YOURS. Mimicking someone else is not a productive exercise.

The instructor reading and marking your work is interested in YOUR understanding of an idea. They are not interested in your ability to copy explanations from the textbook.

Understanding and learning are more than just replaying something you have heard. Writing tests your ability to explain a topic. You may think you understand something, but often you don't until you try to write it out. This is an integral part of learning.

last updated january 6, 2010

 

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