Detecting plagiarism
This is a paragraph of original material from a reputable scientific
journal:
“France has a high prevalence of risk factors such as raised
cholesterol and high blood pressure, and its people eat
substantial amounts of animal fat. But they also have an
enviably low rate of heart disease. The popular explanation for
this conundrum, known as the French paradox, is that the
French drink plenty of alcohol, especially red wine. Earlier this
year, a couple of British epidemiologists tried to undermine this
comfortable explanation. Malcolm Law and Nicholas Wald of St.
Bartholomew’s Hospital in London deny that alcohol has much to
do with the paradox. Instead they point out that the French have
only begun eating large amounts of animal fat in the past few
decades. Since heart disease typically takes decades to develop,
say Law and Wald, the French paradox may be just a temporary
time lag.”1
Imagine you are a tutor marking assignments on this subject. Look at
the 3 paragraphs below. Are the authors of these examples guilty of
plagiarism? Underline or highlight any instances of plagiarism you can
detect.
1. Whether or not red wine is good for your heart has been a
subject of debate for many years. The so-called
Mediterranean diet featuring lots of fresh fruit and vegetables,
olive oil, and most importantly, red wine, is often praised for
the health benefits it affords. However, in contrast, France
has a high prevalence of risk factors such as raised
cholesterol and high blood pressure, and its people eat
substantial amounts of animal fat. The popular explanation
for this conundrum, known as the French paradox, is that the
French drink plenty of alcohol, especially red wine. Recently
British epidemiologists tried to undermine this comfortable
explanation, suggesting instead that other environmental and
historical factors may be to blame.
1
Original passage taken from Watts, G. (2002) ‘Just one glass’, New Scientist, 27 November 1999 (p.85)
2. Although the French diet features substantial amounts of
animal fat, they also have an enviably low rate of heart
disease. One explanation for this conundrum is that the
French do drink plenty of red wine. Recently, Malcolm Law
and Nicholas Wald of St. Bartholemew’s Hospital in London
tried to undermine this explanation, pointing out that since
the French diet has only recently featured large amounts of
animal fat the so-called ‘French paradox’ may no longer be an
issue in a few years.
3. Whether or not red wine is good for your heart has been a
subject of debate for many years. The so-called
Mediterranean diet featuring lots of fresh fruit and vegetables,
olive oil, and most importantly, red wine, is often praised for
the health benefits it affords. This is evident in France, where,
even despite the incidence of high blood pressure and high
cholesterol, the consumption of wine conspires to keep heart
disease rates low. This is known as the French paradox.
However, this assertion is under threat, as recent research
indicates that since the French have only recently increased
their consumption of animal fat, it is only a matter of time
before French figures mirror those in the UK.
Next, decide which category of plagiarism they fall into. The OU policy
on plagiarism suggests three main problem areas:



Copying word for word directly from the text
Using a choice phrase or sentence
Paraphrasing
Feedback
How did you get on? This is what we thought:
1. Whether or not red wine is good for your heart has been a
subject of debate for many years. The so-called
Mediterranean diet featuring lots of fresh fruit and vegetables,
olive oil, and most importantly, red wine, is often praised for
the health benefits it affords. However, in contrast, France
has a high prevalence of risk factors such as raised
cholesterol and high blood pressure, and its people eat
substantial amounts of animal fat. The popular explanation
for this conundrum, known as the French paradox, is that the
French drink plenty of alcohol, especially red wine. Recently
British epidemiologists tried to undermine this comfortable
explanation, suggesting instead that other environmental and
historical factors may be to blame.
We think this is an example of ‘copying word for word directly from the
text’.
2. Although the French diet features substantial amounts of
animal fat, they also have an enviably low rate of heart
disease. One explanation for this conundrum is that the
French do drink plenty of red wine. Recently, Malcolm Law
and Nicholas Wald of St. Bartholemew’s Hospital in London
tried to undermine this explanation, pointing out that since
the French diet has only recently featured large amounts of
animal fat the so-called ‘French paradox’ may no longer be an
issue in a few years.
We think this is an example of ‘using a choice phrase or sentence’.
3. Whether or not red wine is good for your heart has been a
subject of debate for many years. The so-called
Mediterranean diet featuring lots of fresh fruit and vegetables,
olive oil, and most importantly, red wine, is often praised for
the health benefits it affords. This is evident in France, where,
even despite the incidence of high blood pressure and high
cholesterol, the consumption of wine conspires to keep heart
disease rates low. This is known as the French paradox.
However, this assertion is under threat, as recent research
indicates that since the French have only recently increased
their consumption of animal fat, it is only a matter of time
before French figures mirror those in the UK.
We think this is an example of ‘paraphrasing’.
This might have been a better way of presenting this argument:
Whether or not red wine is good for your heart has been hotly
debated for many years. The so-called Mediterranean diet
featuring lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, olive oil, and most
importantly, red wine, is often praised for the health benefits it
affords. This is evident in France, where, even despite the
incidence of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the
consumption of wine conspires to keep heart disease rates low.
This is known as the French paradox (Watts, 2002). However,
this assertion is under threat, as recent research carried out by
two doctors from a London hospital, indicates that since the
French have only recently increased their consumption of animal
fat, and heart disease develops over many years, “…the French
paradox may be just a temporary time lag.” (Watts, 2002, p.85)
For more information on how and when to cite, and how to write a
bibliography, check your course guide, ask your tutor or access Safari
at http://www.open.ac.uk/safari/?s06t05p01.
Information Literacy Toolkit
Last updated: December 2004