Plagiarism
WHAT IS IT?
WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?
HOW CAN I AVOID IT?
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?
Definition
 In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a
writer uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other
original material without acknowledging its source.

Published texts
Print
 Online
 Manuscripts


Other students
Does intention matter??
 Intentional:
 Submitting someone else’s text as your own
 Attempting to blur the line between one’s own ideas or words
and those borrowed from another source
 Unintentional:
 Carelessly or inadequately citing ideas and words borrowed
from another source
Causes of Plagiarism
 FEAR!
 Fear of failure
 Fear of taking risks
 Poor time management skills
 “I didn’t realize this paper would take this long! I knew I had
three weeks to write it, but I thought it’d be okay to start it
today even though it’s due tomorrow. Now it’s not! I guess I
have to plagiarize… Was that Justin Beiber concert last
weekend really worth this?”
Causes of Plagiarism (cont.)
 Student views the course, assignment, conventions of
academic documentation, or consequences as
UNIMPORTANT

“Ehh, I know it’s ‘wrong,’ but who cares?!”
 Lack of knowledge
 Student does not know how to properly integrate another’s
ideas and document sources of those ideas in their own text.
 Student does not know how to take careful and fully
documented notes during research.
Types of Plagiarism
 Turning in someone else's work as your own
 “Thanks, Sara!”
 Copying words or ideas from someone else without
giving credit

“Thanks, Martin Luther King, Jr.!”
 Failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
 Giving incorrect information about the source of a
quotation

“The Declaration of Independence was written by Benjamin
Franklin, right?”
Types of Plagiarism
 Changing words but copying the sentence structure
of a source without giving credit

Literary Mad Libs!
 Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it
makes up the majority of your work, whether you
give credit or not

Tip: Provide twice as much analysis for a quotation as the
length of the quotation.

Ex. If your quotation is 2 sentences long, provide at least 4
sentences of analysis for it.
What do I need to know?
 Do I have to cite sources for every fact I use?
 Unique individual research vs. common knowledge facts
Ex. The Droeshout Portrait of William Shakespeare was created by
Martin Droeshout, an English engraver. It is on the cover of the
First Folio and is one of the only images Shakespeare himself
approved as genuine.
 Ex. William Shakespeare was a playwright during the Elizabethan
era.

 Does it matter how much was copied?
 Is it illegal to only steal one car?
What do I need to know? (cont.)
 If I change the words, do I still have to cite the source?

Quoting vs. paraphrasing – Both need citations!!
Use a direct quotation only when the original writer has expressed his
or her ideas so perfectly that you could not do them justice with a
paraphrase.
 Paraphrasing does not mean rearranging or changing only a few of the
original words.
 Capture the meaning of the original piece in new language.

 If I write something somebody else already wrote, but I
didn't know they wrote it, is that still plagiarism?

How close to the original is it? Were you at all influenced by another
text?
Consequences of Plagiarism
 Colleges and universities
 Zero Tolerance Policy
Failure for assignment
 Failure for the course
 Expulsion from the school

 Legal punishments
 If involving money, prizes, or job placement
Fines between $100 and $50,000
 Up to one year in jail

Sources
 Council of Writing Program Administrators
 http://www.wpacouncil.org/node/9
 Shakespeare Online
 http://www.shakespeare-online.com/faq
 Plagiarism dot org
 http://www.plagiarism.org/index.html
 WHRHS Student Handbook