Avoiding Plagiarism

Learning Objectives

Define plagiarism within the academic context

What Is Plagiarism?

The Definition

Generally, plagiarism is using someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as your own. There are different types of plagiarism—unintentional and intentional. There may be cultural differences in the definition of plagiarism. We are using the standard definition of plagiarism in use in academic institutions in the United States.

Sometimes students commit plagiarism intentionally, such as when they cut and paste sections from sources and drop them into the text of their paper. Other times, plagiarism happens by accident. Whether plagiarism occurs intentionally or unintentionally, it carries academic sanctions, which could range from losing points or failing an assignment to failing a class or expulsion from school.

Ethics

Academic integrity is essential to your student career and is something that will follow you throughout your life. Adopting good research ethics and practices (note taking, citing correctly, etc.) can help you avoid plagiarism and become a better student. When someone publishes their ideas, they become the intellectual property of that person. In academic writing, you may refer to and build upon the ideas of others, but you must give proper credit to them in your paper. By neglecting to give credit to the source of an idea, you are leading the reader of your paper to believe that the idea is your own.

What is unintentional plagiarism?

Plagiarism is often unintentional and there are some easy ways to avoid it. These are some of the most common mistakes people make that result in plagiarism:
  • Using the same paper for two different classes
  • Quoting a source incorrectly: for example, forgetting quotation marks or not properly introducing the source
  • Failing to properly introduce an idea you’ve drawn from someone else

Most unintentional plagiarism can be prevented by better time management and by managing your sources correctly. If you aren’t rushing to finish a paper, you’ll be able to avoid plagiarism.

ExampleS: Unintentional Plagiarism

Example 1:

Lisa found five papers that connected well to her topic. She read through them and took notes along the way. After reading through the papers, she created her own paper, and occasionally referred back to the papers, sometimes writing down lines of information that she felt were more clearly worded than her own explanations. Lisa had synthesized these five papers, with some lines that had exact wording throughout. It was time for her to submit her paper; she knew that she had used sources, but since she felt she had moved the material around to be in her own words, she did not cite the content. Even though Lisa’s acts may have been unintentional, such practices could still cause Lisa to violate her school’s policies with academic honesty.

Example 2:

Lisa  knew she had used other sources to find information about ideas listed in her paper, but she wasn’t sure how to cite the material in a list at the end, so she just skipped this step. However, this omission of citations is also against the academic policy at her college. Instead, Lisa might have reached out to a reference librarian, the college’s writing center, or the instructor for help on citations. By taking the responsibility to learn about how to ethically share sources that she used, she not only would strengthen her writing but also gain more ethos as a writer.

From these two examples, we can see that plagiarism in the academic context is not always turning in someone else’s work as your own in an egregious manner. Many times, plagiarism results from the lack of education on how to properly find, address, and use sources in academic writing settings.

 

What is intentional plagiarism?

  • Fabrication. Fabricating a source and quotes.
  • Mosaic plagiarism. Changing a few words from the original source and not citing it. (Proper paraphrasing requires more than just changing a few words from the original source).
  • Beefing up the bibliography. Adding references to your works cited page that you didn’t actually use.
  • Using a pre-written paper. Purchasing pre-written papers or getting someone else to write your paper.

Why should I care?

  • Respect for others’ work
  • Respect for your own work
  • Being a good citizen of the academic community

How do I benefit from avoiding plagiarism?

  • Finding your own voice. One of the goals of a college education is contributing to the body of knowledge. You can only do that by doing your own work.
  • Learning to Synthesize and Build upon the Knowledge of Others. The process of synthesis in academic writing—interacting with ideas from sources and adding your own ideas and conclusions—is part of becoming a scholar. You are reading and learning from the scholars who have shaped your chosen discipline. By properly citing the words and ideas of experts in your paper, you are bolstering and supporting your own arguments and developing the skills of a scholar.
  • Developing Time Management Skills. You need to allocate enough time to do proper research. You must find, evaluate, and acquire sources. You must read, digest, and synthesize information. You must keep track of your sources and cite them properly. Time and project management skills will be useful in your career and your life. It is far better to overestimate the time needed to complete an assignment rather than to underestimate it. A good tool to use is University of Minnesota Libraries’ Assignment Calculator.

What are the consequences of plagiarism?

Possible consequences include:

  • Cheating others
  • Cheating yourself
  • Failing an assignment and/or a course
  • Academic probation
  • Expulsion from school
  • Notation on your transcript

Bad habits are hard to break, and they have consequences. The specific consequences depend on your school’s policies. For a discussion/debate on a noted historian’s encounter with plagiarism, see this Slate.com article.

When in Doubt…

When in doubt, check with your professor or TA, or with your school’s writing center. Remember: you’re not expected to know what to do in every citation edge-case and gray area. It’s better to ask and be safe than to risk failing to cite something that should be cited.

Try It