Lesson 3: Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism?

Contents

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1. What is Plagiarism
2. Example
3. How to Avoid Plagiarism

According to University of Cambridge

Plagiarism is acclaiming one’s own work, irrespective of intent to deceive, that which derives in part or in its entirely from the work of others without proper acknowledgement. Both poor scholarship and a breach of academic integrity.

Source: Cambridge University

 

 

Many people think of plagiarism as copying another’s work or borrowing someone else’s original ideas. But terms like “copying” and “borrowing” can disguise the seriousness of the offense:

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.

Source: What is Plagiarism?

Examples

 

All of the following are considered plagiarism:

• turning in someone else’s work as your own
• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
• changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on “fair use” rules)

Other Cases

Using an image, video or piece of music in a work you have produced without receiving proper permission or providing appropriate citation is plagiarism. The following activities are very common in today’s society. Despite their popularity, they still count as plagiarism.

• Copying media (especially images) from other websites to paste them into your own papers or websites.
• Making a video using footage from others’ videos or using copyrighted music as part of the soundtrack.
• Performing another person’s copyrighted music (i.e., playing a cover).
• Composing a piece of music that borrows heavily from another composition.

Certainly, these media pose situations in which it can be challenging to determine whether or not the copyrights of a work are being violated. For example:

• A photograph or scan of a copyrighted image (for example: using a photograph of a book cover to represent that book on one’s website)
• Recording audio or video in which copyrighted music or video is playing in the background.
• Re-creating a visual work in the same medium. (for example: shooting a photograph that uses the same composition and subject matter as someone else’s photograph)
• Re-creating a visual work in a different medium (for example: making a painting that closely resembles another person’s photograph).
• Re-mixing or altering copyrighted images, video or audio, even if done so in an original way.

 

Source: Plagiarism 101

How to Avoid Plagiarism

• Paraphrasing – changing the words and terms with acknowledgement of the source.
• Do not use ideas – without reference to the owner.
• Avoid cutting and pasting – do not sought from the internet to be an online source.
• Submitting the work – identify the owner or who did the work.