Plagiarism

Claiming another’s ideas, copying text, citing incorrectly.

Plagiarism Defined

Plagiarism is defined as the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another while claiming that work to be your own. Most of the time, this means turning in someone else’s work as your own or copying words or ideas from a source without giving proper credit to the original creator. Furthermore, plagiarism can occur when there is failure to properly cite the source and/or properly use quotation marks. Poor paraphrasing—using synonyms but not changing the sentence structure of the source or sticking too closely to the original language—is also plagiarism. In other words, plagiarism is stealing another’s work for your own use.

The definition of plagiarism varies somewhat in the academic community. It is safe to say that nearly all educators believe that the intentional copying of someone else’s work is unacceptable. But when it comes to student errors in citation, educators do not all share the same view. Some educators feel that plagiarism is black and white: either you cite properly or you are plagiarizing. This approach to plagiarism is based on a belief that unintentional plagiarism doesn’t exist and that if students don’t know how to properly cite sources, they should know enough to find out how. Others in the academic community feel that learning to cite properly is part of academic coursework, and that the unintentional misuse of source material is an error, not a serious breach of academic ethics.

Almost all schools have policies regarding plagiarism, and it is important to read those policies and the policies in your professors’ syllabi carefully. For Framingham State College’s policy please refer the policy regarding academic honesty. Plagiarism is not only an academic crime; it is also illegal. Copyright laws in the United States protect intellectual property, expressions of original ideas, and original inventions. Plagiarism is widely considered to be an act of fraud.

Example of Plagiarism

Original text (from page 128 of Biology: Dimensions of Life by Joelle Presson and Jan Jenner):

“The ice is melting because Earth is getting warmer. This increase in temperature often is called global warming, but because the consequences go beyond temperature, most scientists call it global climate change. Rising temperatures are causing concern because if the glaciers are melting the water has to go somewhere. Levels of seas, rivers and lakes are starting to rise. Some predictions are more extreme: Weather is likely to change and forecasts include more droughts, more floods, more mudslides, and stronger typhoons, tornados, and hurricanes. Global climate change could cause Northern Europe to become colder, while the polar regions might turn downright balmy.”

A plagiarized copy of above excerpt might look something like this:

The Earth is getting warmer and the ice is melting. Increase in temperature is often called global warming, but consequences go beyond temperature, the majority of scientists call it global climate change. Growing temperatures are causing alarm because if the glaciers melt the water has to go somewhere. In addition on the rise are the levels of seas, rivers and lakes. There are extreme predictions: Weather and forecasts are likely to change, which include additional droughts, additional floods, additional mudslides, and stronger typhoons, tornados, and hurricanes. This change could cause Northern Europe to become colder, while the polar regions might turn pleasant.

As you can see, there are differences between the two texts but the view and ideas are the same. Some words have been changed but the sentences and the order in which the ideas are presented is largely the same, which would mean it is plagiarism.

Sources

“Avoiding Plagiarism.” The OWL At Purdue. 18 Sept. 2007. Purdue University. 6 Dec. 2007 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/.

“College Policy Regarding Academic Honesty.” Framingham State College Catalog, 2006-2007 (2006): 31-32. 6 Dec. 2007 http://www.framingham.edu/catalogs/pdf/0607/acad_regulations.pdf.

“Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: the WPA Statement on Best Practices.” Council of Writing Program Administrators. Jan. 2003. 6 Dec. 2007 http://www.wpacouncil.org/positions/plagiarism.html.

Plagiarism.Org. 2007. IParadigms. 6 Dec. 2007 http://www.plagiarism.org/.