What is Plagiarism?
Introduction
What is a college or university but a place where ideas are exchanged? This can occur only in an environment that values truth; indeed, a college can function as a place of learning only so long as it steadfastly protects the value of the ideas that are exchanged there. A university’s standing in the academic world depends absolutely on its reputation for intellectual integrity.
Academic culture, like that of law or science, has rigorous standards for the representation of ideas, and to maintain these standards every college or university has an honor code that every professor and student must follow. Misrepresenting the sources of ideas—that is, plagiarism—is a serious offense that can have drastic consequences.
The purpose of this tutorial is to enable you to represent ideas properly, not only so that you can avoid plagiarism but, much more importantly, so that you can participate fully in the intellectual world of academia.
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism, broadly speaking, is the misrepresentation of another’s words, thoughts, or images as one’s own. It is hardly a new problem, or one associated only with institutions of higher learning. The theft of words probably long predates writing; you can be sure that the first time in human history someone was esteemed for saying something new, someone else falsely claimed to have said it first. And plagiarism afflicts not only the college professors who assign essays but also literary publishers, newspaper editors, and scholarly writers—anyone, in fact, who values words and where they come from.
The challenge to college students is to understand and apply academia’s rigorous rules surrounding the proper crediting of words and ideas. The world of scholarship can only work so long as everyone shares the same ethics and adheres to the same conventions.
Where does the word plagiarism come from?
The word plagiarism has a curious history. It is derived from the Latin plagiarius—literally, a kidnapper who ensnares children or slaves in a plaga (net). The Roman poet Martial (40–102 AD), fiercely protective of his literary creations, was the first to apply the word plagiarius to someone who stole his words with false claims of authorship. This entered the English language as “plagiary,” and then, in the seventeenth century, plagiarism, as the theft of words became a more and more widespread problem amidst the burgeoning culture of books and literacy made possible by the printing press. Something can be “stolen,” of course, only if it can be owned in the first place—and so naturally the modern concept of plagiarism grew up alongside the development of copyright law and the status attached to authorship and originality.
Where does the modern idea of “originality” come from?
“Originality,” as we understand (and esteem) it today, meant little or nothing to writers throughout antiquity, the exception of the Roman poet Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis) notwithstanding. In fact, for most of literary history, “originality” was a charge to be avoided. One of the challenges of modern scholarship stems from the common practice among ancient and medieval writers of attributing their work to acknowledged authorities of the past. Many ancient Greek poems, for example, were said to come from Homer; perhaps there was no better way to attract the attention and respect of an audience. (And some modern scholars believe that the revered author of the Iliad and the Odyssey wasn’t even a real individual anyway, but rather a kind of pen name that ancient compilers attached to the work of an unknown number of poets.)
Even as late as Elizabethan times, William Shakespeare (1564–1616) freely stole his plots and characters from earlier sources—but it wasn’t really “stealing” at all, since he was only doing what nearly all authors did at the time. Shakespeare’s contemporary Ben Jonson (c.1572–1637), though, marks the shift toward the modern conception of authorship; the Oxford English Dictionary credits Jonson’s play Poetaster (1601) with the first use of the word plagiary. By the end of the seventeenth century the word plagiarism was in common use, and so we can infer that our modern conception of plagiarism—the wrongful appropriation of a writer’s words—had taken root in the English-speaking world.
What does it mean to “own” an idea?
Throughout most of literary history, authority has been much more important to most writers than authorship. That is, writers who wanted to ensure an attentive readership were often willing to ascribe their own work to Aristotle or St. Matthew or Shakespeare—that way, the writer’s words and ideas would still get “out there” even if the writer’s own name did not. Before the invention of movable-type printing there were very few books published anyway; before the slow, gradual growth of a literate middle class there was no substantial market for books (“successful” authors were supported by patronage, not book sales); and before the advent of copyright law there was little economic incentive for writing, since books were “pirated”—to use a current term—as soon as they proved popular, and publishers, not writers, took all the profits. Moreover, throughout most of history “originality” has been met with suspicion or disdain, and writers have been scorned as mere “scribblers.” To be sure, writers have always been as proud of their work as they are today but, except for private bragging rights, there was little reason to claim authorship.
Now, of course, everything is different for writers. Publishing is a well-regulated and often very lucrative sector of the modern economy. The pirating of popular works (not just books, but also movies and recordings of music) is illegal, if widespread; authors can and do sue when they are victims of plagiarism. Copyright law establishes the legal ownership of a writer’s words, and in recent decades such rights have been extended to the ownership of original ideas as well. The most important change in modern times is cultural: originality is rewarded in a society that prizes innovation and celebrates the individual innovator. It’s telling that the phrase “intellectual property” has come to encompass any creation of the human imagination—a book, a movie, a song, a video game, a cartoon character, computer software. In short, our society has established the principle that any new idea is a thing that can be owned and, therefore, a thing that must not be stolen.
What is plagiarism in academic writing?
Academic life is all about the exchange of ideas, and even though lectures and seminars are an important part of this exchange, the real work of learning and scholarship is conducted mainly through writing. It is only natural, then, that colleges and universities carefully regulate the way ideas are exchanged through written discourse. Above all, ideas and the words used to express ideas must be credited properly; failure to do so, whether intentionally or not, is plagiarism—a serious offense that often has serious consequences.
Strictly speaking, plagiarism in academic writing consists of either:
- failure to cite (that is, properly credit) words or ideas borrowed from another writer;
- failure to use quotation marks to indicate the words of another writer; or
- failure to use one’s own wording in summaries and paraphrases of another writer’s words.
Any one of these offenses can result in a charge of plagiarism. All members of the academic community—professors and administrators as well as students—are held to the same standards.
What are the specific types of academic plagiarism?
Any misrepresentation of words or ideas can constitute a case of plagiarism. Here are some of the most common types of plagiarism in colleges and universities, with examples of each:
Falsely submitting another’s work as your own
- Submitting papers purchased from “essay mills”
- Hiring someone to write a paper—so-called contract cheating
- “Borrowing” a paper from another student
- Submitting a paper taken from a fraternity “essay bank”
Lifting entire passages of someone else’s work
- Failing to credit sources
- Failing to paraphrase in your own words
- Failing to use quotation marks
- Making only minor, cosmetic changes in source material
“Borrowing” the ideas of others
- Failing to cite the originator of an idea
- Failing to distinguish between “common knowledge” and original ideas that must be credited
Improperly or inadequately citing sources
- Failing to use proper MLA or APA citation techniques
- Failing to cite sources in the body text of an essay even if the sources are included in an accompanying bibliography (“Works Cited”)
“Multiple-submitting” or “self-plagiarizing”
- Submitting a single piece of written work to more than one instructor without first receiving express permission to do so
- Reusing any portions of one’s written work without first receiving express permission to do so
What reasons do students give for plagiarism?
Here are ten of the most common excuses students make when they find themselves facing a charge of plagiarism:
“But this copying was unintentional.”
The honor code at nearly all colleges and universities explicitly rejects intent (or nonintent) as a factor to be considered in academic disciplinary proceedings. Princeton University’s academic regulations are typical in this regard: “Neither the defense that the student was ignorant of the regulations concerning academic violations nor the defense that the student was under pressure at the time the violation was committed is considered an adequate defense.”
“But the teacher didn’t give us enough time.”
One of the hardest skills to master is disciplined time management. If indeed you’re certain that the allotted time to meet an assignment deadline is simply inadequate, you must either make a formal request for an extension before the deadline has passed—or accept whatever penalty is assessed for missing the deadline. This penalty will almost certainly be far less severe than the penalty for plagiarism.
“But I didn’t save my drafts.”
Many instructors, suspecting plagiarism, will give a student an opportunity to demonstrate how an essay was developed. If the student has no preliminary drafts to show, however, then the student will have no way to exonerate himself. Always leave a “paper trail”—even if the “paper” is a series of separate computer files.
“But I listed the source in my bibliography.”
Not good enough. You must cite your sources in the body of your essay, giving proper credit according to MLA or APA guidelines. It’s unfair to your sources not to cite them when you use their words or ideas, and it’s unfair to your reader to fail to indicate exactly what words or ideas come from the sources you used in developing your essay.
“But the teacher never said we had to cite our sources.”
Plagiarism is always wrong, and the honor code students sign when they begin their college careers obligates them to take responsibility for knowing the academic regulations and following them every time. A shoplifter, caught red-handed, could hardly clear her name by claiming that the store had failed to post a “No stealing” sign in the window.
“But I couldn’t word it any better myself.”
If, in the course of your research, you come across a quotation that is beautifully worded in a way that you simply cannot improve upon, that’s fine—but you must enclose the words in quotation marks (or present them as a “block quote”), and you must give the source full credit.
“But I put it in my own words.”
If you paraphrase an idea that is not “common knowledge,” then you must acknowledge the source of the idea, not only in your bibliography but also in the body of your essay, usually in the sentence that opens the paraphrase.
“But I changed some of the words.”
Students must take the responsibility for understanding what determines acceptable paraphrasing techniques. Either use a quotation verbatim—with quotation marks and proper citation, of course—or paraphrase the idea entirely in your own words. Changing a few words while keeping a source’s sentence structure isn’t proper quotation and it isn’t paraphrase—it’s plagiarism.
“But everybody knows this.”
It takes a lot of learning to know what, exactly, constitutes “common knowledge” in any given field. No instructor can reasonably expect students to know this—that’s why they’re college students, after all. But every instructor expects students to credit their sources if there is any doubt at all whether a given idea is something that “everybody” knows. If you’re not sure that an idea is common knowledge, then protect yourself by citing your source properly.
“But in high school I always did it this way.”
It’s true that high school teachers will sometimes tolerate—or even encourage—such practices as copying from encyclopedias that are forbidden by the more rigorous standards of a college or university. When you enter a college and sign the honor code, you accept responsibility for adhering to college-level standards.
“But in my country, we do it this way.”
Modes of discourse vary greatly from one country, or one culture, to another—but every student entering an American university has the same responsibility to follow the honor code. Most colleges have Writing Centers and special ESL (English as a Second Language) services available to help international students master English and develop the same writing skills expected of all students.
Is the Internet plagiarism's best friend?
Computers make cut-and-paste plagiarism easier than ever, and the Internet puts a seemingly infinite array of source material at your disposal. Of course cheaters can and do make use of so-called research services that sell pre-written essays on almost any topic imaginable. It seems, then, that would-be plagiarists have all the advantages nowadays, right?
Well, no. Thanks to computers and the Internet, it’s never been easier for instructors to catch plagiarism. A typical case of suspected copying can be tracked down in an instant, and there are any number of Internet resources that enable instructors to detect plagiarism. Moreover, professors are a lot savvier about plagiarism than most cheaters are—after all, they’ve been immersed in academic culture for a lot longer than their students have. Professional academics have a well-trained ear for the authentic (or inauthentic) “voice” of any piece of writing, and they’re quick to recognize writing that simply doesn’t “sound” like their students’ work. Most professors deliberately add little twists to their essay assignments so that the generic papers available from “research services” won’t quite fit the bill. And anyway, purchased essays are seldom very good—or else they’re “too good,” which makes the fraud easy to spot. As for cut-and-paste plagiarism, the effort of piecing together a truly undetectable essay of this type would be far greater than the work of writing a legitimate paper anyway.
On balance, while it’s true that computers and the Internet offer students many new temptations to cheat, this technology presents instructors just as many new ways to catch plagiarists in the act. Most students, of course, don’t cheat, and for them the new information technologies are invaluable tools that enhance, but can never replace, the hard, satisfying work of learning to write effectively.
Why is plagiarism a problem?
Why all the fuss over plagiarism? Sure, word-theft is obviously wrong, and obviously a crime in a case where, say, a plagiarist appropriates and then sells the words of a real author; such an instance threatens the real author with loss of both income and, perhaps, literary reputation. But undergraduate plagiarism is victimless, and therefore harmless—right? Not really. While it’s true that student plagiarism is unlikely to cost an author her livelihood, it hurts students, teachers, and colleges. Consider some of the real effects of plagiarism:
Plagiarism negates real learning.
Professors don’t assign essays in order to punish students, or to keep them busy, or to generate grades. Rather, they assign essays because the ability to engage effectively in written discourse is the fundamental goal and meaning of a college education. The skills students develop through writing—gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, organizing, and presenting information—are precisely the skills that define an educated person. Plagiarism circumvents the learning process. Even if the plagiarist isn’t caught and punished at the time, his underdeveloped skills (to say nothing of his habits of procrastination and deceit) will soon become evident to his future teachers and employers.
Plagiarism erodes the intellectual integrity that is the bedrock of academia.
The essence of university life is discourse—the exchange of ideas. This can be meaningful and productive only if everyone engaged in that discourse is scrupulously honest, fair, and forthcoming about how they know what they know. Plagiarism poisons this free exchange of ideas, not only for the plagiarist and her instructor, but for everyone in the college community, because it creates an atmosphere of doubt—doubt that students are really learning, doubt that grades and degrees are really meaningful, doubt that teachers are really doing their job. No institution can tolerate an offense that is deeply corrosive to its fundamental mission.
Plagiarism is a violation of the “contract” between student and teacher, writer and reader.
Professors don’t want to be mistrustful of their students. They want to believe that their students are truly open to the learning process and that both students and teachers will benefit from the exchange. Plagiarism, though, fosters an adversarial relationship between students and teachers. The plagiarist says, in effect, “I reject the values of your teaching and I think of your class as nothing more than a means to a grade and a degree.” It’s no wonder that instructors feel outraged and personally violated when they discover that a student has committed plagiarism.
Students should also consider that they are writers—not just pupils who have been assigned essays, not just “student writers,” but real writers engaged in the difficult but essential process of expressing ideas in words. Their professors are writers too, who have made careers of their passion for engaging in the intellectual community of educated people. Plagiarism is an offense against all honest, serious writers—the writers whose words are stolen as well as every writer who has labored to create a fair exchange of ideas with her readers. It violates the “contract” between writers and readers in a way that is hurtful to all writers and to all readers.
The consequences of getting caught can be devastating.
Anyone who thinks of plagiarism as a harmless, victimless game of intellectual cat-and-mouse, or who thinks of plagiarism as a regrettable but sometimes unavoidable necessity in the crunch times that are part of college life, should at least consider this: there’s a good chance of getting caught and the consequences can be drastic. At the very least, a suspected plagiarist faces the humiliation of being confronted and of losing a teacher’s respect. There may be a hearing before an honor committee comprised of students, faculty, and administrators—so the charge of plagiarism will be known throughout the college community. If the cheating is proven, the penalties will range from an F on an assignment and, perhaps, an F for a course grade, all the way to expulsion from school and, in extreme cases, to the revocation of a degree.
Plagiarism can even be illegal.
Plagiarism isn’t only a matter between a student and his conscience, or between a student and an instructor—it can even put a student on the wrong side of the law. For one thing, a writer whose words or ideas have been misappropriated can sue a plagiarist for harm to her intellectual reputation. In numerous cases, moreover, plagiarists have challenged the legality of the sanctions against them (expulsion, revocation of degrees), and in nearly every instance courts have sided with the institutions, citing that a college or university has every right to hold students and teachers to the strictest interpretation of the honor codes they’ve signed. Plagiarists who take a college to court succeed only in making their own reputation for dishonesty a matter of widespread public knowledge.
Top Five Reasons Not to Plagiarize
5) You shortchange your own education. Your professor assigned that essay not because she wants information about Paradise Lost, but because she wants you to learn the process of writing an academic essay.
4) Plagiarism is more trouble than it’s worth. Sloppy plagiarism is very easily detected; “careful plagiarism” (now there’s an interesting phrase) that is more or less undetectable actually requires more effort than simply mastering the techniques of proper citation/attribution. Pre-written papers available from so-called research services aren’t just expensive; they’re also often surprisingly bad (whether because of outdated sources, inappropriateness to the specific assignment you’ve been given, or just plain poor writing), and in any case your instructor will almost certainly recognize that the “voice” of the paper is not yours.
3) There’s a good chance you’ll be caught. Professors have a very subtle sense of writing styles and they’ll notice it immediately when they encounter a passage or even an entire essay that is clearly not the work of the student who submitted it as his own work. And moreover, the very technology that seems to make plagiarism so irresistibly easy to some students—that is, the Internet—works for teachers, too: readily available software and Web sites enable teachers to identify plagiarized material in an instant.
2) If you are caught, the consequences range from humiliation (you will forfeit the respect of your professor), to poor grades (sometimes an F for this one essay, more often an F for the course), to financial loss (you will forfeit the tuition cost of the course you fail as a result of plagiarism), even to expulsion from your college (at institutions that have a “zero-tolerance” policy regarding plagiarism). Moreover, the label “plagiarist” can be very hard to shake later in life; many political careers, for instance, have ended abruptly when the fact of one candidate’s undergraduate plagiarism, even when it was many years in the past, has come to light.
1) It’s wrong. Period.