TASK 1 Is this a plagiarism?


 1. A student uses an internet article in researching her paper. She finds several of the ideas in
the article useful, and develops them in her own paper. Since she does not quote from the text, she
does not cite it in her paper, but she does put the reference in the bibliography.
 2. A student finds a picture on the web that perfectly illustrates a point she wants to make in
her paper. She downloads the picture, but does not use the website’s analysis; in addition, she
writes her own caption for the picture. Since the analysis and caption are her own, she does not
include a citation for the picture.
 3. A student finds some interesting information on a website that is not under copyright. She
downloads several paragraphs and incorporates them into her paper, but doesn’t cite them, because
they are in the public domain.
 4. You find a very interesting quote from Gregor Mendel’s “Experimentation in Plant Hybridization”
in a book about Mendel’s life. In your paper, you include the quote, and cite Mendel’s paper as the
source.


TASK 2 Consider the following academic situations and decide if they are plagiarism



Situation

Plagiarism? Yes/No

1

Copying a paragraph, but changing a few words and giving a citation.


2

Cutting and pasting a short article from a website, with no citation.


3

Taking two paragraphs from a classmate’s essay, without citation.


4

Taking a graph from a textbook, giving the source.


5

Taking a quotation from a source, giving a citation but not using quotation marks.



6

Using an idea that you think of as general knowledge (e.g. the Great Depression was caused by
restrictions on free trade), without citation.



7

Using a paragraph from an essay you wrote and had marked the previous semester, without citation.


8

Using the results of your own research (e.g. from a survey), without citation.



9

Discussing an essay topic with a group of classmates and using some of their ideas in your own
work.


10

Giving a citation for some information but misspelling the author’s name.




TASK 3 Which of these do you consider to be unacceptable?

1.         Change some of the words and sentences in a text, but keep the overall structure of the
text and the vocabulary the same as in the original text.

2.         Take some short fixed phrases from several different sources and put them together with
some of your own words.

3.         Copy a paragraph directly from the source with no changes.

4.         Copy a paragraph making only small changes. For example, replace some words with words
with similar meanings.

5.         Copy out an article from a journal or textbook and submit it as a piece of your own
coursework.

6.         Cut and paste a paragraph: use the sentences of the original but put one or two in a
different order and leave one or two out.

7.         Paraphrase a paragraph: rewrite the paragraph but change the language, organisation and
detail, and give your own examples.

8.         Quote a paragraph by placing it in quotation marks and acknowledge the source.

9.         Rewrite a passage from another writer and present it as your own work.

10.     Take just one word or phrase from a text because it is very well expressed.

11.     Use another author's organisation and way of arguing.



TASK 4 Indentify the types of plagiarism in the following texts

outright copying - paraphrase plagiarism - patchwork plagiarism - stealing an apt term

Original text:

You have to tread quite a fine line between being accused, on the one hand, of not making
enough use of the writers you have been reading on the course, and, on the other, of having
followed them too slavishly, to the point of plagiarising them. One of your early tasks as a
student is to get a feel for how to strike the right balance. (Northedge, 1990, p. 190)

Text A

When you are writing you need to be careful to use the information you have read well. At one
extreme you may be blamed for not making enough use of the writers you have been reading on the
course. While at the other extreme, you may be accused of having followed them too slavishly, to
the point of plagiarising them. Early on as a student you need to balance these two extremes.

Text B

When you are writing you need to be careful to use the information you have read well. However,
there is a difficult area here because, as a student, when you are doing assignments, you need to
use what you have read or been taught in your lectures. It is important, however, not to make too
much use of this information or you may be accused of having followed them too slavishly. Early on
in your life as a student, you need to balance these two extremes.

Text C

You have to tread quite a fine line between being accused, on the one hand, of not making
enough use of the writers you have been reading on the course, and, on the other, of having
followed them too slavishly, to the point of plagiarising them. One of your early tasks as a
student is to get a feel for how to strike the right balance.

Text D

You must be careful of being blamed for not using the information you have read on your course,
and, in contrast, of having used the information too much so that it looks like you have
plagiarised. One of your first jobs as a student is to learn how to balance these two extremes