Plagiarism: What is it?
There are two circumstances that could give rise to a charge of plagiarism:
- Cheating (intentional plagiarism)
- Misuse of sources (unintentional plagiarism)
Intentional Plagiarism (Cheating)
Intentional plagiarism is where one knowingly appropriates the work of
others and passes it off as their own. This can include:
- copying entire documents and presenting them as your own;
- cutting and pasting from the work of others without properly citing the authors;
- stringing together the quotes and ideas of others without connecting their work to your own original work;
- asserting ideas without acknowledging their sources, reproducing sentences written verbatim by others without properly quoting and attributing the work to them.
Intentional plagiarism can also involve inventing sources to which you would attribute your own ideas to make them seem credible. Intentional plagiarists can be either ignorant of the seriousness of the offense, or disrespectful of the seriousness of the offense.
Unintentional Plagiarism (Misuse of Sources)
Unintentional plagiarism, or the misuse of sources, is the accidental
appropriation of the ideas and materials of others due to a lack of
understanding of the conventions of citation and documentation. Misuse
of sources might include a lack of understanding of paraphrasing, not
being clear about the parameters of common knowledge, and/or the statute
of limitations on the attribution of ideas. Since rules of attribution
are culturally determined, much of unintentional plagiarism could also
be the result of writers not understanding the sanctity with which
American academics endow the concept of idea ownership. The misuse
of sources can be the result of ignorance or laziness, but is not the
result of a desire to cheat.
The context:
Material that can be plagiarized is material that does not meet the criteria
for "common knowledge" and is the product of someone else's research,
experience and investigation. However, because the criteria for common
knowledge are a relatively undefined set of parameters, it allows for
misunderstandings that could result in unintentional plagiarism. However,
because it often makes no difference whether you have intentionally
or unintentionally plagiarized--it is still treated as a violation
of the codes of academic honesty--it is important for you to gain as
much knowledge about using and citing sources as possible. The following
table attempts to sort out what does and doesn't need to be cited.
Because, however, much of what constitutes common knowledge is audience
specific, it is impossible to create a table that unequivocally illustrates
the rules of citation.