Plagiarism Definition

Plagiarism is an act of academic dishonesty that involves a scholar committing one or more of
the following actions:

Portraying any portion of anothers work as the scholars (including turning in work that
an individual other than the scholar prepared, regardless of the willingness of the
individual)
Portraying another authors idea(s) as the scholars
Misrepresenting a sources meaning or content
Reflecting inadequate citation or missing citation

Plagiarism can occur in three main categories: Wording, Content, and Citation. Below are
examples of plagiarism (and the solutions to avoiding it) in all three categories. Examples are
based on the following excerpt from an original source.
Biology, we are frequently told, is the science of the twenty-first century. Authority
informs us that moving genes from one organism to another will provide new drugs,
extend both the quantity and quality of life, and feed and fuel the world while reducing
water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Authority also informs that novel
genes will escape from genetically modified crops, thereby leading to herbicide-resistant
weeds; that genetically modified crops are an evil privatization of the gene pool that will
with certainty lead to the economic ruin of small farmers around the world; and that
economic growth derived from biological technologies will cause more harm than good.
In other words, we are told that biological technologies will provide benefits and will
come with costs--with tales of both costs and benefits occasionally inflated--like every
other technology humans have developed and deployed over all of recorded history.
Carlson, Rob. "Staying Sober About Science." The Hastings Center Report July-Aug. 2011:
22-25. Gale Science in Context. Web. 29 July 2012.

Wording
Plagiarism due to wording occurs when a scholar uses the wording of the original without
quotes.
EXAMPLE: Word for Word Plagiarism
Science has helped us solve many problems throughout history. Biology, we are frequently told,
is the science of the twenty-first century. Authority informs us that moving genes from one
organism to another will provide new drugs, extend both the quantity and quality of life, and feed
and fuel the world while reducing water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, but we
must be careful about using science without any regulation (Carlson 22).

Here the scholar has directly used the words of the original without quotes. The citation
does not allow a scholar to use direct wording; only quotes allow a scholar to use the
original wording.
TO CORRECT: Add quotes around word for word sections, or use an entirely reworded
paraphrase to convey information.
EXAMPLE: Mosaic Plagiarism
Sources inform that new genes will escape from genetically modified crops, hence leading to
herbicide-resistant weeds; that genetically modified crops are a terrible privatization of the pool
of genes that will definitely cause the financial ruin of smaller farmers around the globe; and
that economic growth derived from biological technology will lead to more bad than good
(Carlson 22).
In this case, the scholar has directly used many of the original words in the same order
and grammatical structure as the original and has only replaced a few areas with
synonyms.
TO CORRECT: Add quotes around word for word sections that cannot be reworded, or
(preferably) use entirely reworded paraphrase to convey information.

Content
Plagiarism due to content occurs when a scholar rewords the original but does so too closely and
often without giving the original author credit. It can also occur when a scholar misconstrues the
meaning of the source, effectively claiming the original author stated content or opinions that
he/she did not.
EXAMPLE: Misrepresented Meaning
Carlson claims that genetically modified foods offer little risk and will be the solution to many of
the 21st centurys problems (22).
This represents Carlson as making a claim he did not make.
TO CORRECT: Make sure any attributed opinions accurately match the original authors
intent this may require a few rereading of original sources.
EXAMPLE: Failure to Represent the Entire Message (Misconstrued Meaning)
Carlson discusses many positive outcomes of genetically modified crops, including addressing
poverty, economic issues and environmental concerns (22).

This does not represent the whole argument or thought process to readers. If this were
the only information presented from Carlson in the work, the audience would have the
mistaken impression that he completely supported genetically modified crops.
TO CORRECT: Make sure to convey the entire thought process from the original author.
EXAMPLE: Poor Paraphrasing Plagiarism
Original Source:
Biology, we are frequently told, is the science of the
twenty-first century.

Poor Paraphrase:
Most believe that in the modern world Biology is
an important science.

Authority informs us that moving genes from one

organism to another will provide new drugs, extend
both the quantity and quality of life, and feed and
fuel the world while reducing water consumption
and greenhouse gas emissions.

Well respected individuals claim that genetic

modification of materials will lead to new cures for
illness, poverty, and environment issues.

Authority also informs that novel genes will escape

from genetically modified crops, thereby leading to
herbicide-resistant weeds; that genetically modified
crops are an evil privatization of the gene pool that
will with certainty lead to the economic ruin of
small farmers around the world; and that economic
growth derived from biological technologies will
cause more harm than good.

Additionally, they may claim that the same genetic

modifications could lead to complications such as
new strains of plants with unwanted side effects
that could ultimately decimate rural, independent
farmers, ultimately doing more damage than
creating solutions.

In other words, we are told that biological

technologies will provide benefits and will come
with costs--with tales of both costs and benefits
occasionally inflated--like every other technology
humans have developed and deployed over all of
recorded history.

Genetic alteration may not be worth the risks

involved just for the money it may generate.
Both sides of the issue may be overstating the gains
or losses, since all advancement in history has
come with positives and negatives.

The issue here is not that the scholar has used the same wording but rather that he/she has
not clearly portrayed the ideas or thought patterns as being another individuals. The
scholar has also plagiarized the organization and grammatical structures from the
original. Basically, he/she has sentence by sentence rewritten someone elses work with
different words. Simply adding a citation would not correct the issue of too closely
paraphrasing.
TO CORRECT: Mention the original author at the beginning of the paraphrase. Instead
of looking at the original source while writing the paper, read the original and take notes
while completely rewording the information. Read notes prior to writing the paraphrase
and then the rewritten work will necessarily be condensed with original (non-plagiarized)
organization and grammatical structures. Be sure to use proper parenthetical citation.

Citation
Citation plagiarism occurs when parenthetical citations or works cited entries are missing or
inaccurate.
EXAMPLE: Missing Citation
Genetically modified foods will likely have both positive effects for dealing with hunger, the
economy and the environment, but there may also be negative consequences like unforeseen
mutations in various plants.
There is no citation here and the idea is clearly from the source.
TO CORRECT: Add proper parenthetical citation: (Carlson 22).
EXAMPLE: Inadequate Citation
Genetically modified foods will likely have both positive effects for dealing with hunger, the
economy and the environment, but there may also be negative consequences like unforeseen
mutations in various plants (22).
While there is a citation here, the author is missing and does not allow readers to access
the original source.
TO CORRECT: Add proper parenthetical citation: (Carlson 22).
**Using a source in a paper and failing to include a works cited entry is also considered
plagiarism as it does not allow the readers to access the original source.

Reproduced with permission by:

Amanda Lehrian
Florida SouthWestern State College