Definitions and Guidelines
Plagiarism
In general, plagiarism is commonly defined as using the words or ideas of another person without proper acknowledgment. In previous times, the term “plagiarism” was applied only to unacknowledged borrowing from published or otherwise copyrighted work; today, it is generally agreed that the concept and term “plagiarism” can apply to improper use of anyone’s materials from any print or electronic source, whether or not that material has been previously published or copyrighted.
It is important to note that the definition does not limit the term “plagiarism” only to extensive borrowing (e.g., a sentence or more). A few words (or even one single word, if it is a key term or a freshly coined term) can be considered plagiarism, if not properly attributed to the original author. Moreover—and here is where many writers run into trouble—ideas contained in the work of another, even if they are rewritten into new words, must be attributed to their original author unless they fall into the category of “common knowledge,” a term which will be explained shortly.
To summarize: (1) any verbatim reproduction of the work of another, no matter how brief, must be properly documented; (2) any summary or paraphrase of the ideas of another, unless they are common knowledge, must be properly documented.
By way of example, consider the following excerpt from a personal opinion essay appearing in Newsweek on September 24, 1984. Note that it is not “straight news” (which might be considered a “matter of public record”), but one person’s viewpoint. It is entitled Space Odysseys on Tight Budget by Joseph N. Horodyski:
“Further down the road and far more frightening is President Reagan’s Star Wars program . . . which will cost hundreds of millions of dollars in its final form, place an unprecedented strain on this country’s budget and lead to the eventual militarization of space, perhaps the last natural environment to feel man’s violence. Faced with this prospect, American space science as an intellectual endeavor might cease to exist.”
Almost everybody knows that quoting a sentence or more of Mr. Horodyski’s ideas, without quote marks, would be plagiarism. However, these following samples would also qualify as plagiarism.
1. The use of key phrases:
Far more frightening is the Star Wars plan of President Reagan. We could see the end of American space science as an intellectual endeavor.
2. The patchwork of borrowed words and phrases:
Further down the road is the Star Wars plan which is far more frightening. Costing hundreds of billions of dollars, it will raise taxes and place an unprecedented strain on this country’s budget. Thus space, the last natural environment, will be spoiled.
3. The unattributed use of ideas:
President Reagan’s Star Wars program poses a still greater danger. If our country begins to see space as a military arena worth hundreds of billions of dollars to exploit, we may lose the concept of space exploration as a true intellectual science.
As they presently stand, all three of the above samples exhibit incorrect (and unethical) use of a source, and would be in violation of NLU’s Academic Honesty policy. What might be done, in each case, to correct the problem? In simple terms, the writer must make it clear that he is using a source and that he is not attempting to conceal that fact.
More specifically: In cases #1 and #2 the writer must first decide whether the phrases copied from the original are valuable enough as quotations to be kept as such. If so, each word or phrase must be enclosed in quotation marks and a formal reference must be added according to the required style: APA or MLA itself indicating the source. The faculty will determine the specific style manual for citing references.
On the other hand, it is often the case that the quoted material is simply saving the writer the trouble of composing his own prose. In such cases it is better to eliminate the verbatim quotations entirely. This may well produce a situation like that of the third sample; i.e., paraphrased, summarized, or otherwise borrowed ideas. In these cases no quotation marks are necessary but the source must still be cited, perhaps near the end of the passage. Some brief phrase like, “These ideas were discussed in . . .” will tell the reader that the ideas appeared, in some form, in another person’s work.
There is one situation where ideas found in the work of another do not need to be documented as a source. That is the area of “common knowledge.” Ideas which appear repeatedly in discussions of certain subjects in the work of various individuals are usually considered to be in the public domain, and it may not be necessary to give credit for these ideas to any particular individual. Descriptions or explanations of things like autism or mainstreaming or the double helix can now even be found in encyclopedias and, assuming no direct verbatim quotations are used, can be considered shared cultural information. Also, facts which are available to any observer, such as the length of the Brooklyn Bridge or the plot of a book or movie or who is married to Elizabeth Taylor, are not considered to be the property of any individual and sources for them do not need to be cited (although, it usually does no harm to tell the reader where the fact was verified).
In the above sample, for instance, Mr. Horodyski’s personal opinions, right or wrong, are considered to belong to him; but items of general news (which would appear, in similar form, in many newspapers and news magazines) could be considered a matter of public record and, if no direct quotations were used, a writer could choose whether or not to mention where he obtained the information. In all cases, however, a general rule applies: WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE.
Receiving and/or Giving Improper Assistance and Other Forms of Cheating
In addition to plagiarism, the academic community categorizes several other kinds of behavior as “dishonest” and liable for disciplinary or even legal action. In general, these can be divided into five types:
- Turning in an assignment (test or paper) written wholly or partly by another person or agency without so specifying.
- Turning in an assignment (test or paper) substantially edited or otherwise improved by another person without so specifying. (The relative or friend who retypes a paper and corrects all of its errors fits in here.)
- Turning in an assignment (test or paper) written wholly or partly for another course for which academic credit was received without so specifying.
- Otherwise defeating the purpose of the course by dishonestly violating the NLU policies.
- Cheating on an assignment (test or paper).
Students, like all professionals, must recognize the following fact: since the evaluation of student work results ultimately in a formal grade recorded on a student’s official transcript, any work offered in support of that grade which reflects the unacknowledged efforts of another person is an attempt at fraud and must be dealt with as such.
For resources on how to cite properly and avoid plagiarism, go to Learning Support (nl.edu/lls) and the NLU Library (nl.edu/library).