Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism: Types of Plagiarism

Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism Types of Plagiarism

Type 1 - Omitting In-Text Citations

This kind of plagiarism occurs when students leave out in-text citations. Omitting citations is considered plagiarism because it means that the original source of the material does not get proper credit. Example 1.1 At the top of the slide is an example excerpt from an original text; below it is the plagiarized example.

Example 1.1

Original Text: “It is not a fragment of society, but exhibits the ideological diversity of European societies, although it has a more liberal cast” (Christian & Campbell, 1990, p. 283).

Plagiarism: It is said that in many ways Canada “exhibits the ideological diversity of European societies.”

What makes it plagiarism? The student has quoted the borrowed text, but has not included a citation. The source is not credited, and readers have no way of knowing how to find the source if they want more information. In this example, the student has paraphrased the original, but has not cited the paraphrase.

Example 1.2

Original Text: “It is not a fragment society, but exhibits the ideological diversity of European societies, although it has a more liberal cast” (Christian & Campbell, 1990. P. 283).

Plagiarism: Unlike the United States, Canada is influenced by the ongoing development of a variety of political ideologies in Europe, although these ideologies have never been extreme in their Canadian versions.

Why is this considered plagiarism? The student has borrowed an idea without giving credit to the original source. This gives the impression that the idea is entirely the student’s own, when in fact it is taken from another source.

Type 2 - Cut-and-Paste Plagiarism

This type of plagiarism occurs when students copy text word-for-word from a source without giving credit to the original author. In this example, the student has inserted text that is copied word-for-word.

Example 2

Original text: “It is not a fragment of society, but exhibits the ideological diversity of European societies, although it has a more liberal cast” (Christian & Campbell, 1990, p. 283).

Plagiarism: Canada, unlike the United States, did not stop importing ideological developments from Europe when it was founded. It is not a fragment society, but exhibits the ideological diversity of European societies, although it has a more liberal cast.

Why is this considered plagiarism? The text is not enclosed in quotation marks, nor is it cited. The student has given the false impression that this is his or her own thinking, when in fact it came from another source.

Type 3 – Paraphrase Plagiarism

This plagiarism occurs when students copy the source too closely in their paraphrases, either by copying too many of the original words or by copying the original structure too closely. In this example, the student has copied two key phrases from the original and reversed the order in which they appear. The copied phrases are bolded and underlined.

Example 3

Original Text: “It is not a fragment society, but exhibits the ideological diversity of European societies, although it has a more liberal cast” (Christian & Campbell, 1990, p. 283).

Plagiarism: Christian and Campbell have noted that, unlike the United States, Canada is not a society that has broken away from ideological developments in Europe, but, even if it has a more liberal cast, it demonstrates the ideological diversity of European societies (1990).

Why is this considered plagiarism? Even though the student has cited the source, he or she has copied two phrases word for word without using quotation marks. This misleads readers, suggesting that the wording and structure are the student’s own.

Type 4 - Self-Plagiarism

This type of plagiarism occurs when students submit the same academic work for credit in more than one course, or for publication in more than one journal. Reusing material in this way is considered dishonest because in both situations readers expect the material to be new, not recycled.

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References

Christian, W., & Campbell, C. (1990). Political parties and ideologies in Canada (3rd ed.). Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

Acknowledgements

Note: Content from this module is adapted from the following sources:

Graduate Studies & Writing Services, University of Guelph. (2013). UNIV*7100: Academic integrity for graduate students [online course]. Guelph, ON: University of Guelph

Writing Services. (2004). Academic integrity [online module]. Guelph, ON: University of Guelph