plagiarism examples
DESCRIPTION
For a plagiarism lessonTRANSCRIPT
Adapted from http://www.katehart.net/2012/06/citing-sources-quick-and-graphic-guide.html
“There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for
steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.”
J.K Rowling in a commencement speech at Harvard entitled “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination”
http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/06/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination
Original Source
“There is an expiry date on
blaming your parents for
steering you in the wrong
direction; the moment you are
old enough to take the wheel,
responsibility lies with you.”
Original Source
There is an expiry date on
blaming your parents for steering
you in the wrong direction; the
moment you are old enough to
take the wheel, responsibility lies
with you.
Voldemort’s Paper
Plagiarized!
Exact wording from the
original.
No quotation marks
No reference to
Rowling
A reader would assume
that these are Voldy’s
thoughts, ideas, and
words.
This is clearly not the
case, so it’s plagiarized.
“There is an expiry date on
blaming your parents for
steering you in the wrong
direction; the moment you
are old enough to take the
wheel, responsibility lies with
you.”
Original Source
There is an expiration date on
blaming your parents for steering
you wrong; the moment you’re old
enough to take the wheel, you’re
responsible.
A Dementor’s Paper
Plagiarized!
Some (but not most)
words have been
changed.
No quotation marks
No reference to
Rowling
This is a bad
paraphrase.
Even if you change a
few words around,
paraphrasing without
credit is the kiss of
death.
“There is an expiry date on
blaming your parents for
steering you in the wrong
direction; the moment you are
old enough to take the wheel,
responsibility lies with you.”
Original Source
According to J.K. Rowling,
you can blame your parents
for things until you get your
driver’s license.
Sirius Black
Questionable!
Does credit Rowling
Not her exact words
Is this really what
Rowling meant?
It’s not plagiarism, but
misrepresenting a
source’s meaning is
Siriusly dishonest.
“There is an expiry date on
blaming your parents for steering
you in the wrong direction; the
moment you are old enough to
take the wheel, responsibility lies
with you.”
Original Source
According to J.K. Rowling, you
can’t spend your whole life
blaming your parents for
things.
Ron Weasley
Questionable!
Does credit Rowling as
the originator of the idea
Not her exact words
(good paraphrase)
When and where did
Rowling say or write this?
Incorrect citation!
Ron still needs to
provide information on
the source.
“There is an expiry date on
blaming your parents for steering
you in the wrong direction; the
moment you are old enough to
take the wheel, responsibility lies
with you.”
Original Source
Don’t be a whiner. Stop
blaming your parents.
-Snape
Good!
Does not resemble
Rowling’s speech
Does not imply that
Rowling said it.
No citation needed.
“There is an expiry date on
blaming your parents for steering
you in the wrong direction; the
moment you are old enough to
take the wheel, responsibility lies
with you.”
Original Source
“There is an expiry date on
blaming your parents for
steering you in the wrong
direction,” said J.K. Rowling.
“The moment you are old
enough to take the wheel, the
responsibility lies with you.”
-Neville Longbottom
Plagiarism!
Does credit Rowling as
the originator of the idea
Puts her exact words in
quotation marks.
When and where did
Rowling say or write this?
Incorrect citation!
Neville, like Ron, still
needs to provide
information on the
source.
“There is an expiry date on
blaming your parents for steering
you in the wrong direction; the
moment you are old enough to
take the wheel, responsibility lies
with you.”
Original Source
“There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction,” said J.K. Rowling. “The moment you are old enough to take the wheel, the responsibility lies with you” (“The Fringe Benefits of Failure”).
-Hermione Granger
Correct!
Does credit Rowling as
the originator of the idea
Puts her exact words in
quotation marks.
Gives source information
(in-text citation).
Ten points to
Gryffindor!
Your best defense against
plagiarism?
Constant vigilance!
(and a good handbook, like Easy Writer)