Plagiarism Chapter 5

Chris just found some good stuff on the Web for his science report about sharks. He highlights a paragraph that explains that most sharks grow to be only 3 to 4 feet long and can't hurt people. Chris copies it and pastes it into his report. He quickly changes the font so it matches the rest of the report and continues his research.

What should Chris have done? He should have written down the name of

the website and the name of the person who wrote the article. Then he could have added it and given credit to the source.

It's not always easy to tell what's plagiarism and what's not. Sometimes, it's accidental — you really intended to do your own work, but instead ended up with some sentences that sound just like something you've read. You might not be doing it intentionally, but if you don't identify the original source, you're risking a lot of trouble.

So even if you put the information into your own words, you still should list the source. Ask yourself, "Would I know this if I hadn't read it on that website or in that book?" If the answer is no, list the source.

Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work,

Cite every piece of information that is not;

a) the result of your own research, or

b) common knowledge. This includes opinions, arguments, and speculations as well as facts, details, figures, and statistics.

Some tips for avoiding accidental plagiarism when you use sources

Use quotation marks every time you use the author's words. (For longer quotes, indenting the whole quotation has the same effect as quotation marks.)

At the beginning of the first sentence in which you quote, paraphrase, or summarize, make it clear that what comes next is someone else's idea:

According to Smith...Jones says...In his 1987 study, Robinson proved..

At the end of the last sentence containing quoted, paraphrased, or summarized material, insert a parenthetical citation to show where the material came from:

The St. Martin's Handbook defines plagiarism as "the use of someone else's words or ideas as [the writer's] own without crediting the other person" (Lunsford and Connors 602).

(Notice the use of brackets to mark a change in the wording of the original.)

A paraphrase accurately states all the relevant information from a passage in your own words and phrasing, without any additional comments or elaborations [it] always restates all the main points of the passage in the same order and in about the same number of words. (Lunsford and Connors 596)

During the Thesis Report Writing the student have to select an article relevant to their topic and then paraphrase it.

1. Paraphrases with no citation

Because a paraphrase is supposed to contain all of the author's information and none of your own commentary, a paraphrase with no citation is an example of plagiarism.

Lunsford and Connors go on to give two examples of unacceptable paraphrases: one that uses the author's words, and one that uses the author's sentences structures (597).

Lunsford and Connors also state that "even for acceptable paraphrases you must include a citation in your essay identifying the source of the information" (597).

This point is crucial: without the information about the source, an appropriate paraphrase becomes plagiarism.

Even if you have avoided using the author's words, sentences structure, or style, an unattributed paraphrase is plagiarism because it presents the same information in the same order.

2. Misplaced citations

If you use a paraphrase or direct quotation, it is important to place the reference at the very end of all the material cited. Any quoted, paraphrased, or summarized material that comes after the reference is plagiarized: it looks like it is supposed to be your own idea.

This is one reason why accurate note taking is so important; it is possible to forget which words are yours and which are the original writers.

Original source:

Paraphrasing material helps you digest a passage, because chances are you can't restate the passage in your own words unless you grasp its full meaning. When you incorporate an accurate paraphrase into your essay, you show your readers that you understand that source. (Lunsford and Connors 596)

Finally, a point about multiple citations from the same source: cite them all individually. It is not adequate to give one citation at the end of the paragraph for a bunch of individual points abstracted from a source.

Parenthetical citations are intended to make citing your sources easy to do; don't be shy about using them.

Here are some other types of plagiarism that students should be aware of:

Having a friend write a paper for her or using

someone else’s paper as her own. Submitting one of her own papers or

assignments for more than one class.

Downloading or buying a term paper from the web.

A charge of plagiarism can have severe consequences, including expulsion from a university or loss of a job, not to mention a writer's loss of credibility and professional standing.

Case Study on Plagiarism

An owner of a copyright owns a “bundle” of rights. Each of these rights can be sold or assigned separately.

Copyright infringement occurs when one of those rights are used without the express consent of the copyright owner.

Copy right infringement

The rights owned by the owner of a copyright include:

The Right to Reproduce the Work; This is the right to reproduce, copy, duplicate or transcribe the work in any fixed form. Copyright infringement would occur if someone other than the copyright owner made a copy of the work and resold it.

The Right to Derivative Works; This is the right to modify the work to create

a new work. A new work that is based upon an existing work is a "derivative work." Copyright infringement would occur here if someone wrote a screenplay based on his favorite John Grisham book and sold or distributed the screenplay, or if someone releases or remixes of one of your songs without your consent.

The Right to Distribution; This is simply the right to distribute the

work to the public by sale, rental, lease or lending. The music industry lawsuits targeting file-sharing web services claim that these services violate the right to distribution held by record labels.

The Public Display Right; This is the right to show a copy of the work

directly to the public by hanging up a copy of the work in a public place, displaying it on a website, putting it on film or transmitting it to the public in any other way. Copyright infringement occurs here if someone other than the copyright holder offers a work for public display.

The Public Performance Right; This is the right to recite, play, dance, act or

show the work at a public place or to transmit it to the public. Copyright infringement would occur here if someone decided to give performances of the musical "Oliver!" without obtaining permission from the owner

THE EXCEPTIONS There are three exceptions to the copyright

infringement rules, which allow one to reproduce another's work without obtaining a license or assignment of rights.

Fair use.Public domain.Non copyrightable work.

Fair Use; This is a doctrine which permits the

reproduction of copyrighted material for a limited purpose of teaching, reviewing, literary criticism and the like. Without the “fair use” doctrine, books and movies could not be reviewed and colleges and high schools would not be able to study works by people like Arthur Miller. This is also how television programs such as The Daily Show are able to use copyrighted material in their commentary. "Fair use," however, is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Public Domain; This refers to works which are no longer

covered by copyright law. For example, the song “The Star-Spangled Banner” can be performed without ever paying license fees to anyone because the copyright has expired.

Non-Copyrightable Works; Copyright infringement cannot occur when

someone uses material that cannot be protected by copyright, such as facts or ideas. However, if someone puts a bunch of facts into the form of a book (e.g. The Farmer’s Almanac), copying all or part of that book would constitute copyright infringement.

Michael Bolton vs the Isley Brothers

The Isley Brothers isn’t as well known a name as Michael Bolton, but unfortunately for Mr. Bolton, they share a song with the same name and some of the same lyrics. The Isley Brothers song was released in 1966 under the name “Love is a Wonderful Thing, Michael Bolton’s song was released in 1991.

A suit was brought against Michael Bolton by the Isley Brothers for allegedly lifting parts from their original song of the same name and in 1991 Despite Michael Bolton and the co-author of the song’s argument that there was insufficient evidence supporting the jury’s findings, the district court found in favor of the Isley Brothers and left the largest award in history for plagiarism in the music industry intact.

The Isley Brothers were awarded 5.4 million dollars, the calculation based on sixty-six percent of past and future royalties. (Also taken into account was twenty-eight percent of the past and future royalties of the album Time, Love and Tenderness as Love is a Wonderful thing is contained within that album).

Case Study on Copyright infringement