In this section we will explain the concept of plagiarism, how to avoid accidental plagiarism by inserting citations appropriately, and understanding how to paraphrase without copying the work of others. We will also discuss why proper attribution is important.
Upon completion of this section, you should be able to:
Essentially, plagiarism involves taking credit for someone else’s ideas, words, images, media, art, or any part of someone’s work without identifying the creator. Good ideas are often built on the ideas of others, but it is important to make clear:
This allows you to demonstrate 4 different types of skills:
To do these things well, you need to cite your sources and the tools you used to help you with your ideas. Citations in your actual writing lets instructors know which sentence or idea comes from which source. A reference or works cited section should come at the end of the writing.
The citation within your writing or text is called an in-text citation. It is usually a brief pointer to a source or tool. The citation at the end of your work provides more details, allowing the reader to find the source/tool if they are interested in learning more and/or to see how your idea builds on the ideas in that source/from that tool.
Imagine that you read a news story on a very important topic: the connection between teenage cell phone use and dementia. The writer claims that there is data and evidence showing that teenage cell phone use increases the risk of dementia later in life. However, readers noticed that most of the studies cited in the news story do not exist, and the wrong researchers are listed for one of the actual studies. When asked about this, the author of the news story shrugs it off by saying that the errors were nothing more than minor citation and formatting errors.
Would you wonder why the author built their claims on fake studies? Would you question the motivation and effort that went into that new story? Would you be less likely to follow the suggestions in that new story, knowing that the author did not take the time to find credible studies and cite them correctly?
If you were a college professor grading a report based on non-existent studies, would this affect the grade you assigned? Would you wonder how and where the student found information for the report? Would you wonder why the student submitted work that included fabricated or made-up information? Would it surprise you to learn that many college professors consider the fabrication of information to be dishonest and improper citing to be plagiarism?
Students often wonder why citations are important for academic writing. They show that a student’s work is based on something more than their opinion. Citations show which sources, resources, and tools that informed a student’s point-of-view. They also allow the reader to infer the credibility of that information based on the credibility of those resources, sources, and tools.
Academic writing is also supposed to be about verification. Academic work based on fabricated sources and made-up information has no value—at best it is a poorly-formed opinion; at worst it is a made-up story. Unless you are supposed to share your opinion or produce a creative project, academic writing requires you to document where you found information and often requires students to use credible sources.
It is also important to know that, when you use a credible source, you need to credit that source. Why? In an academic setting, it is rude and dishonest to take credit for someone else’s ideas or to identify someone’s academic or professional work as someone else’s. That can be a type of plagiarism. Also, citing correctly shows that you are building your ideas on credible sources – and that is a very good thing.
Sometimes someone will say something so well that you will want to say it that way too. Remember—if you copy someone else's words in your academic work, you need to put those words between quotation marks and also include an in-text citation, even if you find the information on a website, in an app, or in an artificial intelligence tool like a chatbot or Grammarly. Otherwise, it is plagiarism.
"You can't be afraid to fail. It's the only way you succeed—you're not gonna succeed all the time, and I know that." – LeBron James
This quote is found at brainyquote.com/quotes/lebron_james_425370
What if you re-conceptualize the information or some of the information? You still need to cite it.
According to LeBron James, failure is the only pathway to success (see brainyquote.com/quotes/lebron_james_425370).
What information do you need to include in your in-text citations and in your citations at the end of your work? That will vary by class. There are many different ways to cite sources, including the Modern Language Association (MLA) format, the American Psychological Association (APA) format, and the Chicago Manual of Style (or Chicago) format. Each of these formatting styles has its own way to cite text, media, apps, images, artificial intelligence (AI) tools, etc.
You can find details about various citation formats through the University Libraries and tools like the Purdue Owl.
Don't confuse plagiarism and copyright violations. Copyright violation is a legal concern; plagiarism is an ethical and academic concern. Even if you are given permission by a copyright holder to use an image, that image must be cited to avoid plagiarism issues. On the other hand, citing an image does not necessarily preclude copyright violations.
For more information on copyright, please consult these Penn State copyright resources
Paraphrasing is more than replacing a few words with synonyms. It is about summarizing someone else’s idea in your own words. It shows that you understand the idea. If you add your own perspective, it shows how your new idea builds on the original idea.
Let’s say you’re writing a paper about copyright in the music industry. You want to argue that social media can be an effective tool for educating college students about copyright laws that pertain to music piracy in order to combat the illegal downloading of music. You do some research, and you find a journal article that has some great information related to your topic. You want to paraphrase parts of the article to help support your argument.
"The government and music industry, for example, could work on a clear and extensive consumer policy that uses numerous online social media outlets—especially those utilized by Gen Z—to spread information about copyright laws, regulations, and penalties that pertain to music piracy. In addition, new laws can focus on the liability of online intermediaries and platforms facilitating copyright infringement" (Borja & Dieringer, 2022).
The government and music industry could work on a detailed consumer policy that uses online social media outlets utilized by Gen Z to spread information about copyright laws, regulations, and penalties that pertain to music piracy. Additionally, new laws can focus on the liability of online platforms facilitating copyright infringement (Borja & Dieringer, 2022).
This new paragraph is so close to the original statement, it might as well be a direct quote. It shows no conceptual understanding and no synthesis of new ideas with Borja and Dieringer’s thoughts. Anti-plagiarism software might even flag this paragraph as being plagiarized.
One way to reduce music piracy among Generation Z would be for the music industry to use social media platforms to educate users about laws pertaining to copyright infringement and illegal downloading of music (Borja & Dieringer, 2022).
To be more effective, the writer could blend their own ideas on the value of peer-to-peer sharing of information with Borja and Dieringer’s thoughts on the use of social media to educate students about copyright law.
Social media is a powerful tool for reaching college students and can be used not only to provide information but to promote peer-to-peer discussion. Students are likely to value and respond to new information when it is shared by their peers. One way to reduce music piracy among Generation Z would be for the music industry to use social media platforms to educate users about laws pertaining to copyright infringement and illegal downloading of music (Borja & Dieringer, 2022).
You probably noticed the in-text citations. Because the writer builds on/uses Borja and Dieringer's thoughts to inform their own writing, they need to cite them as a source.
The full citation is below. Providing the full citation makes it easier for the interested reader to find this article.
Borja, K., & Dieringer, S. (2022). Is music piracy over? Comparing music piracy attitudes and behaviors between young generations. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 56(2), 899-924.
Unless you cite the source, submitting academic work created by artificial intelligence or by someone else (even if the author is unknown) is an academic integrity violation.
Even if you use that source or tool "a little bit" or to help you create an outline, you need to cite it. Without citing the copied work, you misrepresent work that did not originate with you as your own.
Even if you use someone else's work or technology tools to get an outline or sequence of ideas, using that information without citing the source is conceptual plagiarism—because you have represented unoriginal ideas and concepts as your own.
It is easy for your instructors to notice when your writing differs from your typical style. If you copy either part of your assignment or the whole thing, remember to cite, using quotation marks to credit the original author's words! If you don't, the chances of an academic integrity violation are a lot higher than you might think.
Remember, instructors are looking for four different types of skills:
Copying only shows that you can find and identify information to meet your goal. Often, that isn't enough for a passing grade.