Plagiarism: What it is Why it is a growing problem How to avoid committing it

What is Plagiarism? pla·gia·rism 1. The act of plagiarizing. 2. Something plagiarized. n 1: a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work 2: the act of plagiarizing; taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own [syn: plagiarization, plagiarism, piracy]

Why is Plagiarism a Growing Concern? Simple. The Internet. The Internet is one of the main sources of plagiarism now. The forms of plagiarism range from relatively innocent to outright thievery. Whether you are looking to purchase a paper or whether you are merely looking for quick and easy information, the Internet opens a lot of students up to plagiarism.

The USM Student Handbook Defines Plagiarism As… “Plagiarism is scholarly theft, and it is defined as the unacknowledged use of secondary sources. More specifically, any written or oral presentation in which the writer or speaker does not distinguish clearly between original and borrowed material constitutes plagiarism… Because students, as scholars, must make frequent use of the concepts and facts developed by other scholars, plagiarism is not the mere use of another’s facts and ideas. However, it is plagiarism when students present the work of other scholars as if it were their own work.” “Plagiarism is scholarly theft, and it is defined as the unacknowledged use of secondary sources. More specifically, any written or oral presentation in which the writer or speaker does not distinguish clearly between original and borrowed material constitutes plagiarism… Because students, as scholars, must make frequent use of the concepts and facts developed by other scholars, plagiarism is not the mere use of another’s facts and ideas. However, it is plagiarism when students present the work of other scholars as if it were their own work.”

How Online Plagiarism Is Being Fought is one of many sources created to fight plagiarism. USM’s Department of English uses turnitin.com strangely enough, is sometimes more effective than the many online sites dedicated to finding plagiarized material. Many professors simply enter in suspicious phrases to uncover results online.

How Online Plagiarism Is Being Fought (cont.) The following is from the webpage Plagiarism maintained by Sharon Stoerger, MLS, MBA: “There are hundred of term paper companies doing business on the Web. Most, if not all of the sites, claim that papers are to be used as models for research and are not designed to promote plagiarism. Several term paper sites are owned by larger companies, like The Paper Store Enterprises ( and some even have ties to plagiarism detection software companies. For example, detection software companies, PlagiServe ( and EduTie ( have connections to term paper sites like MightyStudents.com ( Essaymill.com ( EssaysOnFile.com ( and TopEssays.com ( “There are hundred of term paper companies doing business on the Web. Most, if not all of the sites, claim that papers are to be used as models for research and are not designed to promote plagiarism. Several term paper sites are owned by larger companies, like The Paper Store Enterprises ( and some even have ties to plagiarism detection software companies. For example, detection software companies, PlagiServe ( and EduTie ( have connections to term paper sites like MightyStudents.com ( Essaymill.com ( EssaysOnFile.com ( and TopEssays.com ( So, in other words, some of these online ‘paper mills’ are actually working against you. Surprised?

Two Forms of Plagiarism DeliberateAccidental

Deliberate Plagiarism Committed when a student doubts his/her ability to complete a paper for a class. This could be from a number of causes: a fear of writing, laziness, lack of time due to procrastination. This form of plagiarism is commonly committed by: using a friend’s paper, obtaining a paper from the Internet, stealing a paper from a campus computer lab (i.e. stealing draft from trash, or using a copy saved to desktop.)

Accidental Plagiarism Committed completely by accident by an honest student. (This is, by far, the MOST COMMON form of plagiarism.) This form of plagiarism is commonly committed by: not fully understanding when something needs to be cited, forgetting to cite a source (common with procrastination.)

Avoiding Accidental Plagiarism Cite as you type. If you choose to summarize or paraphrase, do not have the original source in front of you. When finished, compare your paper to your source. Keep documentation of your research (CYA.) DO NOT PROCRASTINATE

Recommended Reading on Plagiarism One of the more popular online web pages dedicated to preventing plagiarism. Sharon Stoerger’s online compilation of recent publications concerning issues of plagiarism.

USM’s Online Plagiarism Tutorial utorial.htmhttp:// utorial.htm (This is linked from the library’s homepage.) Select the tutorial on plagiarism. utorial.htm Here you will find many clear examples of plagiarism, paraphrasing, summary, etc. If you wish, you may take the initial and final tests. (They’d like that, actually. It contributes to their study!)

Three Ways to Incorporate Sources into Your Paper Direct Quotation ParaphraseSummary

The Difference Between Paraphrase and Summary par·a·phrase 1. A restatement of a text or passage in another form or other words, often to clarify meaning. 1. A restatement of a text or passage in another form or other words, often to clarify meaning. 2. The restatement of texts in other words as a studying or teaching device. 2. The restatement of texts in other words as a studying or teaching device.sum·ma·ry 1. Presenting the substance in a condensed form; concise: a summary review. 1. Presenting the substance in a condensed form; concise: a summary review.

The Following Tutorial on Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Paraphrase Is Quoted from Indiana University’s Writing Tutorial Services, located online at: ts/plagiarism.shtml

Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Paraphrase Here’s the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.: The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centers of production as well as of commerce and trade.

Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Paraphrase (cont.) Here’s an UNACCEPTABLE paraphrase that is plagiarism: The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centers of commerce and trade as well as production.

Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Paraphrase (cont.) What makes this passage plagiarism? The preceding passage is considered plagiarism for two reasons: the writer has only changed around a few words and phrases, or changed the order of the original’s sentences. the writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts. If you do either or both of these things, you are plagiarizing.

Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Paraphrase (cont.) Here’s an ACCEPTABLE paraphrase: Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Steam-powered production had shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result, populations grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these manufacturing and commercial centers (Williams 1).

Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Paraphrase (cont.) Why is this passage acceptable? This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer: accurately relays the information in the original uses her own words. lets her reader know the source of her information.

Recommended Reading on APA USM Library’s Online APA Style Guide: a.html a.html a.html Indiana University’s Online APA Style Guide: a_style.shtml a_style.shtml

Citing Electronic Sources 1.Direct readers as closely as possible to the information being cited – whenever possible, reference specific documents rather than home or menu pages. 2.Provide addresses that work.

Citing Electronic Sources (cont.) Name of author, last name first. Date of publication, in parenthesis. Title of Article. Journal it is from, in italics. Date you retrieved the article Finally, the URL Entry should be double-spaced and all lines after the first indented with one tab.

VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J. (2001). Role of reference elements in the selection of resources by psychology undergraduates [Electronic version]. Journal of Bibliographic Research, 5, Retrieved October 13, 2001, from Citing Electronic Sources (cont.)

Your Assignment You will write a research paper using the guidelines provided by Dr. Miller. Use APA guidelines to document your sources. Provide photocopies of all sources.

Works Cited Dictionary.com. Stoerger, Shanon. Plagiarism. September 30, 2002 Updated February 26, Retrieved March 4, 2005 from The University of Southern Mississippi Student Handbook, Retrieved March 5, 2005 from Writing Tutorial Services. The University of Indiana. Retrieved March 4, 2005 from

Questions? Shellie Hubbard, MA Degree Auditor, Office of the University Registrar PhD student – English (Creative Writing Emphasis)