Plagiarism Examples

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)