The Common Types of Plagiarism
There are different types of plagiarism and all are serious violations of academic honesty. We have defined the most common types below and have provided links to examples.
Direct Plagiarism
Direct plagiarism is the word-for-word transcription of a section of someone else’s work, without attribution and without quotation marks. The deliberate plagiarism of someone else's work is unethical, academically dishonest, and grounds for disciplinary actions, including expulsion. [See examples.]
Self Plagiarism
Self-plagiarism occurs when a student submits his or her own previous work, or mixes parts of previous works, without permission from all professors involved. For example, it would be unacceptable to incorporate part of a term paper you wrote in high school into a paper assigned in a college course. Self-plagiarism also applies to submitting the same piece of work for assignments in different classes without previous permission from both professors.
Mosaic Plagiarism
Mosaic Plagiarism occurs when a student borrows phrases from a source without using quotation marks, or finds synonyms for the author’s language while keeping to the same general structure and meaning of the original. Sometimes called “patch writing,” this kind of paraphrasing, whether intentional or not, is academically dishonest and punishable – even if you footnote your source! [See examples.]
Accidental Plagiarism
Accidental plagiarism occurs when a person neglects to cite their sources, or misquotes their sources, or unintentionally paraphrases a source by using similar words, groups of words, and/or sentence structure without attribution. (See example for mosaic plagiarism.) Students must learn how to cite their sources and to take careful and accurate notes when doing research. (See the Note-Taking section on the Avoiding Plagiarism page.) Lack of intent does not absolve the student of responsibility for plagiarism. Cases of accidental plagiarism are taken as seriously as any other plagiarism and are subject to the same range of consequences as other types of plagiarism.
There are different types of plagiarism and all are serious violations of academic honesty. We have defined the most common types below and have provided links to examples.
Direct Plagiarism
Direct plagiarism is the word-for-word transcription of a section of someone else’s work, without attribution and without quotation marks. The deliberate plagiarism of someone else's work is unethical, academically dishonest, and grounds for disciplinary actions, including expulsion. [See examples.]
Self Plagiarism
Self-plagiarism occurs when a student submits his or her own previous work, or mixes parts of previous works, without permission from all professors involved. For example, it would be unacceptable to incorporate part of a term paper you wrote in high school into a paper assigned in a college course. Self-plagiarism also applies to submitting the same piece of work for assignments in different classes without previous permission from both professors.
Mosaic Plagiarism
Mosaic Plagiarism occurs when a student borrows phrases from a source without using quotation marks, or finds synonyms for the author’s language while keeping to the same general structure and meaning of the original. Sometimes called “patch writing,” this kind of paraphrasing, whether intentional or not, is academically dishonest and punishable – even if you footnote your source! [See examples.]
Accidental Plagiarism
Accidental plagiarism occurs when a person neglects to cite their sources, or misquotes their sources, or unintentionally paraphrases a source by using similar words, groups of words, and/or sentence structure without attribution. (See example for mosaic plagiarism.) Students must learn how to cite their sources and to take careful and accurate notes when doing research. (See the Note-Taking section on the Avoiding Plagiarism page.) Lack of intent does not absolve the student of responsibility for plagiarism. Cases of accidental plagiarism are taken as seriously as any other plagiarism and are subject to the same range of consequences as other types of plagiarism.
Examples of Plagiarism
There are many forms of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, or the representation of another person's words, ideas, or information as if they were your own.
You may use another person's words, ideas, or information, but to do so without acknowledgment is plagiarism. Perhaps the most serious form of plagiarism is failure to acknowledge the source of a direct quotation or paraphrase. Whether accidental or deliberate, failure to acknowledge that you have borrowed another's language, ideas, or information constitutes plagiarism.
Understanding the most common forms of plagiarism will help you avoid them. Follow the links below to learn more about each type and how to avoid committing them.
Example 1. Direct Plagiarism
Word-for-word borrowing from an unacknowledged source, whether intentional or not.
Example 2. Mosaic Plagiarism
Mosaic plagiarism occurs when a writer reuses a mix of word, phrases, and ideas from a source without indicating which words and ideas have been borrowed and/or without properly citing the source.
Direct Plagiarism Examples
Example 1:
Student Writer A:
Long ago, when there was no written history, these islands were the home of millions of happy birds; the resort of a hundred times more millions of fishes, sea lions, and other creatures. Here lived innumerable creatures predestined from the creation of the world to lay up a store of wealth for the British farmer, and a store of quite another sort for an immaculate Republican government.
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Source:
"In ages which have no record these islands were the home of millions of happy birds, the resort of a hundred times more millions of fishes, of sea lions, and other creatures whose names are not so common; the marine residence, in fact, of innumerable creatures predestined from the creation of the world to lay up a store of wealth for the British farmer, and a store of quite another sort for an immaculate Republican government."
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Writer A has included a word-for-word passage from his/her source without any indication that it is a direct quotation.
Example 2:
Student Writer A:
Long ago, when there was no written history, these islands were the home of millions of happy birds; the resort of a hundred times more millions of fishes, sea lions, and other creatures. Here lived innumerable creatures predestined from the creation of the world to lay up a store of wealth for the British farmer, and a store of quite another sort for an immaculate Republican government.
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Source:
"In ages which have no record these islands were the home of millions of happy birds, the resort of a hundred times more millions of fishes, of sea lions, and other creatures whose names are not so common; the marine residence, in fact, of innumerable creatures predestined from the creation of the world to lay up a store of wealth for the British farmer, and a store of quite another sort for an immaculate Republican government."
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Writer A has included a verbatim passage from his/her source and has failed to indicate it's a direct quotation.
Mosaic Plagiarism Examples
Example 1:
Student Writer B:
Only two years later, all these friendly Sioux were suddenly plunged into new conditions, including starvation, martial law on all their reservations, and constant urging by their friends and relations to join in warfare against the treacherous government that had kept faith with neither friend nor foe.
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Source:
"In ages which have no record these islands were the home of millions of "Contrast the condition into which all these friendly Indians are suddenly plunged now, with their condition only two years previous: martial law now in force on all their reservations; themselves in danger of starvation, and constantly exposed to the influence of emissaries from their friends and relations, urging them to join in fighting this treacherous government that had kept faith with nobody--neither with friend nor with foe."
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Writer B has borrowed with slight variations an uncited phrase from his/her source. As it's written, the passage would not constitute a paraphrase (even if Writer B had acknowledged his/her source) because it contains keywords from the original source that do not appear in quotation marks.
Example 2:
Student Writer B:
Only two years later, all these friendly Sioux were suddenly plunged into new conditions, including starvation, martial law on all their reservations, and constant urging by their friends and relations to join in warfare against the treacherous government that had kept faith with neither friend nor foe.
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Source:
"In ages which have no record these islands were the home of millions of "Contrast the condition into which all these friendly Indians are suddenly plunged now, with their condition only two years previous: martial law now in force on all their reservations; themselves in danger of starvation, and constantly exposed to the influence of emissaries from their friends and relations, urging them to join in fighting this treacherous government that had kept faith with nobody--neither with friend nor with foe."
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Writer B has borrowed an unacknowledged key word from his/her source, and has not indicated the omission of words with an ellipsis.
Example 3:
Student Writer B:
Only two years later, all these friendly Sioux were suddenly plunged into new conditions, including starvation, martial law on all their reservations, and constant urging by their friends and relations to join in warfare against the treacherous government that had kept faith with neither friend nor foe.
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Source:
"In ages which have no record these islands were the home of millions of "Contrast the condition into which all these friendly Indians are suddenly plunged now, with their condition only two years previous: martial law now in force on all their reservations; themselves in danger of starvation, and constantly exposed to the influence of emissaries from their friends and relations, urging them to join in fighting this treacherous government that had kept faith with nobody--neither with friend nor with foe."
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Writer B has borrowed an unacknowledged phrase from Jackson and has not indicated with brackets that words have been added to the original.
Example 4:
Student Writer B:
Only two years later, all these friendly Sioux were suddenly plunged into new conditions, including starvation, martial law on all their reservations, and constant urging by their friends and relations to join in warfare against the treacherous government that had kept faith with neither friend nor foe.
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Source:
"In ages which have no record these islands were the home of millions of "Contrast the condition into which all these friendly Indians are suddenly plunged now, with their condition only two years previous: martial law now in force on all their reservations; themselves in danger of starvation, and constantly exposed to the influence of emissaries from their friends and relations, urging them to join in fighting this treacherous government that had kept faith with nobody--neither with friend nor with foe."
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Writer B has borrowed an unacknowledged phrase from Jackson without indicating changes he/she has made, including the omission of material and changes in grammar and word choice.
Example 5:
Student Writer B:
Only two years later, all these friendly Sioux were suddenly plunged into new conditions, including starvation, martial law on all their reservations, and constant urging by their friends and relations to join in warfare against the treacherous government that had kept faith with neither friend nor foe.
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Source:
"In ages which have no record these islands were the home of millions of "Contrast the condition into which all these friendly Indians are suddenly plunged now, with their condition only two years previous: martial law now in force on all their reservations; themselves in danger of starvation, and constantly exposed to the influence of emissaries from their friends and relations, urging them to join in fighting this treacherous government that had kept faith with nobody--neither with friend nor with foe."
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Writer B has borrowed a phrase from Jackson without acknowledging the source or changes to the original text, including substituting or inserting words without indicating he/she has done so.
When to Cite
Some of the basic types of sources that require citation are listed and described below as a guide. This is not an exclusive list.
Common Knowledge
A statement considered to be "common knowledge" does not need to be attributed to a source. Facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be found by many people are likewise considered common knowledge. For example, it is common knowledge that Nathaniel Hawthorne and Franklin Pierce were famous graduates of Bowdoin College. However, it is not common knowledge that President Pierce appointed Hawthorne as the U.S. Consul in Liverpool in appreciation of the author's campaign biography of candidate Pierce in 1852. This latter fact is proposed by Charles Calhoun, A Small College in Maine: Two Hundred Years of Bowdoin (Brunswick: Bowdoin College, 1993), pp. 164-165.
As a general rule well-known or basic facts do not need to be documented; however, interpretations of such facts do.
If something is not common knowledge, or if you are not certain whether it is or not, cite the source. During the course of your studies, you will need to be able to distinguish between different kinds of common knowledge: common knowledge for the general public versus common knowledge for a specialized audience.
Paraphrasing and Quoting
Paraphrasing enables students to present other people’s ideas in their words. Rewriting another work requires citation. Like direct quotes, paraphrasing must be traced to its original source. A direct quote from an external source duplicates the words of an author or speaker. These words are enclosed within quotation marks. When necessary, direct quotes must be cited correctly and distinguished from your own words. Your work should represent your thoughts and organization, and should strive to strike a balance between the use of direct quotes, paraphrasing, and your own words. A useful guides in this process can be found at http://integrity.mit.edu/handbook/academic-writing/avoiding-plagiarism-paraphrasing.
Internet Sources
Any information drawn from the internet or electronic sources should be completely referenced, as one would any source that is not yours. This includes direct quotes, paraphrasing or a description of concepts that are not yours. A complete website address is required such that the author and the location is clearly apparent. As with any source, it is important to verify the authenticity of the website you are referencing, and this is commonly achieved by evaluating several independent sources.
Also see https://integrity.mit.edu/handbook/citing-your-sources/citing-electronic-sources.
Writing Computer Code
The unauthorized copying of computer code can be considered plagiarism. View examples of acceptable and unacceptable code at https://integrity.mit.edu/handbook/writing-code
How to Cite
Definition of Citation
Citation requires crediting and providing information, using a standard format, for any sources used in a paper or presentation. This enables any readers of your paper to track down your original sources.
What to Cite
Exact words or specific ideas from…
Books, magazines, journals, movies, plays, TV, web pages, music, newspapers
Personal conversations and correspondence
Presentations, speeches
Illustrations, diagrams, charts, pictures, etc.
Collaboration with classmates
Citation and Style Guides
Scholars use a variety of different styles of academic citation, using footnotes, endnotes or in-text citations and presenting information in a variety of different forms. These styles of academic citation vary by discipline and department, and your professor may ask you to use a particular citation style in your written work. The details of these different styles can be found in style guides. Use the links below to find guides arranged by title, discipline, and by academic department preference. And remember to consult with your professor if you have any questions.
A-Z List
By Subject
Avoiding Plagiarism
Most people do not deliberately commit plagiarism. Usually, it results from:
Procrastination
It is important to set aside adequate time to complete your assignment. When using sources, you should get in the habit of citing them in full as you write. Filling in page numbers, making footnotes, or making a works cited page or bibliography after you have finished writing often leads to inadvertent miscitations or omissions.
Incomplete Understanding of Original Material
Avoid using any source with which you are not completely comfortable. As a general rule, if you cannot restate the main idea of a passage in your own words without referring to the original source, then you should not use this source for your own work.
Citation Errors
Common errors that lead to accidental plagiarism include using words or passages from the original source without using quotation marks and/or without citing the source; using different citation formats within the same assignment; or using a citation format incorrectly.
Poor Note-Taking
Inexperienced students often forget to put quotation marks around notes taken directly from text, or find that their notes are disorganized. As a result, they cannot tell which notes came from which source when they are in the stages of writing up their assignment.
Consequences of Plagiarism
Students who plagiarize or otherwise engage in academic dishonesty face serious consequences. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, failure on an assignment, grade reduction or course failure, suspension, and possibly dismissal. Faculty members should consult with the Judicial Board Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs to determine if a formal complaint should be filed. The Advisor will guide the faculty member through the process of bringing a formal complaint as well as guide the student through the process of a Judicial Board hearing.
Breaches of the Academic Honor Code hurt the entire Bowdoin community. They compromise the Bowdoin degree and tarnish the reputation of not only the individual but also the College. This web site is designed to help you avoid these consequences.
When mega pop star Madonna released her 1998 hit song "Frozen," she probably would have never imagined having to prove its originality in court seven years later, but that is exactly what recently transpired in court. This past November, a little-known Belgian songwriter named Salvatore Acquaviva won a plagiarism case in Belgian court against Madonna, alleging parts of his song "Ma Vie Fout L'camp," which had been written five years earlier, were plagiarized.
The judge who had heard the cased ruled that Madonna must withdraw any compact discs containing the song from sales in Belgium, and ordered television and radio stations in the country to no longer play the song "Frozen."
What Is Plagiarism?
Madonna is not the first artist, and will probably not be the last, to be accused of plagiarism. Plagiarism is a confusing subject, and can often occur without the artist knowing it until it is too late.
If you use another person's work and do not attribute that work to the author, including copying text verbatim, paraphrasing a phrase or summarizing an idea, you are essentially committing plagiarism. Plagiarism usually occurs when a writer fails to:
cite quotes or ideas written by another author;
enclose direct text in quotes; or
put summaries and/or paraphrases in the his or her own words.
As seen in the Madonna case, plagiarism can also happen in songs or other types of works that may be too similar to another artist's creation. Plagiarism may be done deliberately or accidentally; either way, plagiarism is a serious offense. Committing plagiarism could be grounds for expelling a student from a university, terminating a professor's teaching contract, or suing an artist for monetary compensation.
The Problem With Plagiarism
Plagiarism has been a problem in schools and universities for years, but has become even more prevalent with the birth of the Internet. Search engines make it easy to find thousands of authors' works immediately, which can then be copied and pasted for a school paper, article, book, etc. Recently, 48 University of Virginia students quit or were expelled for plagiarism, and studies have shown that most college students know that plagiarism is wrong. Yet, students plagiarize anyway because they believe they will not get caught. Other students simply do not understand how to properly cite sources, resulting in many cases of accidental plagiarism.
Web sites today often provide complete essays on nearly any topic, making it easy for students to copy another person's work and pass it off as their own. Sometimes called "paper mills," some of these Web sites offer completed papers, while others allow students to trade their completed papers among one another.
Legal Ramifications of Plagiarism
Although plagiarism is not a criminal or civil offense, plagiarism is illegal if it infringes an author's intellectual property rights, including copyright or trademark. For example, the owner of a copyright can sue a plagiarizer in federal court for copyright violation. The plagiarist in turn may have to pay the copyright owner of the plagiarized works the amount he or she actually lost because of the infringement, in addition to paying attorney's fees.
Yet, plagiarism does occur and may likely continue to occur. Many famous icons have been proven to have plagiarized, either intentionally or accidentally. Helen Keller was accused of plagiarism during her school years, as was Martin Luther King, Jr., when a Boston University investigation revealed he had in fact plagiarized approximately one third of a chapter of his doctoral thesis.
Best-selling historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Stephen Ambrose were accused of stealing from other writers, and former Beatle George Harrison was sued for plagiarism because the melody of his song "My Sweet Lord" was too similar to the Chiffons' song "He's So Fine." Probably the most recent form of plagiarism was the actions of former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, who plagiarized from other newspapers more than three dozen articles and faked quotes for numerous prestigious stories. Blair's deceit motivated the paper to investigate the management within the newspaper so that this type of farce would not happen again. In fact, New York Times executive editor Howell Raines and managing editor Gerald Boyd resigned following criticism that their management approach may have led to Blair's professional growth at the paper.
Combating Plagiarism
Although proving plagiarism isn't always easy, there are electronic sources that can help combat plagiarism. Search engines on the Internet can be used to discover and fight plagiarism by allowing authors and professors the ability to search suspicious phrases or passages. There is also anti-plagiarism software available, such as Wcopyfind and EduTie.com, as well as on-line prevention services like Turnitin or iThenticate.
If you feel your work has been plagiarized, the above three research techniques are good first steps to catch a plagiarizer. Attorneys specializing in intellectual property law can also help with the legal ramifications of plagiarism.
Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense:
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "plagiarize" means:
to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
to use (another's production) without crediting the source
to commit literary theft
to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.
But can words and ideas really be stolen?
According to U.S. law, the answer is yes. The expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions. Almost all forms of expression fall under copyright protection as long as they are recorded in some way (such as a book or a computer file).
All of the following are considered plagiarism:
turning in someone else's work as your own
copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on "fair use" rules)
Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed and providing your audience with the information necessary to find that source is usually enough to prevent plagiarism. See our section on citation for more information on how to cite sources properly.
What about images, videos, and music?
Using an image, video or piece of music in a work you have produced without receiving proper permission or providing appropriate citation is plagiarism. The following activities are very common in today’s society. Despite their popularity, they still count as plagiarism.
Copying media (especially images) from other websites to paste them into your own papers or websites.
Making a video using footage from others’ videos or using copyrighted music as part of the soundtrack.
Performing another person’s copyrighted music (i.e., playing a cover).
Composing a piece of music that borrows heavily from another composition.
Certainly, these media pose situations in which it can be challenging to determine whether or not the copyrights of a work are being violated. For example:
A photograph or scan of a copyrighted image (for example: using a photograph of a book cover to represent that book on one’s website)
Recording audio or video in which copyrighted music or video is playing in the background.
Re-creating a visual work in the same medium. (for example: shooting a photograph that uses the same composition and subject matter as someone else’s photograph)
Re-creating a visual work in a different medium (for example: making a painting that closely resembles another person’s photograph).
Re-mixing or altering copyrighted images, video or audio, even if done so in an original way.
The legality of these situations, and others, would be dependent upon the intent and context within which they are produced. The two safest approaches to take in regards to these situations is: 1) Avoid them altogether or 2) Confirm the works’ usage permissions and cite them properly
The more likely readers of this article are those worried about inadvertently plagiarizing. Here are tips to help you avoid doing so:
1. Plan your writing assignments and avoid procrastination. Students who are fall into plagiarism traps are usually those who have procrastinated and then find themselves in a bind right before the paper is due. Even if you're not tempted to deliberately pass off someone else's work as your own, you may get careless about citing the work of others at crunch time. Consult these articles to learn more about avoiding procrastination, managing your time, and planning your written assignments:
A Five-Component Plan for Writing a Research Paper
Strategies for Planning Writing Assignments
A Student's Guide to Making the Most of Your Time
Time Management Do's and Dont's: Conquering the Time-Management Monster
10 Tips for Time Management
2. Know what plagiarism is. A good starting point is to test your knowledge of plagiarism with this brief plagiarism quiz. In essence, you must credit any source that you quote directly. You must place the souce's words in quotation marks and insert a citation in the style your professor requires. You must also credit any source you paraphrase. You need not put these words in quotation marks as long as you are not using the exact words the source used, but you must cite the source, again using your professor's preferred style.
3. Know your professor's and your school's policies on plagiarism and citing sources. Being aware of just how serious this offense is and what the specific consequences are in your class and school will help keep you on your toes. Knowing the correct citation format (including where the citation needs to be placed) is important is critical because failing to properly cite places you on the fringes of plagiarism.
4. Cite Internet sources, too. Just because something is freely available on the Internet doesn't mean that it doesn't need to be cited. Internet sources must be cited, too, including materials from online discussion groups and e-mails. Most citation styles for Internet sources are quite specific and a bit different from the citation style for other sources, so be sure you know the correct style. Most citation styles for Internet sources also require you to supply the date you retrieved the material, so if you are printing out material from the Internet, set your browser preferences to include the date you are printing the material out. Beware of copying material from the Internet and pasting it into your paper. Taking notes on the material or printing it out (and then typing it into your paper) will increase the likelihood that won't forget to credit it properly.
5. Take good notes and/or print out/photocopy all source information. If you are taking notes from source materials, be sure to copy quotes accurately and don't lose track of which words are direct quotes and which are paraphrases. It helps to make a visual distinction in your notes -- such as with colored pens or highlighters -- between your own words and words of others that need to be cited. Carefully note all the information you'll need for your citation, such as name of the work, author, publisher, city and date of publication, and page numbers. Many students print out source material from online library databases and make photocopies of pages from source materials such as books and periodicals. Be sure when doing so to include all the accompanying bibliographic information. For a book, the copyright page usually has the citation information you need. For a periodical, look for a page near the beginning of the periodical that includes the date, volume number and issue number. It's also important to ensure that photocopies or printouts contain the page numbers from the source material.
6. If you question whether and how a source needs to be cited, ask your professor. Information that is "common knowledge" is not required to be cited, but if you are writing about a discipline with which you are not familiar, you may not have a good grasp of which information is "common knowledge" within that field. It's a good idea, before asking your professor, to be sure to first consult your syllabus and other course materials to ensure the answer isn't there.
7. When in doubt, cite. If you're unsure whether a piece of information needs to be cited and cannot get an answer, cite it. It's better to over-cite than under-cite.
8. Begin constructing your bibliography early. As soon as you begin gathering source materials, you can start your bibliography for your paper. If you end up not using some of the listed sources, you can always delete them when you finalize your paper. Starting early will alert you to any missing bibliographic information you need to track down. It will also help ensure your bibliography is complete. As part of your final editing and proofreading, cross-check to be sure that every source you've cited in your paper is listed in the bibliography, and every source listed in the bibliography is cited in your paper.
9. Don't succumb to the argument that "everyone's doing it." Unfortunately, plagiarism and other forms of cheating are widespread or college campuses. But it's just not worth the risk even if others seem to be getting away with it.
10. Consult these sites for more information about avoiding plagiarism:
Plagiarism.org: Frequently Asked Questions
Plagiarism Prevention for Students
Avoiding Plagiarism
Hi Renjith I would like to comment that Acceptable Similarity Index or Plagiarism is not allowed in any form at all but accidentaly for:
1. Research Paper is Less than 4 - 5%.
2. Review Paper is Less than 10%.
3. PHD Thesis is Less than 15% (12% - 15% According to Institution)
Once I have asked an editor in Chief of a reputed journal and he told me above details. He also told me that it depends on journal policy and type of plagiarism.
One thing I want to add that some Supervisors are ZERO TOLERENCE for Plagiarism for their Students.
Regards,