Plagiarism is presenting someone else's words, ideas or work as your own without giving proper credit to the original source.
Plagiarism is also having someone else write a paper for you, reusing work from another course, or using AI or an online paper generator instead of turning in your own work.
Examples of Plagiarism from Academic Affairs at Western New England University
Direct Plagiarism is purposefully and intentionally copying from another source verbatim and presenting it as your own work (especially without citations), submitting someone else's work entirely, paying/asking someone to write a paper for you, or using a paper found or generated by AI online. It is the easiest type of plagiarism to avoid.
Accidental Plagiarism is often the result of incorrect, incomplete, or absent citations. Incorrect citations can include mistakenly omitting quote marks and in text citations, changing too few words when paraphrasing, or paraphrasing without in text citations. This can also occur when a source is not included on a bibliography or works cited. Everyone makes mistakes, and this is common. Carefully review your work and check that you are correctly using the assigned citation style (APA/MLA, etc.)
Patchwriting is using pieces from sources (such as quotes, ideas, or graphics) without threading those pieces into the context of your work or explaining why they are included. This also includes omitting quotation marks and citations or ineffective paraphrasing. This mistake is often organizational, and occurs when the writer feels confused about a topic or rushed. This can also happen over the course of longer projects where notes are forgotten or mixed up. Carefully review your work and check that you are correctly using the assigned citation style (APA/MLA, etc.), and ensure that you use your own words to provide context and analysis for every piece you use.
Self-Plagiarism is turning in your own work from another project, including old statistics or ideas without making note of previous usage, such as in a high school paper or one from another course. Additionally, this may include copyright infringement if you published the source elsewhere and the original publisher did not grant you permission for re-use. Always give your past self credit when bringing those ideas to new work, and work on new ideas to expand your knowledge!
According to one study, students who “engaged in synchronous communication styles including generalized phone use and dating had higher life satisfaction scores” than students who did not (Coccia and Darling 33).
The quote is introduced into the sentence, quotation marks at the beginning and end help the quote stand out as words from a source (not your own), and the authors last names and page number are in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
Coccia and Darling studied the relationship between college students’ work habits and life satisfaction. They found that students who spent their free time having social interactions were happier than students who spent their time watching TV (27).
In a study of the relationship between college students’ work habits and life satisfaction, students who spent their free time having social interactions were found to be happier than those who watched a lot of TV (Coccia and Darling 27).
In the first example, the authors names are at the beginning of the paraphrased idea, there are no quotation marks, and the page number is in parentheses at the end. The second example has the citation in parentheses at the end of the paraphrased idea.
Coccia, Catherine and Carol A. Darling. "Having the Time of Their Life: College Student Stress, Dating and Satisfaction with Life." Stress & Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, vol. 32, no. 1, Feb. 2016, pp. 28-35. EBSCOHost, http://DOI. Accessed 26 May 2009.
Author. “Article Title.” Journal Title, Edition/Volume, Number, Publisher, Publication date, page numbers, URL
According to Jones (1998), "students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).
Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?
There are quotation marks at the beginning and end of the segment. The author's last name (or, the word that the full citation is listed under) is present followed by the year the source was published in parentheses. The page number is in parentheses immediately following the quote.
Research suggests that the Purdue OWL is a good resource for students (Atkins, 2018).
Atkins (2018) suggests that the Purdue OWL is a good resource for students.
There are no quotation marks, and the words are mostly different from the original source but still get the point across. Technical terms or specific instruction may be kept. In the first example, the author's last name (or, the word that the full citation is listed under) and year the source was published are in parentheses immediately following the idea.
In the second example, the authors name/citation starts the sentence, followed by the year the source was published in parentheses.
Atkins, McKayla. (2018). Freshman and Research Projects. Fictional Education Monthly, 1(1),1-3.
https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Badenhorst, Cecile (2020, June 9). Avoiding plagiarism: Thesis/Research Writing and Plagiarism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOmuQjBYV0E
Badenhorst, Cecile (2020, June 9). What is Plagiarism? Thesis/Research Writing and Plagiarism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPmDiRf4wrA
Bailey, Jonathan. The Best Advice in Avoiding Plagiarism - Plagiarism.org. (2017, September 25). http://www.plagiarism.org/blog/2017/09/25/the-best-advice-in-avoiding-plagiarism
P.org. What Does Confidence Have to do with Plagiarism? - Plagiarism.org. (2017, November 16). http://www.plagiarism.org/blog/2017/11/16/what-does-confidence-have-to-do-with-plagiarism
Turnitin.com. Is Recycling Your Own Work Plagiarism? (2016, July 20). https://www.turnitin.com/blog/is-recycling-your-own-work-plagiarism
