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The fast track to an "F"
Michael D. Santos, Ph.D.
American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd edition:
- Plagiarism
- To use and pass off as one's own the ideas or writings of another. To appropriate for use as one's own passages or ideas of another.
It is often easier to understand what is meant by plagiarism by reviewing examples. There are subtleties to the concept that are important for you to master in order to avoid plagiarism. This example is taken from the Random House Handbook by Frederick Crews, New York: Random House, 1984, pp. 405-406.
Consider the following source and three ways that a student might be tempted to make use of it:
The joker in the European pack was Italy. For a time hopes were entertained of her as a force against Germany, but these disappeared under Mussolini. In 1935 Italy made a belated attempt to participate in the scramble for Africa by invading Ethiopia. It was clearly a breach of the covenant of the League of Nations for one of its members to attack another. France and Great Britain, as great powers, Mediterranean powers, and African colonial power, were bound to take the lead against Italy at the league. But they did so feebly and half-heartedly because they did not want to alienate a possible ally against Germany. The result was the worst possible: the league failed to check aggression, Ethiopia lost her independence, and Italy was alienated after all. 1
1 J.M. Roberts, History of the World (New York: Knopf, 1976), p. 845.
Version A: Italy, one might say, was the joker in the European deck. When she invaded Ethiopia, it was clearly a breach of the covenant of the League of Nations; yet the efforts of England and France to take the lead against her were feeble and half-hearted. It appears that those great powers had no wish to alienate a possible ally against Hitler's rearmed Germany.
Comment: Clearly plagiarism. Though the facts cited are public knowledge, the stolen phrases aren't. Note that the writer's interweaving of his own words with the source's do not render him innocent of plagiarism.
Version B: Italy was the joker in the European deck. Under Mussolini in 1935, she make a belated attempt to participate in the scramble for Africa by invading Ethiopia. As J.M. Roberts points out, this violated the covenant of the League of Nations.1 But France and Britain, not wanting to alienate a possible ally against Germany, put up only feeble and half-hearted opposition to the Ethiopian adventure. The outcome, as Roberts observes, was "the worst possible: the league failed to check aggression, Ethiopia lost her independence, and Italy was alienated after all."2
1 J.M. Roberts, History of the World (New York: Knopf, 1976), p. 845.
2 Roberts, p. 845.
Comment: Still plagiarism. The two correct citations of Roberts serve as a kind of alibi for the appropriating of other, unacknowledged phrases. But the alibi has no force: some of Roberts' words are again being presented as the writer's.
Version C: Much has been written about German rearmament and militarism in the period 1933-1939. But Germany's dominance in Europe was by no means a forgone conclusion. The fact is that the balance of power might have been tipped against Hitler if one or two things had turned out differently. Take Italy's gravitation toward an alliance with Germany, for example. That alliance seemed so very far from inevitable that Britain and France actually muted their criticism of the Ethiopian invasion in the hope of remaining friends with Italy. They opposed the Italians in the League of Nations, as J.M. Roberts observed, "feebly and half-heartedly because they did not want to alienate a possible ally against Germany."1 Suppose Italy, France, and Britain had retained a certain common interest. Would Hitler have been able to get away with his remarkable bluffing and bullying in the later thirties?
1 J.M. Roberts, History of the World (New York: Knopf, 1976), p. 845
Comment: No plagiarism. The writer has been influenced by the public facts mentioned by Roberts, by he hasn't tried to pass off Roberts' conclusions as his own. The one clear borrowing is properly acknowledged.
Give credit for the ideas, analyses, and conclusions of others by citing them in your papers. Simply rephrasing the conclusions of others does not make them your own -- you still need to cite them. You don't include a citation only if the ideas and conclusions are your own. Don't be discouraged if your text is covered by citations -- it is supposed to be. Also include citations for non-public facts. These are facts that you have to look up (you don't know them already). An example of a public fact is the number of states in the U.S. -- everyone knows that and so do you, so there is no need to cite it. An example of a non-public fact would be the value of the trade imbalance between the U.S. and China. Since you would have to look up that fact, you need to cite the source where you got it.
If you get caught plagiarizing, your professor has several options. After meeting with you to hear your side, he/she may choose to resolve the matter informally by giving you a failing grade on the assignment to giving you a failing grade in the course. Your professor can choose to formally charge you with academic misconduct by referring your case to the Office of Student Conduct and to the Dean of your college. After your case is heard by the OSC or dean, administrative action may be taken against you which can, in rare cases, include expulsion.
This page was created by Michael D. Santos, Ph.D. with passages cited from the Random House Handbook and the American Heritage Dictionary
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