Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism

​Is it plagiarism or not?

https://plagiarism.arts.cornell.edu/tutorial/exercises.cfm​

Multiple Choice

Case: 1 Source: Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1999. 159.

"The ways in which domesticated animals have diverged from their wild ancestors include the following. Many species changed in size: cows, pigs, and sheep became smaller under domestication, while guinea pigs became larger."

Student Writing Sample 1

There are many differences between domesticated and wild animals.

Is this plagiarism?

• Yes

• No

​It is not plagiarism.

​By definition, domesticated and wild animals are different; thus, the student has not reproduced an idea or research unique to Diamond's work.

SoThis is a good paraphrase of the original.

Multiple Choice

Case: 1 Source: Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1999. 159.

"The ways in which domesticated animals have diverged from their wild ancestors include the following. Many species changed in size: cows, pigs, and sheep became smaller under domestication, while guinea pigs became larger."

Student Writing Sample # 2

Domesticated animals diverged from their wild ancestors in numerous ways. Animals such as cows became smaller, while animals such as guinea pigs became larger.

Is this plagiarism?

• Yes

• No

​This is plagarism!

This sample uses information and ideas from Diamond's passage that are not common knowledge. The writer simply rephrases each of Diamond's sentences in the original order. Since this student uses no documentation whatsoever, this sample involves plagiarism

So don't use content from the main research.

Multiple Choice

Case: 1 Source: Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1999. 159.

"The ways in which domesticated animals have diverged from their wild ancestors include the following. Many species changed in size: cows, pigs, and sheep became smaller under domestication, while guinea pigs became larger."

Student Writing Sample # 3

A careful examination of the ways in which domesticated animals have diverged from their wild ancestors shows that cows, pigs, and sheep became smaller under domestication, while guinea pigs became larger.

Is this plagiarism?

• Yes

• No

​Yes, it is plagiarism.

This writing sample quotes two passages verbatim from Diamond: "the ways in which domesticated animals have diverged from their wild ancestors" and "cows, pigs, and sheep became smaller under domestication, while guinea pigs became larger." Although the student strings these quotations together in his/her own sentence, both the ideas and phrasing belong to Diamond. Without quotation marks or an attribution to Diamond, this writing sample clearly constitutes plagiarism.​

SoThis is plagiarism.

Multiple Choice

Case: 2 Source: Moers, Ellen. "Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother." Frankenstein. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York and London: W. W. Norton, 1996. 214.

"In Gothic writings fantasy predominates over reality, the strange over the commonplace, and the supernatural over the natural, with one definite authorial intent: to scare. Not, that is, to reach down into the depths of the soul and purge it with pity and terror (as we say tragedy does), but to get to the body itself, its glands, epidermis, muscles, and circulatory system, quickly arousing and quickly allaying the physical reactions to fear."

Student Writing Sample # 1

According to Ellen Moers, Gothic writings "get to the body itself, its glands, epidermis, muscles, and circulatory system, quickly arousing and quickly allaying the physical reactions to fear" (214).

Is this plagiarism?

• Yes

• No

​- Not plagiarised!

​This writing sample introduces the quote with attribution to Moers, then puts her words within quotation marks and gives the appropriate page number. The reader knows exactly which words belong to Moers and where to find the quote in her work. Following MLA format, the full bibliographic information for Moers's article then appears in a "Works Cited" list at the end of the essay; other citation methods may be used in different fields, so check with your instructor for the required format.

Multiple Choice

Case: 2 Source: Moers, Ellen. "Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother." Frankenstein. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York and London: W. W. Norton, 1996. 214.

"In Gothic writings fantasy predominates over reality, the strange over the commonplace, and the supernatural over the natural, with one definite authorial intent: to scare. Not, that is, to reach down into the depths of the soul and purge it with pity and terror (as we say tragedy does), but to get to the body itself, its glands, epidermis, muscles, and circulatory system, quickly arousing and quickly allaying the physical reactions to fear."

Student Writing Sample # 2Gothic novels such as Frankenstein were written with one definite authorial intent: to scare (Moers 214).

Is this plagiarized?

• Yes

• No

​Yes, this is plagiarism

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​ This is a tricky case. Although the student cites Moers and the page number in parentheses, there is an unmarked direct quotation in the sentence (i.e. "with one definite authorial intent: to scare"). Without quotation marks to set off this phrase, the reader assumes that only the idea comes from Moers, not the actual words. Furthermore, the verbatim use of a striking phrase may make readers who are familiar with the source suspicious of your integrity.

Multiple Choice

Case: 2 Source: Moers, Ellen. "Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother." Frankenstein. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York and London: W. W. Norton, 1996. 214.

"In Gothic writings fantasy predominates over reality, the strange over the commonplace, and the supernatural over the natural, with one definite authorial intent: to scare. Not, that is, to reach down into the depths of the soul and purge it with pity and terror (as we say tragedy does), but to get to the body itself, its glands, epidermis, muscles, and circulatory system, quickly arousing and quickly allaying the physical reactions to fear."

Student Writing Sample # 3

While tragedy affects the soul, Gothic writings affect the body.

Is this plagiarism?

• Yes

• No

​Yes, it is plagiarism

This writing sample summarizes Moers's opinion about the difference between tragic and Gothic writing. Her definitions of tragedy and Gothic are not common, dictionary definitions; instead, she proposes a specialized way of viewing both genres as part of her overall theory. In addition, the student borrows Moer's opposition between soul and body, tragedy and Gothic (i.e. why not Gothic and comedy? Gothic and satire? Gothic and epic?). This writing sample thus needs to document its sources.

Multiple Choice

Case: 3 Source: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1996. 70.

"I greedily devoured the remnants of the shepherd's breakfast, which consisted of bread, cheese, milk, and wine; the latter, however, I did not like."

Student Writing Sample # 1

In his tale, Frankenstein's monster recounts how he " greedily devoured the remnants of the shepherd's breakfast," thus showing his extreme hunger. (pg 70)

Is this plagiarism?

• Yes

• No

​It is not plagiarism

The student here is using a word-for-word quotation (i.e. "greedily devoured the remnants of the shepherd's breakfast") to support the claim that Frankenstein's monster suffered from extreme hunger. While the claim belongs to the student, the phrasing of the evidence belongs to Shelley; to avoid plagiarism, therefore, this direct quotation needs to be set off by quotation marks and properly documented.

Subject | Subject

S

Multiple Choice

Case: 4 Source: "Michelangelo." The National Gallery. 30 May 2005. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/artistBiography?artistID=485.

MICHELANGELO

1475 - 1564

Italian, Florentine A painter, on the panel and in fresco, a sculptor, architect, and poet, Michelangelo Buonarroti was the first artist recognized by contemporaries as a genius.

Student Writing Sample # 1

Michelangelo was a famous painter born in 1475.

Does this constitute plagiarism?

• Yes

• No

​This is not plagiarism.

Since the student has used historical information that is readily available and not in dispute, there is no need to cite an external source. This was missing from the citation.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

Case: 4 Source: "Michelangelo." The National Gallery. 30 May 2005. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/artistBiography?artistID=485.

MICHELANGELO

1475 - 1564

Italian, Florentine A painter, on the panel and in fresco, a sculptor, architect, and poet, Michelangelo Buonarroti was the first artist recognized by contemporaries as a genius.

Evidence from contemporary portraits of Michelangelo suggests that he dressed simply and possessed a frank, open gaze (Figure 1).

Does this constitute plagiarism?

• Yes

• No

​Yes, this is plagiarism.

This case involves not a verbal quotation, but rather an image cut and pasted directly from a website. Just as with textual sources, visual sources must be acknowledged. For a full citation of this image, the student should label the image with the basic information that the National Gallery itself cites (i.e. "Marcello Venusti, Portrait of Michelangelo, 1535, Florence, Casa Buonarroti"), then follow this with the bibliographic information for the Internet source.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

Student Writing Sample # 1

According to the United Nations briefing packet entitled 1998 Revision of World Population Prospects, Latin America will account for 9.1% of global population by 2050.⁹.

⁹"Human Population: Fundamentals of Growth Population Growth and Distribution." Population Reference Bureau. accessed May 12, 2005. http://www.prb.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PRB/Educators/Human_Population/ Population_Growth/Population_Growth.htm.

Does this constitute plagiarism?

• Yes

• No

​This is not plagiarism.

The writer gives the title and source of the original UN briefing packet within the sentence, then cites in a footnote the secondary Internet source where the information was actually obtained. Note that the date of access is usually required in citing Internet sources since web content can change frequently.​

Multiple Choice

Case: 6 Source: Faucon, Philippe and Sura. Desert Tropicals. 12 May 2005. http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Amaryllidaceae/Galanthus_nivalis.html

Recommended Temperature Zone:sunset: 1-9, 14-17 USDA: 3-7 Heat Tolerance: Questionable Sun Exposure: Full sun to light shade Origin: Europe Growth Habits: Bulb, 6 to 9 inches tall (15-22 cm), 3 to 6 inches spread (7-15 cm) Watering Needs: Medium moisturePropagation

Student Writing Sample 1

The snowdrop, which originates in Europe, has bulbs 6 to 9 inches tall (15-22 cm) and needs medium moisture.

• Yes

• No

​Yes, it is plagiarism.

The information presented here is specialized and precise; it is not common knowledge, and in fact, could vary slightly depending on the source consulted. Since the preponderance of content and format have been derived from this website, the writer must document the source.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

Case: 7

Source: Morisy, Michael. "'Extinct' Woodpecker Found." Cornell Daily Sun 29 April 2005: 1, 4.

The search for the woodpecker began earnestly after a Feb. 11, 2004 sighting by a kayaker in Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. A report of the sighting eventually worked its way to Tim Gallagher, the editor-in-chief of Living Bird, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's quarterly magazine.

Student Writing Sample # 1

Occasionally, species once thought extinct resurface when researchers examine possible new habitats. The ivory-billed woodpecker, for example, has just been rediscovered in the wild by Cornell researchers, who launched a search after an amateur sighting in February of 2004 (Morisy 1). Works Cited Morisy, Michael. "'Extinct' Woodpecker Found." Cornell Daily Sun 29 April 2005: 1, 4.

Is this plagiarism?

• Yes

• No

​This is not plagiarism

Although many details from the original newspaper article have been omitted, the article should be cited as a source if the writer paraphrases its content or draws upon it for specific information. To acknowledge this indebtedness to the Cornell Sun article, the student uses a brief parenthetical citation within the text, supplemented by the full bibliographic entry in a "Works Cited" page at the end.

Subject | Subject

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