Identifying Plagiarism

Which of the following is NOT a requirement for including information from an outside source?

• Indicate the author's name.

• Set the passage off in quotes, or indent it if it is longer than a line or two of text.

• Choose a sentence, phrase, or passage that reiterates what you stated previously.

• Cite the source and page number where you found the quote.

• e. None of the above.

Which of the following is NOT a potential consequence of plagiarism?

• a. being sued by the author of the plagiarized, original work

• b. receiving a passing grade

• c. being suspended or expelled

  
  

• d. having a college degree revoked after the fact

  
  

Which of the following strategies is NOT helpful for avoiding plagiarism?

• a. cutting and pasting text from an online article directly into your word processor

• b. distinguishing, in your notes, between direct quotes, paraphrased passages, and your own ideas

  
  

• c. recording bibliographic data for each source used

  
  

• d. setting off short, verbatim passages in quotation marks

Which of the following is NOT an act of plagiarism?

• a. submitting a paper that you've already used in another course

• b. disagreeing with the source you cited

• c. hiring a professional service to write your paper for you

• d. paraphrasing too close to the source

Which of the following is NOT a citation style?

• a. MLA

• b. RefWorks

• c. Chicago

• d. APA

Identify what, if anything, is wrong with the following paraphrase of this passage:

If the awakening of the vampire bat was alarming for campers, it was even more frightening for the animals that bats prey upon (Holt, 2011).

Paraphrase:

The awakening of the vampire bat scared the campers, but frightened the animals even more (Holt, 2011).

• a. "The awakening of the vampire bat" should be in quotes.

• b. The author's name is not cited.

• c. A parenthetical reference should not have been used.

• d. Nothing is wrong.

Which of the following is NOT a possible pitfall to avoid when paraphrasing?

• a. using wording similar to that of the source in your paraphrase

• b. failing to cite the source of the idea you are paraphrasing

• c. referencing a source in the beginning or end of the paraphrased passage

• d. losing sight of the meaning and tone expressed by the author of the original document

Identify what, if anything, is wrong with the following paraphrase of this passage:

When teaching world religions in the classroom, it is helpful to introduce artworks that are representative of each religion. This allows the teacher to address each religion on neutral ground, thus avoiding indoctrination (Orr, 2009).

Paraphrase:

According to Orr, teachers should use sacred cultural artifacts as a vehicle to teach world religions in our schools. Doing so will allow the teacher to present each religion objectively.

• a. "World religions" should be in quotes.

• b. The author's name is not cited.

• c. A proper reference is not included.

• d. Nothing is wrong.

Which of the following does NOT require documentation?

• a. summarizing a book chapter

• b. using information freely available from the World Wide Web

• c. stating factual information that can be corroborated by several different reference sources, e.g. "general knowledge"

• d. discussing your another author's ideas about leadership

Identify what, if anything, is wrong with the following paraphrase of this passage:

After the training, fourteen students were able to distinguish between bacterial and viral infection while only two failed to do so. This result was an improvement upon prior experiments (Gray, 2013).

Paraphrase:

After the training, fourteen students could tell the difference between viral and bacterial infections while only two could not. It hadn't always been so easy, as this result was better than previous experiments (Gray 52).

• a. The author's name is not cited.

• b. Wording and sentence structure follows the source too closely. (Mosaic Plagiarism)

• c. The paraphrase skews the meaning intended by the author of the original document.

• d. Nothing is wrong.