Plagiarism

Definition
Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else’s work and presenting them as one’s own. It
also includes copying the work of others or borrowing someone else’s original ideas and passing
them off as your own work; using the original work of others without crediting the source(s) and
presenting a piece of work as original and authentic that is actually derived or inspired by
someone else work.
In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud and stealing. Plagiarism is not only considered as an
act of academic dishonesty and breach of professional ethics but also an illegal practice if it
involves copyright infringement, breach of intellectual property rights and trademark. With the
widespread use of the internet and ease of access to limitless materials available on every
conceivable topic, the issue of plagiarism has become even more serious.

Types of Plagiarism
There are multiple practices which are considered as acts of plagiarism, here is a detailed
discussion.

Verbatim

In literal terms, verbatim means copying the work of others word by word with little alterations.
Verbatim refers to the usage of quotations (word for word) without a clear acknowledgment of
the source. In academic writing, quotations are often used; in fact, in some cases, it becomes
absolutely necessary to quote the author in order to add clarity. However, it is important to use
quotation marks or indentation and complete referencing of the source cited. Quoted text should
be clearly different from the work done by the author.
Example: Verbatim plagiarism occurs when a writer copies a sequence of seven or more words
from another source but fails to adequately identify the quoted passages and does not provide full
in-text citation and bibliographic references. For instance:

Original Source Material Source

The printer constructs the object by depositing
the first layer of material - such as molten
plastic that hardens - and then another and
another, gradually creating the desired shape.
As the printer head moves back and forth, your
3-D vision becomes reality.
Ehrenberg, R. 2013, THE 3-D PRINTING
REVOLUTION: Dreams made real, one layer at a time,
SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC, Hoboken,
USA.
 Plagiarised Version
The printer constructs the object by depositing
the first layer of material - such as molten
plastic that hardens - and then another and
another, gradually creating the desired shape.
As the printer head moves back and forth, your
3-D vision becomes reality.
Correct version
According to Ehrenberg (2013), “the printer constructs
the object by depositing the first layer of material - such
as molten plastic that hardens - and then another and
another, gradually creating the desired shape. As the
printer head moves back and forth, your 3-D vision
becomes reality.”

Accidental Plagiarism

Accidental plagiarism occurs without the intention of the writer but is still not acceptable
in academic writing. There are many reasons that may lead to accidental plagiarism such
as –

 When the writer forgets to identify and present a source of information while preparing initial
notes for the material
 Failure to cite paraphrased material appropriately
 Use of exact words of another person without quotation marks
 Failure to put appropriate quotation marks while using quotes from other authors.

Apart from these, accidental or unintentional plagiarism can be the result of poor paraphrasing
i.e. when the writer changes a few words or phrases without changing the sentence structure
changing sentence structure but using vocabulary or jargon that is not part of one’s own
vocabulary. Additionally, practices such as putting incomplete quotation marks or quoting
paraphrased sentences; and citing poorly i.e. inaccurate or wrong citations fall under accidental
plagiarism.

Paraphrasing

It is the practice of altering a few words, sentences or order of written material in such a manner
that closely follows the overall structure of the argument. Paraphrasing plagiarism occurs when
the writer summarizes a previously written material in his own words but fails to acknowledge
the original source from where the idea for the material has been borrowed.
Paraphrasing falls under plagiarism if the writer does not acknowledge the source of information
through proper citation and referencing. Furthermore, in order to effectively paraphrase, students
are required to rephrase the matter in their own words without changing the overall logical
structure of the original material.
 Original Source Material Source

The printer constructs the object by depositing the
first layer of material--such as molten plastic that
hardens--and then another and another, gradually
creating the desired shape. As the printer head moves
back and forth, your 3-D vision becomes reality.
Ehrenberg, R. 2013, THE 3-D PRINTING
REVOLUTION: Dreams made real, one layer at
a time, SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE & THE
PUBLIC, Hoboken, USA.

Correct Version
Plagiarised Version
According to Ehrenberg (2013), 3-D printers
The printer manufactures the object by depositing
construct various objects by depositing layers of
layers of plastic one over another, gradually taking the
materials such as the molten plastic one over
desired shape. As the printer head moves back and
another, as the material hardens we get the objec
forth, 3-D vision becomes reality.
of the desired shape.

Explanation Explanation
Poor paraphrasing and lack of citations. Proper paraphrased and proper citations.

Intentional

Intentional plagiarism occurs when the writers or researchers are completely aware of the fact
that they are passing off someone else’s work or ideas as their own. Intentional plagiarism occurs
when the writer takes the help of various sources and copies a few phrases or sentences to write
the material.
An example of intentional plagiarisms includes consecutive words that are not quoted, a portion
of a paragraph from other sources without adequate citations, or presenting information from two
or more sources but each fact’s source is not clearly mentioned.
Fabricating a source also comes under intentional plagiarism. Allowing someone else to write the
paper or buying pre-written research or academic papers and presenting them as your own is the
most blatant form of intentional plagiarism.
In addition, passing off someone else’s work taken from internet or any other source, copying the
academic paper from online or electronic database without giving credit to the author, cutting
and pasting information from more than one sources and presenting them as one’s own work,
 and borrowing words or ideas of fellow researcher or student also comes under intentional
plagiarism.
Auto Plagiarism
Auto plagiarism occurs when the writer of the original material resubmits the work for some
other purposes. Auto plagiarism can be defined as the type of plagiarism in which the author
republishes his entire work or parts of his previous work. Although the original work is done by
that of the same writer, resubmission (partial or complete) of the exact same work is still
unacceptable. Auto plagiarism can be accidental or intentional. Many authors believe that auto or
self-plagiarism does not come under the purview of plagiarism as they are not passing off
someone else’s work as their own previous work. The debate over the possible use of auto
plagiarism and the ethics of self-plagiarism has become even more important as auto plagiarism
can lead to publisher’s copyright infringements.
Auto or self-plagiarism is a newer phenomenon and traditional definitions of plagiarism do not
account for self-plagiarism. While plagiarism is defined as an act of taking credit for the work or
ideas of others, self-plagiarism refers to the practice of reproducing one’s own work as new.
Some of the common types of self plagiarisms are –

 Republishing previously published paper without notifying the reader or publisher

 Publishing a significant piece of study/research as smaller studies in order to increase the
number of publications
 Reusing parts of previously written materials

Inaccurate Citation

The inaccurate citation also constitutes plagiarism. Following instances comes under inaccurate
citations practices –

 The omission of the author’s name in citations

 The omission of page numbers in the in-text citations
 The omission of publisher information in citations

Apart from the omission of important information such as the author’s name, publisher and page
numbers in the citations, providing inaccurate information also constitutes inaccurate citation.
The purpose of citation is to give due credit to the original author and enabling the readers to
identify what are the author’s own ideas and what ideas have been borrowed.
Use of material written by professional agencies or other persons
Plagiarism also involves the use of materials written specifically for someone else even with the
consent of parties or agencies who have written the material.
Why is Plagiarism a Sensitive Issue?
 In order to maintain intellectual honesty and academic integrity, it is very important to
acknowledge the original source of any idea, expression or other information used to form the
basis of any kind of academic work. Passing off someone else’s work as your own is not only
unacceptable but also reflects poor scholarship and a lack of ethical values.
Consequences of Plagiarism
The consequences of plagiarism can be extremely serious; some of the implication of plagiarism
can be –

 Expulsion from the course or academic institution

 Legal action against the defaulter
 Destroy personal and professional reputation.

Plagiarism hinders the process of learning and inhibits the students’ ability to develop critical
thinking and analytical skills. Therefore, to avoid such outcomes, academic institutions have
established strict rules to prevent plagiarism. The consequence of plagiarism could seriously
affect a student’s academic career as records follow students wherever they go and no reputable
institute would take a student who has been proved to be dishonest and unworthy.