Identifying Plagiarism and How to Avoid it

The UTSA Student Code of Conduct (Section 203) defines plagiarism as:

“A form of academic dishonesty and intellectual theft that violates long-held and widely recognized principles of academic integrity including, but not limited to, the appropriation, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another’s work and the submission of said work as one’s own academic work offered for credit.”

Intentional Plagiarism is the deliberate act of representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one’s own without providing proper attribution to the author through quotation, reference, or footnote.

(UTSA Student Code of Conduct, Section 203)

Types of Intentional Plagiarism

APPROPRIATING IDEAS OR CONCEPTS

Occurs when a student paraphrases another author’s words, rearranges them, and then submits the reworded text as if it were original material.

CUT AND PASTE

Occurs when a student uses another author’s work (in its entirety or just a few words) and submits it as if those words were original material. The amount of work the student cuts and pastes does not matter. It is still intentional plagiarism.

lack of documentation

Occurs when a student uses another author’s words, places them in quotes, but fails to provide proper documentation.

Paraphrasing Without Changing Enough Words

Source document:

How can we affect national policy – or even make intelligent decisions in our own lives – if we don’t grasp the underlining issues? As I write, Congress is dissolving its own Office of Technology Assessment – the only organization specifically tasked to provide advice to the House and Senate on science and technology. Its competence and integrity over the years have been exemplary. Of the 535 members of the U.S. Congress, rarely in the twentieth century have as many as one percent had any significant background in science. The last scientifically literate President may have been Thomas Jefferson (Sagan 7).

Sagan, Carl. The Demon-Haunted World. Ballantine Books, 1996.

Student Essay:

Many Americans are scientifically illiterate, which could prove to be disastrous for our nation. How can we affect national policy – or even make intelligent decisions in our own lives – if we don’t grasp the underlying issues? Scientific literacy affects us all, and we should be more vigilant in guarding against ignorance.

Why is this Intentional Plagiarism? Click to find out.
In this example, the author simply copied and pasted Carl Sagan’s exact words and presented them as if they were original material.

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Appropriating Ideas or Concepts

Source document:

How can we affect national policy – or even make intelligent decisions in our own lives – if we don’t grasp the underlining issues? As I write, Congress is dissolving its own Office of Technology Assessment – the only organization specifically tasked to provide advice to the House and Senate on science and technology. Its competence and integrity over the years have been exemplary. Of the 535 members of the U.S. Congress, rarely in the twentieth century have as many as one percent had any significant background in science. The last scientifically literate President may have been Thomas Jefferson (Sagan 7).

Sagan, Carl. The Demon-Haunted World. Ballantine Books, 1996.

Student Essay:

Unfortunately, we can’t discuss science literacy without discussing our politicians. Recently, Congress decided to do away with its own Office of Technology Assessment, which was a group of people whose job was to provide assistance to representatives in the House and Senate in matters of science and technology.

Why is this Intentional Plagiarism? Click to find out.
In this example, the author took Sagan’s words, slightly paraphrased them, and then presented them as if they were original materials. There is no proper documentation.

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Lack of Documentation

Source document:

How can we affect national policy – or even make intelligent decisions in our own lives – if we don’t grasp the underlining issues? As I write, Congress is dissolving its own Office of Technology Assessment – the only organization specifically tasked to provide advice to the House and Senate on science and technology. Its competence and integrity over the years have been exemplary. Of the 535 members of the U.S. Congress, rarely in the twentieth century have as many as one percent had any significant background in science. The last scientifically literate President may have been Thomas Jefferson (Sagan 7).

Sagan, Carl. The Demon-Haunted World. Ballantine Books, 1996.

Student Essay:

Sadly, many of our presidents have been scientifically illiterate, and Thomas Jefferson may have been “the last scientifically literate” President of the United States.

Why is this Intentional Plagiarism? Click to find out.
In this example, the author correctly places Sagan’s words in quotes but fails to provide documentation. This is still plagiarism.

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Inadvertent Plagiarism involves the inappropriate, but not deliberate use of another’s words, ideas, or data without appropriate attribution, failure to follow established rules for documenting sources or from being insufficiently careful in research and writing. (UTSA Student Code of Conduct, section 203)

In many cases, unintentional plagiarism transpires when the author summarizes and/or paraphrases the source material inappropriately, documents a source incorrectly, or omits attribution entirely. Inadvertent plagiarism is by far the most common form of plagiarism, and instructors deal with cases of inadvertent plagiarism differently. Depending on the variables of the case and the severity of the violation, penalties for unintentional plagiarism may vary.

Types of Inadvertent Plagiarism

UNDOCUMENTED ILLUSTRATIONS OR CHARTS

Occurs when a student copies a picture, graph, or illustration, pastes it into his or her work, but fails to provide documentation. Since the author omitted documentation, a reader might think the author created the objects, which is why it’s important to cite visuals created by another author.

MISSING OR INCORRECT DOCUMENTATION

Occurs when a student uses another person’s ideas or work but unintentionally fails to document the work or documents it improperly.

SUBMITTING WORK WITHOUT CITING REFERENCES

Occurs when a student provides in-text documentation but fails to attach a Works Cited or References page to the document. If sources were quoted, paraphrased, or summarized in a paper, they need to be properly cited in a works cited or references page.

Missing or Incorrect Documentation

Source Document:

The Monuments, an award-winning architectural element, welcomes everyone to the UTSA Main Campus, highlights the university’s presence in the community and shows that UTSA’s spirit burns brightly. The lighting for the Monuments is comprised of a full-spectrum LED display and can be set to display in a wide array of color combinations – including UTSA orange, blue and white (Chavez).

Chavez, Jesus. “UTSA’s Newest Tradition.” UTSA Today, University of Texas at San Antonio, 9 May 2015, www.utsa.edu/today/2015/05/monuments.html.

Student Essay:

The Monuments is an award-winning new element that “welcomes everyone to the UTSA Main Campus.”

Why is this Intentional Plagiarism? Click to find out.
The student has referenced the original source with quotations but has failed to document the title or author of the source.

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Paraphrased Plagiarism involves paraphrasing without acknowledging ideas taken from another. In this case, the reader might mistake these ideas for the writer’s.

Types of Paraphrased Plagiarism

Paraphrasing Without Changing Enough Words

Occurs when a student takes another author’s words and then paraphrases or rewords them, but fails to change enough of the original quotation to create an acceptable paraphrase.

Paraphrasing without Documentation

Occurs when a student paraphrases and/or rewords another author’s words, but fails to provide the proper documentation.

Paraphrasing Without Changing Enough Words

Source Document:

The Monuments, an award-winning architectural element, welcomes everyone to the UTSA Main Campus, highlights the university’s presence in the community and shows that UTSA’s spirit burns brightly. The lighting for the Monuments is comprised of a full-spectrum LED display and can be set to display in a wide array of color combinations – including UTSA orange, blue and white (Chavez).

Chavez, Jesus. “UTSA’s Newest Tradition.” UTSA Today, University of Texas at San Antonio, 9 May 2015, www.utsa.edu/today/2015/05/monuments.html.

Student Essay:

The Monuments is an award-winning new element that “welcomes everyone to the UTSA Main Campus.”

Why is this Paraphrased Plagiarism? Click to find out.
Although the essay attempts to paraphrase the original source, the student has substituted phrases and words instead of basing his or her work on the concept and ideas of the article. When paraphrasing, a writer needs to understand the content of the original source well enough to turn it into his or her own words. If a writer is are struggling with paraphrasing, he or she should talk to his or her instructor or use some of the best practices illustrated at the Purdue Owl site.

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Paraphrasing without Documentation

Source Document:

The Monuments, an award-winning architectural element, welcomes everyone to the UTSA Main Campus, highlights the university’s presence in the community and shows that UTSA’s spirit burns brightly. The lighting for the Monuments is comprised of a full-spectrum LED display and can be set to display in a wide array of color combinations – including UTSA orange, blue and white (Chavez).

Chavez, Jesus. “UTSA’s Newest Tradition.” UTSA Today, University of Texas at San Antonio, 9 May 2015, www.utsa.edu/today/2015/05/monuments.html.

Student Essay:

A brilliant orange, blue and white glow will now welcome everyone to the UTSA Main Campus. The new feature showcases the heart of the campus within San Antonio.

Why is this Paraphrased Plagiarism? Click to find out.
The essay has paraphrased the original essay but failed to document the source.

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Plagiarism Mosaic

UTSA Student Code of Conduct, Section 203

Plagiarism Mosaic involves the borrowing of words, ideas, or data from an original source and blending this original material with one’s own without acknowledging the source.

Example:

Source Document:

The Monuments, an award-winning architectural element, welcomes everyone to the UTSA Main Campus, highlights the university’s presence in the community and shows that UTSA’s spirit burns brightly. The lighting for the Monuments is comprised of a full-spectrum LED display and can be set to display in a wide array of color combinations – including UTSA orange, blue and white (Chavez).

Chavez, Jesus. “UTSA’s Newest Tradition.” UTSA Today, University of Texas at San Antonio, 9 May 2015, www.utsa.edu/today/2015/05/monuments.html.

Student Essay:

A new award-winning structure will greet all who come to UTSA and highlights the university’s presence in San Antonio.

Why is this Plagiarism Mosaic? Click to find out.
Although the student attempted to use his or her own words, there are still phrases and keywords used from the original source without any documentation. A writer must make sure to either paraphrase in his or her own words or to use the original source as a quotation.

Insufficient Acknowledgment

Insufficient Acknowledgment involves the partial or incomplete attribution of words, ideas, or data from an original source. Here, a student may partially cite an author by giving credit for some of the ideas or words used but using other parts of the work as his or her own. This type of plagiarism may also include citations that are incomplete and useless to find the source.

Example:

Source Document:

The Monuments, an award-winning architectural element, welcomes everyone to the UTSA Main Campus, highlights the university’s presence in the community and shows that UTSA’s spirit burns brightly. The lighting for the Monuments is comprised of a full-spectrum LED display and can be set to display in a wide array of color combinations – including UTSA orange, blue and white (Chavez).

Chavez, Jesus. “UTSA’s Newest Tradition.” UTSA Today, University of Texas at San Antonio, 9 May 2015, www.utsa.edu/today/2015/05/monuments.html.

Student Essay:

The Monuments is an “award-winning architectural element” (Chavez). They welcome everyone to the UTSA Main Campus and highlight the university’s presence in the community.

Why is this Insufficient Acknowledgment? Click to find out.
Although the student cited the author in the first sentence, he or she failed to quote, document, or paraphrase the second sentence.

When an instructor suspects a student of academic dishonesty, he or she will investigate the case to determine if a violation has occurred. If the instructor determines a violation has occurred, he or she will complete a faculty disposition of Scholastic Dishonesty form and meet with the alleged plagiarist. The student has the right to accept the punishment the instructor recommends or have Judicial Affairs investigate the case and potentially assign a penalty. Depending on the severity of the case, the punishment ranges from receiving reduced or no credit for an assignment or a course all the way up to expulsion from the university and potentially “revocation of degree, denial of degree, and/or withdrawal of diploma” (UTSA Student Code of Conduct, Section 301).