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 Plagiarism
 Concept
 Exercises
 WHAT IS PLAGIARISM

 Presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with

or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work
without full acknowledgement.
 All published and unpublished material, whether in
manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this
definition.
 Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional.
 Under the regulations for examinations, intentional or
reckless plagiarism is a disciplinary offence.
 FORMS OF PLAGIARISM
Verbatim (word for word) quotation without clear
acknowledgement
Quotations must always be identified as such by the use of
either quotation marks or indentation, and with full
referencing of the sources cited. It must always be apparent to
the reader which parts are your own independent work and
where you have drawn on someone else’s ideas and language.

Cutting and pasting from the Internet without clear

acknowledgement
Information derived from the Internet must be adequately
referenced and included in the bibliography. It is important to
evaluate carefully all material found on the Internet, as it is less
likely to have been through the same process of scholarly peer
review as published sources.
 FORMS OF PLAGIARISM

Paraphrasing
 Paraphrasing the work of others by altering a few words and changing
their order, or by closely following the structure of their argument, is
plagiarism if you do not give due acknowledgement to the author whose
work you are using.

 A passing reference to the original author in your own text may not be
enough; you must ensure that you do not create the misleading
impression that the paraphrased wording or the sequence of ideas are
entirely your own.

 It is better to write a brief summary of the author’s overall argument in

your own words, indicating that you are doing so, than to paraphrase
particular sections of his or her writing. This will ensure you have a
genuine grasp of the argument and will avoid the difficulty of
paraphrasing without plagiarizing. You must also properly attribute all
material you derive from lectures.
 FORMS OF PLAGIARISM
Failure to acknowledge assistance
You must clearly acknowledge all assistance which has contributed to
the production of your work, such as advice from fellow students,
laboratory technicians, and other external sources. This need not apply
to the assistance provided by your tutor or supervisor, or to ordinary
proofreading, but it is necessary to acknowledge other guidance which
leads to substantive changes of content or approach.

Use of material written by professional agencies or other

persons
You should neither make use of professional agencies in the production
of your work nor submit material which has been written for you even
with the consent of the person who has written it. It is vital to your
intellectual training and development that you should undertake the
research process unaided. Under Statute XI on University Discipline, all
members of the University are prohibited from providing material that
could be submitted in an examination by students at this University or
elsewhere.
 FORMS OF PLAGIARISM
Auto-plagiarism
You must not submit work for assessment that you have
already submitted (partially or in full), either for your current
course or for another qualification of this, or any other,
university, unless this is specifically provided for in the
special regulations for your course.
Where earlier work by you is citable, ie. it has already been
published, you must reference it clearly. Identical pieces of
work submitted concurrently will also be considered to be
auto-plagiarism.
 FORMS OF PLAGIARISM
Collusion
This can involve unauthorized collaboration between students, failure
to attribute assistance received, or failure to follow precisely
regulations on group work projects. It is your responsibility to ensure
that you are entirely clear about the extent of collaboration permitted,
and which parts of the work must be your own.

Inaccurate citation
It is important to cite correctly, according to the conventions of your
discipline. As well as listing your sources (i.e. in a bibliography), you
must indicate, using a footnote or an in-text reference, where a quoted
passage comes from. Additionally, you should not include anything in
your references or bibliography that you have not actually consulted.
If you cannot gain access to a primary source you must make it clear
in your citation that your knowledge of the work has been derived
from a secondary text (for example, Bradshaw, D. Title of Book,
discussed in Wilson, E., Title of Book (London, 2004), p. 189).
 WHY DOES PLAGIARISM MATTER
 Plagiarism is a breach of academic integrity.
 It is a principle of intellectual honesty that all members of
the academic community should acknowledge their debt to
the originators of the ideas, words, and data which form the
basis for their own work.
 Passing off another’s work as your own is not only poor
scholarship, but also means that you have failed to complete
the learning process.
 Plagiarism is unethical and can have serious consequences
for your future career; it also undermines the standards of
your institution and of the degrees it issues.
 WHY SHOULD YOU AVOID PLAGIARISM?
 Learn to know and speak your own mind, not merely to reproduce the
opinions of others - at least not without attribution.
 Develop your own views, and you will probably find yourself paraphrasing
the writings of others as you attempt to understand and assimilate their
arguments.
 Important to develop your own voice. You are not necessarily expected to
become an original thinker, but you are expected to be an independent one -
by learning to assess critically the work of others, weigh up differing
arguments and draw your own conclusions.
 Plagiarism undermines the ethos of academic scholarship while avoiding an
essential part of the learning process.
 Avoid plagiarism to aspire to produce work of the highest quality. Once you
have grasped the principles of source use and citation, you should find it
relatively straightforward to steer clear of plagiarism.
 Benefits of improvements to both the lucidity and quality of your writing. It
is important to appreciate that mastery of the techniques of academic
writing is not merely a practical skill, but one that lends both credibility and
authority to your work, and demonstrates your commitment to the principle
of intellectual honesty in scholarship.
 DOES THIS MEAN THAT I SHOULDN’T USE THE
WORK OF OTHER AUTHORS?
 No that’s not true.

 It is vital that you situate your writing within the intellectual debates of
your discipline.

 Academic essays almost always involve the use and discussion of material
written by others, and, with due acknowledgement and proper
referencing, this is clearly distinguishable from plagiarism.

 The knowledge in your discipline has developed cumulatively as a result of

years of research, innovation and debate. You need to give credit to the
authors of the ideas and observations you cite.

 Not only does this accord recognition to their work, it also helps you to
strengthen your argument by making clear the basis on which you make it.

 Moreover, good citation practice gives your reader the opportunity to

follow up your references, or check the validity of your interpretation.
 UNINTENTIONAL PLAGIARISM
 Not all cases of plagiarism arise from a deliberate intention to
cheat. Sometimes students may omit to take down citation
details when taking notes, or they may be genuinely ignorant
of referencing conventions.
 However, these excuses offer no sure protection against a
charge of plagiarism. Even in cases where the plagiarism is
found to have been neither intentional nor reckless, there may
still be an academic penalty for poor practice.
 It is your responsibility to find out the prevailing referencing
conventions in your discipline, to take adequate notes, and to
avoid close paraphrasing.
 If you are offered induction sessions on plagiarism and study
skills, you should attend.
 If you are undertaking a project or dissertation you should
ensure that you have information on plagiarism and collusion.
 EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM
Source text
From a class perspective this put them [highwaymen] in an
ambivalent position. In aspiring to that proud, if temporary, status
of ‘Gentleman of the Road’, they did not question the inegalitarian
hierarchy of their society. Yet their boldness of act and deed, in
putting them outside the law as rebellious fugitives, revivified the
‘animal spirits’ of capitalism and became an essential part of the
oppositional culture of working-class London, a serious obstacle to
the formation of a tractable, obedient labour force. Therefore, it was
not enough to hang them – the values they espoused or represented
had to be challenged.

(Linebaugh, P., The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the
Eighteenth Century (London, 1991), p. 213. [You should give the
reference in full the first time you use it in a footnote; thereafter it is
acceptable to use an abbreviated version, e.g. Linebaugh, The
London Hanged, p. 213.]
 PLAGIARISED

1. Although they did not question the inegalitarian hierarchy of their

society, highwaymen became an essential part of the oppositional
culture of working-class London, posing a serious threat to the
formation of a biddable labour force. (This is a patchwork of phrases
copied verbatim from the source, with just a few words changed here
and there. There is no reference to the original author and no
indication that these words are not the writer’s own.)
2. Although they did not question the inegalitarian hierarchy of their
society, highwaymen exercised a powerful attraction for the working
classes. Some historians believe that this hindered the development
of a submissive workforce. (This is a mixture of verbatim copying
and acceptable paraphrase. Although only one phrase has been
copied from the source, this would still count as plagiarism. The idea
expressed in the first sentence has not been attributed at all, and the
reference to ‘some historians’ in the second is insufficient. The
writer should use clear referencing to acknowledge all ideas taken
from other people’s work.)
 NON-PLAGIARISED
Peter Linebaugh argues that although highwaymen posed no overt
challenge to social orthodoxy – they aspired to be known as
‘Gentlemen of the Road’ – they were often seen as anti-hero role
models by the unruly working classes. He concludes that they were
executed not only for their criminal acts, but in order to stamp out
the threat of insubordinacy.1 (This paraphrase of the passage is
acceptable as the wording and structure demonstrate the reader’s
interpretation of the passage and do not follow the original too
closely. The source of the ideas under discussion has been properly
attributed in both textual and footnote references.)
Peter Linebaugh argues that highwaymen represented a powerful
challenge to the mores of capitalist society and inspired the
rebelliousness of London’s working class.1 (This is a brief summary
of the argument with appropriate attribution.)

1 Linebaugh, P., The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the
Eighteenth Century (London, 1991), p. 213.
 PLAGIARISM WORKSHOP

Most people have trouble with plagiarism when they are

doing one of these things:
 Quoting
 Summarizing
 Paraphrasing
 EXERCISE - QUOTING
Definition: " repeat or copy out a group of words from a text
or speech"
(Definition of this word came from the Oxford American
Dictionaries Apple computer widget)
Guidelines for using a quote:
 A quote should be used when the original was so well stated
that there isn't a better way to express the same information.
 A quote should be brief.

 A quote should be word for word from the original. Copy all
the words and in the exact order they were used in the
original.
 The exact location of the quote should be given.
 EXERCISE - QUOTING
Example of a properly used quote
The original text:
The beginnings of America’s air force can he traced to a New Hampshire
man, Prof. Thaddeus Lowe (1832–1913), who used a balloon to observe the
movements of Confederate troops in the Civil War. Lowe was fortunate in
that Confederate gunfire failed to wreck his ship. The Union forces credited
Lowe’s up-to-the-minute reports with saving them at the Battle of Fair
Oaks (1862). The South had little success with balloons. (FactCite, 2009.)
Paragraph by student wrote including a quote:
The Battle of Fair Oaks took place in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, on
May 31 and June 1, 1862. Confederate forces led by General Joseph E.
Johnston attacked the Union troops. The 60,000 Confederate troops faced
about 100,000 Union troops. General George B. McClellan drove the Rebs
back toward Richmond. During the battle, General McClellan received
troop movement information from balloonist Thaddeus Lowe. “The Union
forces credited Lowe’s up-to-the minute reports with saving them at the
Battle of Fair Oaks.” (FactCite, 2009)
 QUOTING – EXERCISE
 Read the original text.
 Read the student writing.

 Look at the statements below the table and decide if the student
plagiarized and then check your answer.
Original Text
Cats are built to hunt. Among their superior senses, they have excellent
eyesight. They have a wider field of vision than humans do, so they can
accurately judge where their prey is. Their large, light-sensitive eyes,
like their wild cousins, are for night hunting. A cat’s pupils contract to
slits rather than circles. This allows them to control more precisely the
amount of light that enters their eyes and also to protect their retinas.
The pupils also have a reflective layer called the tapetum lucidum that
helps cats see better in darkness—and makes their eyes shine yellow-
green in car headlights or flash photographs.
Text above was taken from page 10 of:
Singer, Marilyn. Cats to the Rescue. New York: Henry Holt and
Company, 2006. Print.
 QUOTING EXERCISE

Student Writing
Cats are built to hunt. They can see very well even at night. The pupils in
their eyes can open very wide to see better. In photos where a flash was
used, cat’s eyes might look a yellowish green color. This is because one of
the things that helps them see better in low light reflects this color in bright
light. These special features of their eyes help them to be good hunters.

Works Cited

Singer, Marilyn. Cats to the Rescue. New York: Henry Holt and Company,
2006. Print.
 QUOTING – EXERCISE

Did the student plagiarize? Pick the statement below that

best describes what the student did.

1. The student did not plagiarize because the writing is in the

student's words the source is included in the Works Cited

2. This is plagiarism because the source is not included in

the Works Cited

3. This is plagiarism because the quote is not in quotations

marks

4. This is plagiarism because the student just changed some

words
 QUOTING EXERCISE ANSWER

If you chose statement #3, you are correct!

Answer is 3.
Reason: This is plagiarism because the quote is not in
quotation marks
 EXERCISE
Original Text
You probably own something that was first invented in the mid-
1800s: blue jeans! When news of a big gold strike was made in
California, Levi Strauss, a 20-year-old immigrant, headed west to
sell canvas for tents and covered wagons. One day, a miner came
up to him and said that what he really needed was pants—pants
with lots of pockets. Strauss sewed up some of his canvas into a
couple of pairs of pants. He called them waist overalls. All the
miners liked the pants, but the canvas made their thighs chafe. So,
Strauss decided to try another fabric: a twilled, dark blue cotton
called Serge de Nimes, that got shortened to denim.

Text taken from p. 86 of:

Masoff, Joy. Oh, Yikes! History's Grossest, Wackiest Moments. New

York: Workman, 2006. Print.
 EXERCISE

Student Text

Blue jeans were invented by Levi Strauss during the nineteenth

century. One day, a miner came up to him and said that what he
really needed was pants—pants with lots of pockets. He made
them out of canvas and later used another material that became
known as denim.

Works Cited

Masoff, Joy. Oh, Yikes! History's Grossest, Wackiest Moments.

New York: Workman, 2006. Print.
 EXERCISE
Did the student plagiarize? Pick the statement below that
best describes what the student did.

1. The student did not plagiarize because the writing is in the

student's own words and the source is included in the
Works Cited

2. This is plagiarism because the student just changed a few

words

3. This is plagiarism because the source is not included in the

Works Cited

4. This is plagiarism because the student quoted text and did

not put the words in quotation marks
 EXERCISE ANSWER

If you chose statement #4, you are correct!

The answer is 4.
This is plagiarism because the student quoted text and did
not put the words in quotation marks
 EXERCISE ON PLAGIARISM
1.Plagiarism includes quoting oral statements from public presentations
(e.g., films, interviews, and lectures) without mentioning sources.
TRUE/FALSE

2.Leah has not yet begun a course assignment that is due in one week. One
of her friends, who has already taken the course, suggests that Leah use
her work, word for word. Since Leah has her friend’s permission, this is
not a case of plagiarism. TRUE/FALSE

3.Khalil copy-pastes a few sentences from a website into his work. Since
the website mentions no author, publisher, or date, Khalil may use the
content without needing to use quotes (“”) or give a reference for the
website. TRUE/FALSE

4.Guillaume has a graded individual assignment to do. He gets together

with two other students in his class to prepare for this work. The three
students discuss and exchange sources, texts, etc. Each one hands in an
individual assignment, but all three assignments have parts that are
similar, bordering on identical. Is this a case of plagiarism? YES/NO
 EXERCISE ON PLAGIARISM
5.Three students have a graded assignment to do as a group. They agree
on who will do which section. When the teacher hands back corrected
assignments, he informs these students that he found plagiarism in their
work. Two of the students argue that the plagiarized excerpts are all in the
section written by the third student and that they were unaware
plagiarism had occurred. Can these two students be accused of
plagiarism? YES/NO

6.Handing in the same assignment in two different courses is a form of

plagiarism. TRUE/FALSE

7.It is not plagiarism to copy-paste a passage found on the Internet, then

replace a few words with synonyms and flip one or two sentences around.
TRUE/FALSE

8.To avoid being accused of plagiarism in a written assignment, a student

must use quotations (“ ”) and give references for any and all statements,
writings, or ideas of which he or she is not the author. TRUE/FALSE
 EXERCISE ON PLAGIARISM
9.Maryse finds an English-language article containing an argument that
could support her own work (in French). She chooses to translate this
argument and include it in her text, and provides a reference, but without
quotes (“”). Is this plagiarism? YES/NO

10.The information on the Internet (writings, ideas, images, videos, etc.)

is public in nature and consequently belongs to everyone. Accordingly, it
is unnecessary to cite Internet sources. TRUE/FALSE

11.When referring to facts that are common knowledge (e.g., Apple

manufactures iPhones), it unnecessary to cite the source. TRUE/FALSE

12.In a presentation made at an international colloquium, Kevin, a

doctoral student, uses a chart based on the research of Sonia, another
member of his research group, without mentioning her work.Is this
plagiarism? YES/NO

13.An individual found guilty of plagiarism may be subject to more than

one disciplinary measure. TRUE/FALSE
 EXERCISE ON PLAGIARISM – ANSWERS
1. Q: Plagiarism includes quoting oral statements from public presentations (e.g., films, interviews, and
lectures) without mentioning sources.
A: TRUE. Plagiarism is not limited to written material but includes all borrowing, including oral information.
2. Q: Leah has not yet begun a course assignment that is due in one week. One of her friends, who has already
taken the course, suggests that Leah use her work, word for word. Since Leah has her friend’s permission, this
is not a case of plagiarism.
A: FALSE. Given that Leah is not the author of the work, passing it off as her own is an act of plagiarism, even
if the author has given Leah permission to do so. The same goes for any work obtained on the Web or
elsewhere.
3. Q: Khalil copy-pastes a few sentences from a website into his work. Since the website mentions no author,
publisher, or date, Khalil may use the content without needing to use quotes (“”) or give a reference for the
website.
A: FALSE. Because the sentences copy-pasted by Khalil are not his work, he must use quotes (“”) and mention
the sentences’ source. Even if a website gives no author, publisher, or date, the source must be mentioned, at
the very least by indicating the site’s title and URL address, as well as the date it was consulted.
4. Q: Guillaume has a graded individual assignment to do. He gets together with two other students in his class
to prepare for this work. The three students discuss and exchange sources, texts, etc. Each one hands in an
individual assignment, but all three assignments have parts that are similar, bordering on identical. Is this a
case of plagiarism?
A: NO, but BEWARE! Strictly speaking, this is not a case of plagiarism, since none of the students “copied off”
another student per se. However, since the teacher’s instructions were to hand in an individual assignment, all
three students are guilty of cheating. While students may reflect on an individual assignment within a team
setting, each student must produce an assignment that is a result of his or her own personal reflection.
 EXERCISE ON PLAGIARISM- ANSWERS
5. Q: Three students have a graded assignment to do as a group. They agree on who will do which section.
When the teacher hands back corrected assignments, he informs these students that he found plagiarism
in their work. Two of the students argue that the plagiarized excerpts are all in the section written by the
third student and that they were unaware plagiarism had occurred. Can these two students be accused of
plagiarism?
A: YES. If any member of a team engages in plagiarism, all team members can be penalized, since each
member shares responsibility for verifying the integrity of an assignment before it is handed in to the
teacher. The same principle of verifying integrity also applies to academic articles with multiple authors.
6. Q: Handing in the same assignment in two different courses is a form of plagiarism.
A: TRUE. This is in fact a case of self-plagiarism, i.e., reusing material already used in a previous course
while passing it off as original or new material (in the sense that it has not been used before) even though
it is actually… leftovers!
With the teacher’s permission, it is sometimes possible to reuse a past assignment if it is adapted and
enriched to meet the requirements of a current course.
7. Q: It is not plagiarism to copy-paste a passage found on the Internet, then replace a few words with
synonyms and flip one or two sentences around.
A: FALSE. Proper paraphrasing may involve replacing some words in the copy-pasted passage, but this is
not enough. The sentence structure must also be changed, along with certain parts of speech and any
other elements deemed to be relevant. Proper paraphrasing implies that the writer readily understands
what the author was trying to say and expresses it in his or her own words. Paraphrasing requires a
reference to the authors of the ideas, statements, and writings involved.
8. Q: To avoid being accused of plagiarism in a written assignment, a student must use quotations (“ ”)
and give references for any and all statements, writings, or ideas of which he or she is not the author.
A: IT ALL DEPENDS.Quotation marks (“ ”) are required if the student quoted the statements, writings, or
ideas of others verbatim (word for word). Quotation marks (“ ”) are not required if the student
paraphrased (reformulated in his or her own words) the statements, writings, or ideas of others. In both
cases, a complete reference to the source is required.
 EXERCISE ON PLAGIARISM- ANSWERS
9. Q: Maryse finds an English-language article containing an argument that could support her own work (in French). She chooses
to translate this argument and include it in her text, and provides a reference, but without quotes (“”). Is this plagiarism?
A: IT ALL DEPENDS.YES if the translation is word for word: quotation marks (“”) are required. NO if it is a free translation (as in
the case of a paraphrase): quotation marks (“”) are not required.
In all cases, a complete reference to the source is required.
10. Q: The information on the Internet (writings, ideas, images, videos, etc.) is public in nature and consequently belongs to
everyone. Accordingly, it is unnecessary to cite Internet sources.
A: FALSE. The rules of proper referencing apply regardless of the information source. But there’s more. The Copyright Act requires
the permission of authors in order to use their material, in particular for images and PowerPoint presentations, whether in part or
in full. A growing number of authors grant permission to use their material via CREATIVE COMMONS (cc). In addition, certain
sites offer copyright-free images. In all cases, a complete reference to the source is needed when borrowing; for text, quotation
marks (“”) are required.
11. Q: When referring to facts that are common knowledge (e.g., Apple manufactures iPhones), it unnecessary to cite the source.
A: TRUE. Common-knowledge facts do not require references. “A fact is said to be common knowledge when it is contained in
several different information sources and is likely to be known to the vast majority of people. Examples include the dates of major
events, expressions such as la Grande noirceur, etc.”
http://www.bibliotheques.uqam.ca/InfoSphere/fichiers_communs/module7/pourquoi.html Certain concepts specific to a given
discipline may be common knowledge to a group of people within that discipline.
12. Q: In a presentation made at an international colloquium, Kevin, a doctoral student, uses a chart based on the research of Sonia,
another member of his research group, without mentioning her work. Is this plagiarism?
A: YES. Even on the same research team, each individual must request permission to use research material produced by another
team member, and give an exact reference to the author. Politique sur la protection de la propriété intellectuelle des étudiantes et
des étudiants et des stagiaires postdoctoraux de l’Université de Sherbrooke.
13. Q: An individual found guilty of plagiarism may be subject to more than one disciplinary measure. A: TRUE. The Disciplinary
Committee or the person in charge of disciplinary matters at the faculty may apply more than one disciplinary measure in order to
penalize an individual found guilty of plagiarism. For example, a reprimand may be issued, in addition to a failing mark or the
obligation to redo an assignment. In severe cases, penalties can go up to expulsion from the program and even from the university.