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Plagiarism Exercises

05/10/2011 01:10 pm

ENC 1101 Plagiarism Exercise

ENC 1101 Plagiarism Exercise Answer Key

ENC 1102 Plagiarism Exercise

ENC 1102 Plagiarism Exercise Answer Key

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ENC 1101 Plagiarism Exercise

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Florida State University Honor Code Statement

Academic Honor Code: “The Academic Honor System of The Florida State University is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility to: 1) Uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student’s own work, 2) Refuse to tolerate violations of the academic integrity in the academic community, and 3) Foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community.”

English Departmental Statement

Plagiarism is grounds for suspension from the university as well as for failure in this course. It will not be tolerated. Any instance of plagiarism must be reported to the Director of First-Year Writing and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Plagiarism is a counterproductive, dishonest behavior that is unacceptable in courses intended to aid the growth of individual writers. Plagiarism is included among the violations defined in the Academic Honor Code, section b), paragraph 2, as follows: “Regarding academic assignments, violations of the Academic Honor Code shall include representing another’s work or any part thereof, be it published or unpublished, as one’s own.”

A plagiarism education assignment that further explains this issue will be administered in all first-year writing courses during the second week of class. All students will be responsible for completing the assignment and asking questions regarding any parts they do not fully understand.

Plagiarism Definition

In The Curious Researcher, Bruce Ballenger defines plagiarism as “using others’ ideas or words as if they were your own” (130). Plagiarism can range in scope from accidentally forgetting to place quotation marks around a borrowed sentence, to careless paraphrasing, to deliberately trying to pass off someone else’s paper as your own. Plagiarism is always a serious violation of The Florida State University Academic Honor Code and English Department policy. As a university student you have many educational opportunities and obligations. Plagiarism should never be an option. When you plagiarize, you deny yourself the opportunity to express your own ideas in an academic forum and exhibit your own learning. You are also failing in your obligations to be an active member of an educational community.

What is Plagiarism?

Deliberate Plagiarism:
Handing in a paper (as your own work) that you have bought, had a friend write, or copied from another student or the Internet is considered blatant plagiarism and will not be tolerated.

Forgetting to Use Quotation Marks
Any word, phrase, sentence, or passage copied from a source must be placed in quotation marks. Leaving out the quotation marks constitutes plagiarism. Writers should weave quotes into their own writing and give proper citation to the original author.

Blatant Borrowing:
Copying or downloading a phrase, a sentence, or a longer passage from a source and passing it off as your own by omitting quotation marks and a source citation constitutes plagiarism.

Sloppy Paraphrasing:
Paraphrasing someone else’s ideas without acknowledging a source with proper citation constitutes plagiarism. Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from published material into your own words. Paraphrased material is often shorter than the original passage, and if cited properly, can be a legitimate way to emphasize points in one’s paper. It also helps writers control the temptation to quote too much. In addition, the mental process of successful paraphrasing helps one grasp the full meaning of the original material.

Other Forms of Plagiarism:
Omitting a source citation from a paraphrase because of carelessness constitutes plagiarism, as does omitting a source citation for another’s idea.

Material is probably “Common Knowledge” if:

You find the same information undocumented in at least five other sources.
You have good reason to believe it is information that your readers will already know.
Your material is known by individuals within your field of study or cultural group.

Interviewing

When you use information through an interview (or a conversation) with someone, these words and ideas must be cited. Interviews can be conducted in person, through e-mail, on the phone, and through post mail.

Citation Practice

Consider the following situations and discuss whether each example is plagiarism, non-plagiarism, or academic dishonesty.

Robby is writing an essay about a significant personal experience, and he chooses to write about the time his truck was broken into. He decides to make up the following quote to use in his introduction to describe his passion for cars and trucks: "A Gear Head is a person who devotes all of their available time and money to work on an automobile. The time and money is intended to make the vehicle perform tasks far greater than the same vehicle in stock condition is capable of completing. A Gear Head’s vehicle is often capable of displays of power, speed, or other technical tasks. My name is Robby Pyle, and I’m a gear head." Robby’s essay continues from here. How can Robby make sure his opening definition is not misunderstood as plagiarism?

Your teacher assigns an essay that requires you to write about a life changing experience. Immediately, your parents’ divorce comes to mind. Lucky for you, you already have an essay on that exact subject and you even got an A on that essay senior year of high school.
Is it acceptable to just change the date and title to reflect your current 1101 class and then hand it in as a final draft?

Your friend suddenly is interested in being much more than friends. It is obvious because he keeps giving you little gifts and doings things for you like driving you to class so that you don’t have to worry about parking and being late. When you complain to him that your 1101 teacher has assigned a 4-6 page short story for your third paper and that you do not know how to write a short story and that you will never write a short story so why bother even trying, he offers to contact one of his friends to help you out. He says, “This guy loves writing short stories. I know he won’t mind sharing some of his work. He’s got tons.” Later that night you receive an email with a 5-page short story attached. You read it. It’s good. You especially like the title: Nothing Counts for Nothing. The writing doesn’t read like any of your previous work, but hey, it’s fiction after all, and it’s not supposed to sound like you anyway, right? Do you delete the email--including the short story Word attachment--or do you download the file, open it, make some changes, print it out, and hand it in tomorrow as your first draft of the assignment?

You are writing a paper about your love for Eminem’s music. Amazingly, two nights before your paper is due, you see a VH1 interview with Eminem and want to include part of the interview in your paper. You don’t quote from the interview, because you can’t remember the exact phrasing of the questions or the answers, but you include what you’ve learned from the interview in your paper. Do you cite, and if so, how?

You are writing a personal research essay, and you can’t seem to remember when you first learned to read. You decide to call your grandmother to ask if she remembers, because you spent every afternoon at her home as a child. She talks to you for an hour, and you decide to focus your essay around the details she provides. But it is your essay and you were involved in the conversation, so you decide not to cite your grandmother as a source. Is this plagiarism?

Sarah hands in a draft of her feature article about marriage rituals which includes the following paragraph: Engagement rings come in all shapes, sizes, and most importantly, carats. An engagement is the symbol of the promise of a future together, which is sealed with the giving and accepting of a ring. Most common today is the diamond engagement ring. This sort of ring has been around since the 1400s and was first found in Medieval Italy. Ben Knowles contradicts this idea by claiming, “the true origin of engagement ring began with the opal.” Another sort of ring, known as the Gimmal ring, was a three-part ring which had two clasped hands on it. Where did Sarah go wrong?

Ways to Avoid Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

Make sure you understand the assignment, which includes recognizing what kind of writing you will be doing. Note what kinds of sources you might need: primary texts, a survey, an interview. All of these are types of sources you may encounter in ENC 1101. If you have questions about the assignment, ask your instructor. The earlier in the process you ask questions, the better your chances of avoiding plagiarism.
You should choose a topic that interests you or that you are curious about. Being close to a topic makes the paper feel more like your own and gives you ownership of the writing process. Within the parameters of an assignment, ENC 1101 gives you the freedom to choose specific topics you wish to write about. Utilize the opportunity to educate yourself and make discoveries about the things that interest you.
Keep a responsible drafting schedule. Begin thinking about the assignment early. Start each draft with enough time to let your ideas grow and expand. Starting early allows you time to recognize, address, and resolve problems that may arise with the assignment before due dates approach. Give yourself time to do the work and ask questions so you won’t be tempted to borrow material. Drafting allows time for your peers and your instructor to respond to your writing.
Know and practice the rules for MLA citation. Refer to The McGraw-Hill Handbook to guide you through using MLA documentation format. Use citations in your paper from the beginning of the process; don’t wait until the final draft. Even if you’re unsure of how to format a citation, try it or at least mark its place in your text. Any source you use must be cited in the text and appear in the Works Cited page. If you have a hard time with citations, ask your instructor about the things you don’t understand.

ENC 1101 Plagiarism Exercise Answer Key

PDF version ENC1101_plagiarism exercise answer key (pdf 36.04 kB)

This situation is a great way to introduce issues of non-plagiarism and common knowledge/public domain issues with students. It is important for students to understand that citations lend credibility, so in this case, Robby might want to make it clearer that this is a definition he created. He may decide to cite himself in the works cited page if he remains ironic throughout, or he may decide to take a more formal definition from a published source and cite both in-text and in the Works Cited page. Ask your students how many of them know what a gear head is and this will most likely lend to discussion on issues of common knowledge. Ultimately, when in doubt, cite.
No, it is not acceptable to just change the date and the title of a previous essay and then hand it in for a current class. This situation is a good example of academic dishonesty since the student has already received credit somewhere else for past work. Ideally, if the student feels strongly about revisiting the issues in a previous class’s essay, then the student could treat the essay as a draft but must first check with the teacher. And the student should approach the teacher with the original essay in hand and discuss possible revision strategies and expectations.
Situation three is obvious plagiarism, and no matter how much she changes the writing, the original author’s ideas have been plagiarized. Suggest that this student in situation three should not give in to the temptation of using someone else’s work. Point out that we teachers talk amongst ourselves and that we are keen when it comes to new work that does not keep with the style and the voice of previous work. Recommend that a student on the verge of poor judgment should instead take a deep breath, listen to her conscience, count to three, and contact the teacher as soon as possible to set up a meeting/conference. (Usually, when a student is about to cheat it is because she feels overwhelmed, frustrated and/or incapable of doing an assignment outside of her comfort zone.) Perhaps the teacher will suggest writing a short story about a friend who resorts to all kinds of antics in the attempts of being more than friends, or, better yet, perhaps the teacher will suggest that the student write the story of a young girl whose future falls to pieces due to her guilt after she commits an act of plagiarism against her sweet, devoted, hardworking ENC1101 teacher.
Yes, you must cite. What you are including in your paper is called a summary or a paraphrase, depending on the length and detail of how you phrase the artist's answers. You should cite the specific episode, the interviewer, the program itself, the date the interview first aired, etc., or it is plagiarism. See The McGraw-Hill Handbook for the distinction between summary and paraphrase and how to cite a television program. Also, keep in mind that most television programs offer complete transcripts of specific episodes, and it might be possible to purchase (or find online) a transcript, time permitting, so that you can include a direct quote from the episode, rather than depending on memory for a summary or paraphrase.
Yes, this writer needs to cite her grandmother as a source both in-text and in the Works Cited page. And the writer should want to give credit where credit is due. This is another example where we can encourage students to view citation as a tool, not a torture device. By citing her conversation with her grandmother as an interview, she is showing how much time she put into researching her personal history. You can show students how to cite an interview by referring to The McGraw-Hill Handbook. This practice situation might also encourage a discussion about non-library research, like interviews, questionnaires, observations, etc. Encourage students to think outside the library and Internet walls when researching. You may also want to bring up issues of dialogue and the issues of creative license when remembering a personal interview or experience.
Sarah has clearly plagiarized in this paragraph, using direct quotes, clearly borrowing entire sentences, and even borrowing primary ideas from experts, all without properly citing where she got the information. Even though this is a draft, Sarah should already be citing her work so that her instructor can help her with her process and work, not the work of others. In addition, by citing work from the very first draft, Sarah can avoid unintentionally plagiarizing on her final draft by forgetting to put in a citation.

Positive Preventative Strategies and Assignments for Students

Give students some resources to turn to when they are in panic mode about drawing a blank when it comes to writing. Refer to The McGraw-Hill Handbook for additional help in understanding and avoiding plagiarism.

Clarify Teacher Expectations of a First Draft

Let students know your expectations of a first draft. Try to lay out expectations that will permit the students to relax so that they can get something meaningful—anything—down. Remind them that sometimes a messy and wild first draft is the most promising. Remind them that nothing comes from nothing, but a whole bunch can come from a very little, even a seedling amount.

Often, conferencing with the first draft of the second papers is a great learning experience for them. Have them show up with anything on paper: typed pages, an outline, a quote, a picture with notes. Sometimes the power of the first draft is in how the first draft reveals where their mind is going and the ways in which their individual mind makes connections. Use the conference to show them how to read their thinking like a map and point out the directions where they seem to be ready to make the leaps into the next draft. Show them through your questions and responses to their first draft how to engage their own thinking to inspire the next draft.

Also, remind them of other resources such as The Reading-Writing Center and Strozier Library.

ENC 1102 Plagiarism Exercise

PDF version ENC1102_plagiarism exercise (pdf 53.07 kB)

Florida State University Honor Code Statement

English Departmental Statement

Plagiarism Definition

In The Curious Researcher, Bruce Ballenger defines plagiarism as “using others’ ideas or words as if they were your own.” Plagiarism can range in scope from accidentally forgetting to place quotation marks around a borrowed sentence, to careless paraphrasing, to deliberately trying to pass off someone else’s paper as your own. Plagiarism is always a serious violation of The Florida State University Academic Honor Code and English Department policy. As a university student you have many educational opportunities and obligations. Plagiarism should never be an option. When you plagiarize, you deny yourself the opportunity to express your own ideas in an academic forum and exhibit your own learning. You are also failing in your obligations to be an active member of an educational community.

What is Plagiarism?

Deliberate Plagiarism:
Handing in a paper (as your own work) that you have bought, had a friend write, or copied from another student or the Internet is considered blatant plagiarism and will not be tolerated.

Forgetting to Use Quotation Marks
Any word, phrase, sentence, or passage copied from a source must be placed in quotation marks. Leaving out the quotation marks constitutes plagiarism. Writers should weave quotes into their own writing and give proper citation to the original author.

Blatant Borrowing:
Copying or downloading a phrase, a sentence, or a longer passage from a source and passing it off as your own by omitting quotation marks and a source citation constitutes plagiarism.

Sloppy Paraphrasing:
Paraphrasing someone else’s ideas without acknowledging a source with proper citation constitutes plagiarism. Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from published material into your own words. Paraphrased material is often shorter than the original passage, and if cited properly, can be a legitimate way to emphasize points in one’s paper. It also helps writers control the temptation to quote too much. In addition, the mental process of successful paraphrasing helps one grasp the full meaning of the original material.

Other Forms of Plagiarism:
Omitting a source citation from a paraphrase because of carelessness constitutes plagiarism, as does omitting a source citation for another’s idea.

Material is probably “Common Knowledge” if:

You find the same information undocumented in at least five other sources.
You have good reason to believe it is information that your readers will already know.
Your material is known by individuals within your field of study or cultural group.

Interviewing

Samples of Student Texts Created from Original Sources

A student in a second-semester first-year writing course is writing a researched essay on social trends in the last ten years that have influenced the popularity of tattoos. Among the sources she uses in her paper are one from the Internet, one from a book, and one from a journal. Below you will find both the original source material and passages from the student’s paper in which she uses the original source material. Study each example and rewrite if she has plagiarized.

Example of material from internet source

Source: Hemingson, Vince. Tattoos and the World's 100 Sexiest Women. N.p., 2002. Web. 12 Jun 2003. < http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/top100_women_tattoos.htm >.

This is the original source:

How many of the world’s top 100 sexiest women have tattoos? FMH Magazine published their annual list of the 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2002 as voted on by their readers. The poll offers a fascinating insight into the popularity of tattoos among female celebrities. A quick look at the Top 100 list reveals that one of the things that many of the women picked have in common is body art, i.e. tattoos!

This is the student’s paper:
Many of the world’s top 100 sexiest women have tattoos. Two years ago FMH Magazine published their annual list of the 100 Sexiest Women in the World as voted on by their readers. The poll offers a fascinating insight into the popularity of tattoos among female celebrities. A quick look at the Top 100 list reveals that one of the things that many of the women picked have in common is body art, i.e. tattoos!

Did this student plagiarize? If so, rewrite the student text so that it is not plagiarized and be ready to provide examples to substantiate your position.

Example of material from a book

Source: Addonizio, Kim and Cheryl Dumesnil. Introduction. Dorothy Parker’s Elbow: Tattoos on Writers, Writers on Tattoos. New York: Warner Books, 2002. xiii-xvi.

From the source:
Clearly, tattooing has emerged from the underbelly to the surface of the American landscape. And as the popularity of tattoos has expanded, so has the art itself. No longer restricted to Bettie Page look-alikes, muddy blue anchors, and ribbon-wrapped hearts reading “Mom,” today’s tattoo images make bold statements of personality, as individualized and varied as any art form. (xiii)

From the student’s paper:
It’s a fact that tattoos have arisen from the underbelly to the top of the American landscape. Tattooing has experienced a growing popularity, and so has the art itself. It is no longer limited to sailor-style ships and blue anchors, or biker-type hearts reading “Mom.” Today’s images include bold statements of individualized personality as diverse as any art form (Addonizio and Dumesnil xiii).

Did this student avoid plagiarism in her attempt to summarize material from her source? Why or why not? If it is plagiarized, rewrite the student text so that it is not plagiarized and be ready to provide examples to substantiate your position.

Example of material from a journal

Source: Clinical Nursing 10 (2001): 424-41.

From the source:
Participants queried represented a wide age range—between 19 and 55. Results showed that participants perceived few health risks involving piercing and tattooing and desired additional piercings and/or tattoos. Individual expression was an important body alteration motivation for both piercing and tattooing. These findings underscore the importance of health care professionals' maintaining nonjudgmental attitudes about those who alter their bodies, there by facilitating important health education concerning related health risks.

From the student’s paper:
According to the journal Clinical Nursing, individuals who wanted to have tattoos or piercings do not consider the health risks involved. This makes it clear that for health care professionals, an open-minded attitude towards patients with tattoos or piercings facilitates the optimal environment for important health education concerning related health risks.

Did the student avoid plagiarism in her attempt to paraphrase the source material? Why or why not? If it is plagiarized, rewrite the student text so that it is not plagiarized and be ready to provide examples to substantiate your position.

Tips To Avoid Plagiarism:

Use quotations around anything borrowed word for word.
Cite your quotations and factual information and provide a corresponding Works Cited page. In First-Year Composition classes, MLA is the appropriate model for citations.
Introducing your sources within the text of your paper helps you to avoid plagiarism.
When paraphrasing, be sure to give credit to the source you are paraphrasing from.
Do not turn in a single paper for more than one class.
Do not turn in a paper that you did not write.
While researching, make sure to take careful notes and write down all the information needed for citing your work as you find material you want to use. If you cannot find the source that you got your data from, do not use it.

You must give credit for the following:

Direct quotations from your source.
Facts, data, and information based on other people’s research.
Paraphrases of another’s work.
Ideas, opinions, and interpretations that are not your own or that you got from another source.
Charts, graphs, pictures, images, and raw data that you did not put together yourself.
Comments from lectures, conversations, and interviews.

What you do not have to cite:

Research and raw data that you have compiled yourself.
Widely known facts/common knowledge. “Common knowledge”: This refers to information so widely known (or accepted to be valid) that no supporting facts or cited research is needed to back it up, such as the following: World War II ended in August of 1945. Almost no one will dispute this statement, and it is commonly accepted without debate. “Common knowledge” statements can be passages like this: Television ratings for the Super Bowl are traditionally so high that advertisers spend millions of dollars to advertise their clients’ products during the broadcast. Again, this claim refers to topics so extensively researched/documented that it is not necessary to provide an authoritative source to support it. But be aware: what is common knowledge to you may not necessarily be common knowledge to another reader, so cite any information you feel might be unknown to those outside whatever specific topic you’re writing on.
Your own opinions, conclusions, and feelings about your topic.

ENC 1102 Plagiarism Exercise Answer Key

PDF version ENC1102_plagiarism exercise answer key (pdf 57.06 kB)

Example of material from internet source

Source: Hemingson, Vince. Tattoos and the World's 100 Sexiest Women. N.p., 2002. Web. 12 Jun 2003. < http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/top100_women_tattoos.htm >.

This is the original source:
How many of the world’s top 100 sexiest women have tattoos? FMH Magazine published their annual list of the 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2002 as voted on by their readers. The poll offers a fascinating insight into the popularity of tattoos among female celebrities. A quick look at the Top 100 list reveals that one of the things that many of the women picked have in common is body art, i.e. tattoos!

Did this student plagiarize? If so, rewrite the student text so that it is not plagiarized and be ready to provide examples to substantiate your position.

What the student’s paper looks like if original source’s words were italicized: Many of the world’s top 100 sexist women have tattoos. Two years ago FMH Magazine published their annual list of the 100 Sexist Women in the World as voted on by their readers. The poll offers a fascinating insight into the popularity of tattoos among female celebrities. A quick look at the top 100 list reveals that one of the things that many picked have in common is body art, i.e. tattoos!

*Removing the words “how” and adding “Two years ago” does not equate original writing. This is blatant plagiarism: word-for-word lifting of an original source.

Example of material from a book

Source: Addonizio, Kim and Cheryl Dumesnil. Introduction. Dorothy Parker’s Elbow: Tattoos on Writers, Writers on Tattoos. New York: Warner Books, 2002. xiii-xvi.

What the student’s paper looks like if original source’s words were italicized: It’s a fact that tattoos have arisen from the underbelly to the top of the American landscape. Tattooing has experienced a growing popularity, and so has the art itself. It is no longer limited to sailor-style ships and blue anchors, or biker-type hearts reading “Mom”. Today’s images make bold statements of individualized personality as diverse as any art form (Addonizio and Dumesnil xiii).

*Not only does this text copy the majority of the original’s actual wording, it also completely follows the order of the ideas, which by itself constitutes plagiarism. It doesn’t matter that the student source provides a citation; the writing the student claims as her own has only been slightly tweaked. This is not an example of original writing: it is an example of cut/paste/Shift F7.

Example of material from a journal

Source: Clinical Nursing 10 (2001): 424-41.

What the student’s paper looks like if original source’s words were italicized: According to the journal Clinical Nursing, individuals who wanted to have tattoos or piercings do not consider the health risks involved. This makes it clear that for health care professionals, an open-minded attitude towards patients with tattoos or piercings facilitates the optimal environment for important health education concerning related health risks.

*This is an example of extremely close paraphrasing and some specific plagiarism. While most of the language is reworded, the same ideas in the same order and roughly 1/5 of the actual language is lifted directly from the original source. Again, simply including a citation does not relieve a writer from the obligation of also either putting quotations around direct quotes or using their sources in a way that reflects original thinking and writing about research.

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