HELPFUL ADVICE FOR
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
Designed by
Prof. Patrick
Patterson,
MMW 14 and
MMW 122
Professor
_____________
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HOW TO BORROW – AND HOW NOT TO BORROW – THE
WORDS, IDEAS, FACTS, ARGUMENTS, ANALY TICAL
STRUCTURE, ETC. FOUND IN ANOTHER AUTHOR’S WORK
Read the following text from a former MMW textbook.
“It was, in fact, the constant development and refinement of
maritime skill and ship design that enabled Christopher
Columbus to embark on his first voyage of New World
discover in 1492. Aware of the nautical innovations of his
time, Columbus presented his plan for a westward journey
to the Portuguese Crown. Rejected, Columbus turned for
support to Spain, where Queen Isabella defied her
husband’s advisers and funded Columbus’ expedition. Her
patronage included the outfitting of two square -rigged
caravels, the Nina and the Pinta, and the large cargo
vessel, the Santa Maria” (Craig, 2005, 491).
Is this plagiarism?
Original text, from previous slide:
“It was, in fact, the constant development and refinement of maritime skill and ship design that
enabled Christopher Columbus to embark on his first voyage of New World discover in 1492.
Aware of the nautical innovations of his time, Columbus presented his plan for a westward
journey to the Portuguese Crown. Rejected, Columbus turned for support to Spain, where
Q u e e n I s a b e l l a d e f i e d h e r h u s b a n d ’s a d v i s e r s a n d f u n d e d C o l u m b u s ’ e x p e d i t i o n . H e r
patronage included the outfitting of two square -rigged caravels, the Nina and the Pinta, and
the large cargo vessel, the Santa Maria” (Craig, 2005, 491).
_________________________________________________________________
Hypothetical student submission #1:
It was, in fact, the constant development and refinement of maritime skill and ship
design that enabled Christopher Columbus to embark on his first voyage of New
World discovery in 1492.
Verbatim text match; no quotation marks and no citation
Is this plagiarism?
Yes
No
PLAGIARISM
Is this plagiarism?
Original text:
“It was, in fact, the constant development and refinement of maritime skill and ship design
that enabled Christopher Columbus to embark on his first voyage of New World discover
in 1492. Aware of the nautical innovations of his time, Columbus presented his plan for a
westward journey to the Portuguese Crown. Rejected, Columbus turned for support to
Spain, where Queen Isabella defied her husband’s advisers and f unded Columbus’
expedition. Her patronage included the outfitting of two square -rigged caravels, the Nina
and the Pinta, and the large cargo vessel, the Santa Maria” (Craig, 2005, 491).
_________________________________________________________________
Hypothetical student submission #2:
Theconstant
constantdevelopment
developmentand
andrefinement
refinementof
ofmaritime
maritimeskill
skilland
andship
shipdesign
design
The
allowedChristopher
ChristopherColumbus
Columbusto
toembark
embarkon
onhis
hisfirst
firstvoyage
voyageof
ofdiscovery
discoveryto
tothe
the
allowed
Americasinin1492
1492(Craig,
(Craig,2005,
2005,p.
p.491).
491).
Americas
Changing a few words does not make this a paraphrase; verbatim words must be
quotation
marks
Isinthis
plagiarism?
Yes
No
PLAGIARISM
Is this plagiarism?
Original text:
“It was, in fact, the constant development and refinement of maritime skill and ship design
that enabled Christopher Columbus to embark on his first voyage of New World discover
in 1492. Aware of the nautical innovations of his time, Columbus presented his plan for a
westward journey to the Portuguese Crown. Rejected, Columbus turned for support to
Spain, where Queen Isabella defied her husband’s advisers and f unded Columbus’
expedition. Her patronage included the outfitting of two square -rigged caravels, the Nina
and the Pinta, and the large cargo vessel, the Santa Maria” (Craig, 2005, 491).
_________________________________________________________________
Hypothetical student submission #3:
TheEuropean
Europeanexpeditions
expeditionsof
ofexploration
explorationand
anddiscovery
discoverydepended,
depended,from
fromthe
the
The
beginning,on
onthe
theconstant
constantdevelopment
developmentand
andrefinement
refinementofofmaritime
maritimeskill
skilland
and
beginning,
shipbuildingtechniques.
techniques.
shipbuilding
Both IDEAS and FACTS and a number of WORDS are from another source and
shown as such with
1) a citation,
and 2) quotation marks.
Ismust
this be
plagiarism?
Yes
No
PLAGIARISM
Is this plagiarism?
Original text:
“It was, in fact, the constant development and refinement of maritime skill and ship design
that enabled Christopher Columbus to embark on his first voyage of New World discover
in 1492. Aware of the nautical innovations of his time, Columbus presented his plan for a
westward journey to the Portuguese Crown. Rejected, Columbus turned for support to
Spain, where Queen Isabella defied her husband’s advisers and f unded Columbus’
expedition. Her patronage included the outfitting of two square -rigged caravels, the Nina
and the Pinta, and the large cargo vessel, the Santa Maria” (Craig, 2005,491).
_________________________________________________________________
Hypothetical student submission #4:
TheEuropean
Europeanexpeditions
expeditionsofofexploration
explorationand
anddiscovery
discoverydepended,
depended,from
fromthe
The
the beginning,
onconstant
the constant
development
and refinement
of maritime
beginning,
on the
development
and refinement
of maritime
skill and
skill and shipbuilding
techniques
(Craig,
2005, p. 491).
shipbuilding
techniques
(Craig, 2005,
p. 491).
Still needs quotation marks for even a few borrowed words.
Is this plagiarism?
Yes
No
PLAGIARISM
Is this plagiarism?
Original text:
“It was, in fact, the constant development and refinement of maritime skill and ship design
that enabled Christopher Columbus to embark on his first voyage of New World discover
in 1492. Aware of the nautical innovations of his time, Columbus presented his plan for a
westward journey to the Portuguese Crown. Rejected, Columbus turned for support to
Spain, where Queen Isabella defied her husband’s advisers and f unded Columbus’
expedition. Her patronage included the outfitting of two square -rigged caravels, the Nina
and the Pinta, and the large cargo vessel, the Santa Maria” (Craig, 2005, 491).
_________________________________________________________________
Hypothetical student submission #5:
The expeditions of exploration and discovery depended, from the beginning, on
continuing evolution of and improvements in navigational expertise and the
construction of ocean-going vessels.
Even though the words are almost entirely changed, the IDEAS (and even
the order of presentation) are taken from the other writer; a citation is
absolutely necessary.
Is this plagiarism?
Yes
No
PLAGIARISM
Is this plagiarism?
O r i g i n a l t e xt :
“ I t wa s , i n f a c t , t h e c o n s t a n t d e ve l o p m e n t a n d r e f i n e me n t o f m a r i t i m e s k i l l a n d
s h i p d e s i gn t h a t e n a b l ed C h r i s t o p h e r C o l u m b u s t o e m b a r k o n h i s f i r s t vo ya g e o f
N e w W o r l d d i s c o ve r i n 1 4 9 2 . Awa r e o f t h e n a u t i c a l i n n o va t i o n s o f h i s t i m e ,
C o l u m b u s p r e s e n t e d h i s p l a n f o r a we s t wa r d j o u r n e y t o t h e P o r t u g u e s e C r o wn .
R e j e c t e d , C o l u m b u s t u r n e d f o r s u p p o r t t o S p a i n , wh e r e Q u e e n I s a b e l l a d e f i e d
h e r h u s b a n d ’s a d vi s e r s a n d f u n d e d C o l u m b u s ’ e xp e d i t i o n . H e r p a t r o n a g e
i n c l u d e d t h e o u t f i t t i n g o f t wo s q u a r e - r i g g e d c a r a ve l s , t h e N i n a a n d t h e P i n t a ,
a n d t h e l a r g e c a r g o ve s s e l , t h e S a n t a Ma r i a ” ( C r a i g , 2 0 0 5 , 4 9 1 ) .
_________________________________________________________________
Hypothetical student submission #6=:
The European expeditions of exploration and discovery depended, from the
beginning, on “the constant development and refinement of maritime skill and
ship design” (Craig, 2005, 491).
Proper use of 1) quotation marks and 2) citation
Is this plagiarism?
Yes
No
NOT PLAGIARISM
Is this plagiarism?
Original text:
“It was, in fact, the constant development and refinement of maritime skill and ship design
that enabled Christopher Columbus to embark on his first voyage of New World discover
in 1492. Aware of the nautical innovations of his time, Columbus presented his plan for a
westward journey to the Portuguese Crown. Rejected, Columbus turned for support to
Spain, where Queen Isabella defied her husband’s advisers and f unded Columbus’
expedition. Her patronage included the outfitting of two square -rigged caravels, the Nina
and the Pinta, and the large cargo vessel, the Santa Maria” (Craig, 2005, 491).
_________________________________________________________________
Hypothetical student submission #7:
The European expeditions of exploration and discovery depended, from the
beginning, on the continuing evolution of and improvement in navigational
expertise and the construction of ocean-going vessels (Craig, 2005, 491).
The IDEA is borrowed, but it is properly credited with a citation. The wording is
almost entirely the student’s own. The original source has been properly
paraphrased so no quotation marks are necessary.
Is this plagiarism?
Yes
No
NOT PLAGIARISM
WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
( S E E E A SY W R I T E R , 1 9 5 - 1 97 O R A W R I T E R ’ S R E F E R E N C E , 3 9 9 - 4 0 3 )
Intentional or not, plagiarism is. . . .
 turning in someone else’s work as your own
 copying words or ideas from someone else without giving proper credit
 failing to put verbatim, copied material in quotation marks
 giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
 changing words, but still copying the sentence or paragraph structure
of a source without giving credit ( s e e A W r i t e r ’s R e f e r e n c e , 2 8 0 - 2 8 2 a n d 4 0 1 - 4 0 2 )
 copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the
majority of your work, whether you give credit or not