Plagiarism What is it?

Copying the work of another person without proper acknowledgment academic theft - the offender has stolen the work of others and presented the stolen work as if it were his or her own.

“The test of plagiarism is whether the work will give an ordinary reader a reasonable impression that the work is the original work of the author when it is in fact a copy of the work of someone else... It is unnecessary to show that you intended to cheat for the offense of plagiarism.” (“What is Plagiarism?”, Booklet published by The University of Hong Kong, October 2002, p.5, 15.)

Why is it important? It goes to the integrity and honesty of a person It stifles creativity and originality and defeats the purpose of education

Plagiarism covers: “any form of work submitted for assessment as part of a University examination” It includes theses, dissertations, take-home examinations, assignments, projects, and other forms of course work.

Common types Direct copying (verbatim) from internet sources or texts without acknowledgment (not even in the list of references/bibliography at the end). Direct copying (verbatim) in reasonably large quantity from internet sources or texts with citation or bibliography, but without using quotation marks.

Common Types No citation throughout the essay, with a list of references only at the end. No evidence of direct copying, but evidence of failure to acknowledge source of ideas. Failure to paraphrase properly, leaving the original passages more or less intact, except for the alteration of a few words here and there. Citation provided only at the end of a couple of paragraphs.

Common Types Citing sources either in the footnote, or in the bibliography, or both, that the student has not consulted. [This problem commonly arises when the student is quoting the sources quoted in other people’s work.] Improper acknowledgment of other’s work due to incomplete citations or bibliographic references.

Plagiarism is not confined to copying someone’s words. If you are paraphrasing or adopting an idea or argument from a book or an article or any other source, you should know also acknowledge the original author...Even if you change all the words, failure to acknowledge the source of the idea will still constitute plagiarism.

How much plagiarism is plagiarism? How much stealing constitutes theft?

In July 2002, the Vice-Chancellor of a leading university in Australia resigned because it was revealed that he lifted several passages from other academics without acknowledgment in his book.

Can I avoid plagiarism by making minor alterations or adding some remarks of my own?

NO! Plagiarism not only covers word for word copying but also borrowing of ideas.

I didn’t intend to cheat! It is unnecessary to show that you intended to cheat for the offense of plagiarism. The only subjective element required is that you were aware that you were copying. It is irrelevant, for the offense of plagiarism, to determine why you copy.

I don’t know what plagiarism is. Ignorance of the law is no defense.

How to avoid plagiarism The best approach is to not copy at all! If you have to quote from other sources, make sure that you identify the quote and provide the source. Remember that plagiarism covers both words and ideas.

A Matter of Integrity, Creativity and Originality Plagiarism stifles originality and creativity. If you think that you cannot express the idea better than the source article, copying is not the solution. The problem may lie in your language proficiency, or it may be that you do not really understand the source article.

Beware There is now software available to detect plagiarism. It is not too difficult for an experienced teacher to detect plagiarism. Even if you go undiscovered, there is one person whom you would never be able to deceive - yourself. At the end of the day, plagiarism involves a matter of honesty and integrity.

Stay away from it!

This information was provided by the University of Hong Kong’s website.