Plagiarism - What do we really mean? Victoria University defines plagiarism as: The copying of ideas, organisation, wording or anything else from another source without appropriate reference or acknowledgement so that it appears to be one’s own work. Plagiarism - and how to avoid it, Academic Policy Office

Wording “If you steal from one author it's plagiarism; if you steal from many it's research.” (Wilson Mizner quoted in Johnson 1953) Mizner’s quote illustrates the problem faced by many students and authors: distinguishing between mere copying of existing thoughts and genuine creativity. This is not a new problem: “As if there was much of anything in any human utterance, oral or written except plagiarism. The kernel, the soul – let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances – is plagiarism.” (Twain, 1903) [1] Johnson, A. (1953). The Legendary Mizners. Farrar, Straus & Young, NY, USA [2] Twain, M. (1903). Letter to Anne Macy. Reprinted in Anne Sullivan Macy, The Story Behind Helen Keller. 1933, Garden City, NY, USA. [3] Marshall, S. (n.d.) Copyright with an International Perspective for Academics. In Berg, G. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of International Computer-Based Learning. Idea Group Publishing (In Press). Nothing written or spoken can be truly original, the substance of all human utterances – is plagiarism [2]. Wilson Mizner famously comments "If you steal from one author it's plagiarism; if you steal from many it's research." [1] This presents a challenge to many students, distinguishing between mere copying of existing thoughts and genuine creativity. [1] Johnson, A. (1953). The Legendary Mizners. Farrar, Straus & Young, NY, USA [2] Twain, M. (1903). Letter to Anne Macy. Reprinted in Anne Sullivan Macy, The Story Behind Helen Keller. 1933, Garden City, NY, USA. Original Plagiarised version

Organisation “If you steal from one author it's plagiarism; if you steal from many it's research.” (Wilson Mizner quoted in Johnson 1953) Mizner’s quote illustrates the problem faced by many students and authors: distinguishing between mere copying of existing thoughts and genuine creativity. This is not a new problem: “As if there was much of anything in any human utterance, oral or written except plagiarism. The kernel, the soul – let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances – is plagiarism.” (Twain, 1903) [1] Johnson, A. (1953). The Legendary Mizners. Farrar, Straus & Young, NY, USA [2] Twain, M. (1903). Letter to Anne Macy. Reprinted in Anne Sullivan Macy, The Story Behind Helen Keller. 1933, Garden City, NY, USA. [3] Marshall, S. (n.d.) Copyright with an International Perspective for Academics. In Berg, G. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of International Computer-Based Learning. Idea Group Publishing (In Press). Wilson Mizner nicely illustrates the problem which faces writers "If you steal from one author it's plagiarism; if you steal from many it's research." [1] This fine distinction eludes many students, who have found it a challenge to be creative without copying. Writers have long struggled with this issue: “As if there was much of anything in any human utterance, oral or written except plagiarism. The kernel, the soul – let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances – is plagiarism.” [2] [1] Johnson, A. (1953). The Legendary Mizners. Farrar, Straus & Young, NY, USA [2] Twain, M. (1903). Letter to Anne Macy. Reprinted in Anne Sullivan Macy, The Story Behind Helen Keller. 1933, Garden City, NY, USA. Original Plagiarised version

Ideas “If you steal from one author it's plagiarism; if you steal from many it's research.” (Wilson Mizner quoted in Johnson 1953) Mizner’s quote illustrates the problem faced by many students and authors: distinguishing between mere copying of existing thoughts and genuine creativity. This is not a new problem: “As if there was much of anything in any human utterance, oral or written except plagiarism. The kernel, the soul – let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances – is plagiarism.” (Twain, 1903) [1] Johnson, A. (1953). The Legendary Mizners. Farrar, Straus & Young, NY, USA [2] Twain, M. (1903). Letter to Anne Macy. Reprinted in Anne Sullivan Macy, The Story Behind Helen Keller. 1933, Garden City, NY, USA. [3] Marshall, S. (n.d.) Copyright with an International Perspective for Academics. In Berg, G. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of International Computer-Based Learning. Idea Group Publishing (In Press). Nothing written or spoken can be truly original, the essence of all communication is a form of plagiarism - copying the substance of ideas from other sources. This presents the typical student with a challenge when learning the difference between plagiarism and research using materials from other sources. The problem remains, how can they use the ideas of others in a way that is genuinely creative? Original Plagiarised version

Anything else

Appropriate reference “If you steal from one author it's plagiarism; if you steal from many it's research.” (Wilson Mizner quoted in Johnson 1953) Mizner’s quote illustrates the problem faced by many students and authors: distinguishing between mere copying of existing thoughts and genuine creativity. This is not a new problem: “As if there was much of anything in any human utterance, oral or written except plagiarism. The kernel, the soul – let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances – is plagiarism.” (Twain, 1903) [1] Johnson, A. (1953). The Legendary Mizners. Farrar, Straus & Young, NY, USA [2] Twain, M. (1903). Letter to Anne Macy. Reprinted in Anne Sullivan Macy, The Story Behind Helen Keller. 1933, Garden City, NY, USA. [3] Marshall, S. (n.d.) Copyright with an International Perspective for Academics. In Berg, G. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of International Computer-Based Learning. Idea Group Publishing (In Press). The problem of students understanding about plagiarism and intellectual property has been discussed by Marshall [3]. He quoted the observation by Mark Twain that nothing “in any human utterance, oral or written except plagiarism”, the essence of all communication is a form of plagiarism - copying the substance of ideas from other sources [2]. This presents the typical student with a challenge when learning the difference between plagiarism and research using materials from other sources - a point wryly observed by Wilson Mizner in an oft-repeated quote [1]. As Marshall notes the problem remains, how can they use the ideas of others in a way that is genuinely creative? [3] What remains to be acknowledged is the impact that the culture and background of the student has on the perception of plagiarism, and the extent of the conflict with the culture of the teacher and the institution [4] [1] Johnson, A. (1953). The Legendary Mizners. Farrar, Straus & Young, NY, USA [2] Twain, M. (1903). Letter to Anne Macy. Reprinted in Anne Sullivan Macy, The Story Behind Helen Keller. 1933, Garden City, NY, USA. [3] Marshall, S. (n.d.) Copyright with an International Perspective for Academics. In Berg, G. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of International Computer-Based Learning. Idea Group Publishing (In Press). [4] Mackinnon, D. and Manathunga, C. (2003) Going global with assessment: What to so when the dominant culture’s literacy drives assessment. Original Appropriate copy