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Plagiarism

This page is adapted with permission from Dr. Jennifer E. Attebery, Associate Professor of English, Idaho State University (attejenn@isu.edu).
Questions about this page should be sent to owenjack@isu.edu Please include your name and e-mail address in the body of your message.
Plagiarism is the use of someone else's words, ideas, or information without giving him/her proper credit. Plagiarism takes several forms. Below are a few examples of commonly-encountered cases of plagiarism and examples of correct ways of citing words, ideas, and information.
Let's assume that you are using the following passages from Richard Dorson's introduction to Folktales of Mexico (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970) in a research paper about the Virgin of Guadalupe legend:

"The apparition of the Virgin was first seen on the dawn of 9 December 1531 by Juan Diego, an Aztec recently converted to Christianity, on Mount Tepeyac, as he was walking to mass at the Franciscan monastery of Tlatelolco from his native pueblo of Quahutitlan, four leagues from Mexico City" (Dorson 1970: xvii).
"Such is the essence of the event, covering four days, but its impact has endured through more than four centuries of Mexican history" (Dorson 1970: xviii).

USING A SOURCE'S WORDS

You are plagiarizing if you use your source's words without placing them in quotation marks and without providing a parenthetical citation, EVEN IF you include Dorson's book in your bibliography. For example:

Juan Diego was an Aztec recently converted to Christianity who saw the Virgin Mary on his way to church.

You are plagiarizing if you use your source's words without placing them in quotation marks EVEN IF you provide a parenthetical citation and include Dorson's book in your bibliography. For example:

Juan Diego was an Aztec recently converted to Christianity who saw the Virgin Mary on his way to church (Dorson 1970: xvii).

Here is the correct way to use a source's words and to provide credit:

Juan Diego was "an Aztec recently converted to Christianity" who saw the Virgin Mary on his way to church (Dorson 1970: xvii).

Bibliography

Dorson, R. M.
1970 Folktales of Mexico. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

USING A SOURCE'S IDEAS

You are plagiarizing if you use your source's ideas without providing a parenthetical citation, EVEN IF you paraphrase and even if you include Dorson's book in your bibliography. For example:

The Virgin of Guadalupe story has been important through four hundred years of Mexico's history.

Here is the correct way to use a source's ideas and to provide credit:

The Virgin of Guadalupe story has been important through four hundred years of Mexico's history (Dorson 1970: xviii).

Bibliography

Dorson, R. M.
1970 Folktales of Mexico. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

USING A SOURCE'S INFORMATION

You are plagiarizing if you use your source's information (including information present in text, charts, diagrams, maps, footnotes, and so forth) without providing a parenthetical citation, EVEN IF you paraphrase and even if you include Dorson's book in your bibliography. For example:

The Virgin appeared to an Aztec named Juan Diego on December 9, 1531.

Here is the correct way to use a source's information and to provide credit:

The Virgin appeared to an Aztec named Juan Diego on December 9, 1531 (Dorson 1970: xvii).

Bibliography

Dorson, R. M.
1970 Folktales of Mexico. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

RULES OF THUMB

The lower threshold for plagiarism is three words in the same order as they are found in the source.

Even when you are paraphrasing from one source throughout a paragraph or more, you must given parenthetical citations to the page number(s) for each idea or bit of data. As a rule of thumb, expect to include at least one parenthetical citation per paragraph unless the ideas are obviously your own.

Avoid paraphrasing from one or two sources at length. This results in a research paper in which the ideas are ORGANIZED as they appear in your source, a subtle form of plagiarism. This problem is common in student papers.

Important

On the bibliographic and citation styles you must use for all your work in this course, always consult the Course Style Sheet.

If you have questions or comments about this document, send them to owenjack@isu.edu Please include your name and address in the body of your message.

Revised: 21 August 2001

URL: http://www.isu.edu/~owenjack/plag.html