The Common Types of Plagiarism

There are different types of plagiarism and all are serious violations of academic honesty. We have
defined the most common types below and have provided links to examples.

Direct Plagiarism 

Direct plagiarism is the word-for-word transcription of a section of someone else’s work, without
attribution and without quotation marks. The deliberate plagiarism of someone else's work is unethical,
academically dishonest, and grounds for disciplinary actions, including expulsion.

In the following example, the writer tacks on a new opening part of the first sentence in the hope that
the reader won't notice that the rest of the paragraph is simply copied from the source. The plagiarized
words are italicized. Despite the outcry from environmentalist groups like Earth First! and the Sierra
Club, it is important to note that the US has only lost approximately 30 percent of its original forest area,
most of this in the nineteenth century. The loss has not been higher mainly because population pressure
has never been as great here as in Europe. The doubling of US farmland from 1880 to 1920 happened
almost without affecting the total forest area as most was converted from grasslands. Quotation marks
around all the copied text, followed by a parenthetical citation, would avoid plagiarism in this case. But
even if that were done, a reader might wonder why so much was quoted from Lomborg in the first
place. Beyond that, a reader might wonder why you chose to use a quote here instead of paraphrase
this passage, which as a whole is not very quotable, especially with the odd reference to Europe. Using
exact quotes should be reserved for situations where the original author has stated the idea in a better
way than any paraphrase you might come up with. In the above case, the information could be summed
up and simply paraphrased, with a proper citation, because the idea, even in your words, belongs to
someone else. Furthermore, a paper consisting largely of quoted passages and little original writing
would be relatively worthless.

You commit verbatim plagiarism when you directly copy text from a source and paste it in your own
document without properly citing the information.

If the majority of the structure and words are the same, then it is verbatim plagiarism, even if you delete
or change a couple words here and there.

If you want to use the exact same words from a source, you need to quote the original source by putting
the copied text in quotation marks and including an in-text citation.

Self Plagiarism

Self-plagiarism occurs when a student submits his or her own previous work, or mixes parts of previous
works, without permission from all professors involved. For example, it would be unacceptable to
incorporate part of a term paper you wrote in high school into a paper assigned in a college course. Self-
plagiarism also applies to submitting the same piece of work for assignments in different classes without
previous permission from both professors.
Self-plagiarism can be tricky and is frequently unintentional. There are a couple of different versions of
self-plagiarism; the more serious being turning in a paper you already submitted for a grade to another
class. Because you have turned this paper in already, it is no longer new and original work.

Self-plagiarism can also occur when you use ideas or phrases from your previous papers or assignments.
Like with paraphrasing, using pieces of essays you have already completed is not inherently plagiarism.

As long as you consult your professors to check whether doing so falls within your institution’s policies,
citing previous papers you have written is not considered self-plagiarism.

Mosaic Plagiarism

Mosaic Plagiarism occurs when a student borrows phrases from a source without using quotation marks,
or finds synonyms for the author’s language while keeping to the same general structure and meaning
of the original. Sometimes called “patch writing,” this kind of paraphrasing, whether intentional or not,
is academically dishonest and punishable – even if you footnote your source!

Mosaic Plagiarism This is a more sophisticated kind of plagiarism wherein phrases and terms are lifted
from the source and sprinkled in among your own prose. Words and phrases lifted verbatim or with only
slight changes are italicized: Environmentalist groups have long bemoaned the loss of US forests,
particularly in this age of population growth and urbanization. Yet, the US has only lost approximately 30
percent of its original forest area, and most of this in the nineteenth century . There are a few main
reasons for this. First, population pressure has never been as great in this country as in Europe . Second,
the explosion of US farmland, when it doubled from 1880 to 1920, happened almost without affecting
the total forest area as most was converted from grasslands . Mosaic plagiarism may be caused by
sloppy notetaking, but it always looks thoroughly dishonest and intentional and will be judged as such.
In the above example, just adding an introduction and a parenthetical citation will not solve the
plagiarism problem since no quotation marks are used where required. But adding them would raise the
question of why those short phrases and basic statements of fact and opinion are worth quoting word
for word. The best solution is to paraphrase everything: rewrite the plagiarized parts in your own words,
introduce the passage properly, and add a parenthetical citation.

Patchwork plagiarism (also known as mosaic plagiarism or incremental plagiarism) is similar

to paraphrasing. It is when you copy and paste together pieces of different texts to create a new text.
This includes rewording pieces of sourced material while keeping the structure of the original texts.

This type of plagiarism requires a little more effort and is more insidious than simply incorrectly
paraphrasing a source, but plagiarism checkers can still easily detect this kind of plagiarism.

Accidental Plagiarism

Accidental plagiarism occurs when a person neglects to cite their sources, or misquotes their sources, or
unintentionally paraphrases a source by using similar words, groups of words, and/or sentence structure
without attribution. Students must learn how to cite their sources and to take careful and accurate
notes when doing research. Lack of intent does not absolve the student of responsibility for plagiarism.
Cases of accidental plagiarism are taken as seriously as any other plagiarism and are subject to the same
range of consequences as other types of plagiarism.

To avoid this mistake, make sure to cite where the idea came from. Then
introduce your own thoughts and research, so that your whole
assignment or paper isn’t just echoing already published ideas. Citing the
source doesn’t necessarily eliminate the plagiarism if you don’t bring
anything new to the table.
It might not seem fair, but this just demonstrates how important it is to
get your sources right. Always double-check that any direct quote is in
quotation marks and clearly cited. Also check over your in-text and
bibliography citations for mistakes. Make sure your sources match up to
the actual information, and that you haven’t mislabeled anything.

The first step in avoiding plagiarism is citing your sources. However, a citation is not enough; you need
to correctly cite all your sources. You can either paraphrase (rephrase a text), quote or summarize the
original source.

Make sure to follow the guidelines of your citation style, such as APA style or Chicago. If you’re not sure
which citation style to use, you can read our quick guide to citation styles.

Plagiarizing by Paraphrase In the following case, the exact ideas in the source are followed very closely-
too closely-simply by substituting your own words and sentences for those of the original. ORIGINAL
PARAPHRASE The US has only lost approximately 30 percent of its forest area, most of this in the
nineteenth century. Only 30 percent of the original forest area has been lost. The loss has not been
higher mainly because population pressure has never been as great there as in Europe. Europe has fared
slightly worse due to greater population pressure. The doubling of US farmland from 1880 to 1920
happened almost without affecting the total forest area as most was converted from grasslands. Even
though US farmland doubled from 1880 to 1920, little forest area was affected since the farms appeared
on grasslands. The ideas in the right column appear to be original. Obviously, they are just Lomborg's
ideas presented in different words without any acknowledgement. Plagiarism can be avoided easily here
by introducing the paraphrased section with an attribution to Lomborg and then following up with a
parenthetical citation. Such an introduction is underlined here: Bjorn Lomborg points out that despite
environmentalists' outcries. . . . (page number). Properly used, paraphrase is a valuable rhetorical
technique. You should use it to simplify or summarize so that others' ideas or information, properly
attributed in the introduction and documented in a parenthetical citation, may be woven into the
pattern of your own ideas. You should not use paraphrase simply to avoid quotation; you should use it
to express another's important ideas in your own words when those ideas are not expressed in a way
that is useful to quote directly.

Additionally, if you translate a piece of text from another language, you need correctly cite the
original source. A translation without a source is still plagiarism, as you’re using someone else’s
ideas.

How to avoid plagiarism

Step 1: Keep track of your sources

While you’re doing research and taking notes for your paper, make sure to record the source of each
piece of information. One way that students commit plagiarism is by simply forgetting where an idea
came from and unintentionally presenting it as their own.

You can easily avoid this pitfall by keeping your notes organised and compiling a list of citations as you
go. Keep track of every source you consult – that includes not only books and journal articles, but also
things like websites, magazine articles, and videos.

Then you can easily go back and check where you found a phrase, fact, or idea that you want to use in
your paper.

Step 2: Quote and paraphrase

While writing your paper, if you want to share an idea or a piece of information from a source, you must
either paraphrase or quote the original text.

Quoting

Quoting means copying a piece of text word-for-word. The copied text must be introduced in your own
words, enclosed in quotation marks, and correctly attributed to the original author:

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing means using your own words to explain something from a source. It allows you to give only
the most important information from a passage.

In the paraphrased example, the author’s main point has been rephrased and condensed; the order of
information and the sentence structure have been changed.

In the plagiarised example, even though the text is not identical, many of the same phrases have been
used, and the information is presented in the same order with the same structure. Even with a citation,
this passage would very likely be flagged as plagiarism.

To avoid plagiarism when paraphrasing, you need to make sure that your text isn’t too similar to the
original.

Paraphrasing vs. quoting

In general, paraphrasing is better than quoting, especially for longer passages. It shows that you have
fully understood the meaning of the original text, and ensures that your own voice is dominant in your
paper.

Step 3: Cite the original source

Every time you quote or paraphrase, you must include an in-text citation (or footnote citation) that
identifies the original author. It often also includes the publication year and a page number.

Each in-text citation must correspond to a full reference in the reference list or bibliography at the end
of your paper. This details exactly where the information came from, allowing your readers to locate the
source for themselves.

There are many different citation styles, and each one has its own rules for citing. Some of the most
common include APA, MLA and Chicago Style. The most important thing is to apply one style
consistently throughout the text.

Step 4: Use a plagiarism checker

Most universities use plagiarism checkers to detect plagiarism in student papers. This technology scans
your document, compares it to a huge database of publications and websites, and highlights passages
that are overly similar to other texts.

You can use a plagiarism checker yourself before submitting your paper. This allows you to identify any
parts where you’ve forgotten a citation, left out quotation marks, or included a paraphrase that’s too
close to the original text. Then you can follow the steps above to easily fix any instances of potential
plagiarism.

https://www.scribbr.co.uk/academic-dishonesty/avoiding-plagiarism/

https://www.scribbr.co.uk/academic-dishonesty/types-of-plagiarism/

https://www.bowdoin.edu/dean-of-students/judicial-board/academic-honesty-and-
plagiarism/common-types-of-plagiarism.html
 Basic Principles of Citation
APA Style uses the author–date citation system, in which a brief in-text
citation directs readers to a full reference list entry. The in-text citation
appears within the body of the paper (or in a table, figure, footnote, or
appendix) and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of
publication. This enables readers to locate the corresponding entry in the
alphabetical reference list at the end of the paper.
Each work cited must appear in the reference list, and each work in the
reference list must be cited in the text (or in a table, figure, footnote, or
appendix).
Basic principles of citation are covered in Sections 8.10–8.36 of the APA
Publication Manual, Seventh Edition

Both paraphrases and quotations require citations.
The following are guidelines to follow when writing in-text citations:
 Ensure that the spelling of author names and the publication dates in
reference list entries match those in the corresponding in-text citations.
 Cite only works that you have read and ideas that you have
incorporated into your writing. The works you cite may provide key
background information, support or dispute your thesis, or offer critical
definitions and data.
 Readers may find a long string of citations difficult to understand,
especially if they are using assistive technology such as a screen reader;
therefore, include only those citations needed to support your immediate
point.
 Cite primary sources when possible, and cite secondary
sources sparingly.
 Cite sources to document all facts and figures that you mention that are
not common knowledge.
 To cite a specific part of a source, provide an author–date citation for
the work plus information about the specific part.
 Even when sources cannot be retrieved (e.g., because they
are personal communications), still credit them in the text (however, avoid
using online sources that are no longer recoverable).

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles
An ever-growing amount of federal government information is available in electronic format. This
presents unique challenges to a scholar citing such works. The following principles should be followed
to ensure that another researcher can locate exactly the same electronic text and distinguish the
electronic text from the print equivalent.
o Use document header information to provide information about the electronic document.
Header information is found at the top of each electronic record.
o Try to provide a unique identifier (either a record or entry number, a code, or a standard
abbreviation) to help the reader identify the exact text being cited. Frequently, this
information is in the header.
o Provide a document date or "Load date" for each record to provide information about the
specific version being cited. This record may be updated later, and the date provided within
the citation will alert a reader to a possible change in the text.
o Supply information (such as U.S. Congress or U.S. House) to clarify the source of the
material; many databases do not provide this information in the header for each document. It
can be found in the database description within the citation help provided in LexisNexis®
Congressional.
o Indicate the database name and the vendor making the database available. Some databases
are available from many different sources, and the text may be different in each. This
information also allows the reader to contact the vendor for help in accessing the information.
o Insert a standard pattern of punctuation to clarify the relationship between the elements of
the citation. Underlining or italicizing titles, dates, and vendor names can help the reader
understand the source of the citation information.
o Since many full-text databases do not include page numbers, insert phrases such as "Quote
from:" or "Appendix from:" to let your reader know that the information being quoted is from
a larger document.

https://www.lexisnexis.com/help/CU/How_to_Cite/general_principles.htm

Some general principles of citation, or documentation, styles

 All citation styles cite both within the text and then at the end of the document or at the foot of the
page, providing information in text that directs the reader to a list of sources located elsewhere. This list
of sources is called a Bibliography in Chicago style, References in APA style, and Works Cited in MLA
style, and it provides a fuller description of the source so that the reader will know how to locate that
exact source if she or he wishes.

 All citation styles provide these categories of information: name or names of authors; date of
publication; titles of books; titles of articles and names of journals in the case of journal articles;
publication information: for books this includes the city or place the book was published and the name
of the publisher — for journal articles this includes the volume, issue and page numbers that the article
can be found on.

 All citation styles act as cross-referencing systems in which the information cited in the body of the
writing, usually — but not always — an author’s last name, refers the reader to the first piece of
information, usually — but not always — the author’s last name, in the entry in the bibliography.
https://www.ufv.ca/media/assets/academic-success-centre/handouts/Principles-of-Citation-
rev2018.pdf