User:TwilligToves/On Plagiarism

One of the most common fallacies when talking about plagiarism is the misunderstanding of what "proper attribution" means. The reuse of text verbatim from another source, even if one provides a citation for the material, can still constitute plagiarism.

Let's use the following scenario to examine what is an acceptable use of source material, and what constitutes plagiarism. Say I want to rewrite the article on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I'm doing my research, and I come across the following lines in one of my sources (that is protected by copyright):

"In Italy, Leopold accomplished the main goal he had set himself two years earlier: to establish Mozart's reputation as a serious composer worthy of operatic commissions and consideration for a post as kapellmeister at a major court. At the same time, with boundless energy and extraordinary diplomatic skill, Leopold exploited every opportunity to exhibit his son's keyboard artistry for an admiring audience of musicians, music lovers, and connoisseurs. It was a fortunate moment in Mozart's development: he had not quite outgrown his wunderkind years and thus was greeted everywhere as a prodigy;..." — Maynard Solomon, Mozart: A Life, New York: HarperPerennial, 1996, pg 82.

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Here's an unacceptable use of this source material that constitutes plagiarism:

Leopold accomplished in Italy the main goal he had set for himself two years ago: to establish Mozart's reputation as a serious composer worthy of operatic commissions and consideration for a high post at a major court. At the same time, Leopold skillfully exploited every opportunity to exhibit his son's keyboard virtuosity for an admiring audience of musicians, music lovers, and connoisseurs. It was a fortunate moment in Mozart's life: he had not yet outgrown his wunderkind years and was received everywhere as a prodigy.

Why?

• No citation is given. The ideas are presented as original and no proper attribution is given.
• No quotation marks are used to identify non-original wording. The stab at paraphrasing falls well short. Tweaking a few words here and there from source material is not enough to avoid plagiarism.

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What about just tacking on a citation at the end?

Leopold accomplished in Italy the main goal he had set for himself two years ago: to establish Mozart's reputation as a serious composer worthy of operatic commissions and consideration for a high post as at a major court. At the same time, Leopold skillfully exploited every opportunity to exhibit his son's keyboard virtuosity for an admiring audience of musicians, music lovers, and connoisseurs. It was a fortunate moment in Mozart's life: he had not yet outgrown his wunderkind years and was received everywhere as a prodigy (Solomon 82).

Assume that a full citation of the work is given at the bottom of the article in a Works Cited or References section.

This is still plagiarism.

• No quotation marks are used to identify non-original wording. Citations are used to provide proper attribution of non-original ideas, but do not adequately delineate non-original wording. If text reuses wording from source material, quotation marks are necessary. None are given in the above example. Proper attribution with respect to plagiarism means the proper attribution of both non-original ideas (citations) and non-original wording (quotation marks).

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Let's say I try to paraphrase further, but neglect to provide a citation:

Leopold capitalized on his son's keyboard skills; Mozart's performances in front of admirers influential in the Italian music scene were enthusiastically received. Not only did Mozart's own musical reputation skyrocket, but so too did his chances at employment. Leopold hoped that, with the tour's success, his son would be commissioned to write operas or nominated for a court post.

This is an acceptable paraphrase, as the ideas have been presented in original wording. However, it is still plagiarism as no citation has been given for the ideas captured in these sentences, and thus they appear to be original thoughts when this is not the case.

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The following is an example that combines proper citation and proper use of quotation marks, thus avoiding plagiarism:

Leopold capitalized on his son's keyboard skills in Italy by organizing performances in front of admirers influential in the Italian music scene. Mozart "had not quite outgrown his wunderkind years and thus was greeted everywhere as a prodigy" (Solomon 82). Not only did Mozart's own musical reputation skyrocket, but so too did his chances at employment. Leopold hoped that, with the tour's success, his son would be commissioned to write operas or nominated for a court post (Solomon 82).

Useful links

There are numerous guides out there on the web that give examples and dish out advice on avoiding plagiarism. Two that I'd recommend are Indiana University's and Purdue University's. While they largely focus on writing in an academic setting, the principles apply to any form of writing that involves the use of third-party sources, including Wikipedia. Finally, there's a great dispatch article here that discusses plagiarism in more detail.