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Asherlee
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Asherlee
5,001 posts
Shepherd

**Plagiarism**

Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as "the wrongful appropriation, close imitation, or purloining and
publication, of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions, and the representation of them
as one's own original work."

Sources: Wiki
Book: Webster's Dictionary

There are two kinds of plagiarism:
-- deliberate plagiarism is where you are intentionally plagiarizing for
personal gain;
-- accidental plagiarism is where you mistakenly plagiarize without intention, whether it is
from incorrectly citing your sources, have a complete or partial ignorance to plagiarism or citing, or have
a complete disregard for citing.
Both types of plagiarism are grounds for referrals to the sticky, warnings,
and bans. (Freakenstein)

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In this section of the forum we want all your posts to be original. This is a debate forum. Citations and original ideas are very important. Please try to follow these guidelines when posting here:

1. All opinions are welcome as long as there is evidence to back up those claims.
(Subjective views do have a place and time)

2. If any portion of your post has been copied from somewhere else besides your own work, then a source MUST be provided.

3. All sources that are cited must be reliable. (This brings us to the next important topic)

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**Reliable Sources**

Again, I've decided to quote wiki on this, but please read the end where I discuss Wikipedia. Wikipedia explains reliable sources in such a simple and great way.

The word "source" as used on Wikipedia has three related meanings: the piece of work itself (the article, book), the creator of the work (the writer, journalist), and the publisher of the work (The New York Times, Cambridge University Press). All three can affect reliability. Reliable sources may be published materials with a reliable publication process, authors who are regarded as authoritative in relation to the subject, or both.

Questionable sources are those with a poor reputation for checking the facts, or with no editorial oversight. Such sources include websites and publications expressing views that are widely acknowledged as extremist, or promotional in nature, or which rely heavily on rumors and personal opinions. Questionable sources are generally unsuitable for citing contentious claims about third parties, which includes claims against institutions, persons living or dead, as well as more ill-defined entities. The proper uses of a questionable source are very limited.


Source: Wiki

Please remember to determine if your source is biased or objective. Here are a few tips for spotting a biased source:

-- Opinions masked as facts

-- The article/journal is peer-reviewed (when applicable)

-- Examine the validity of the study, if one is used (Sample size, diversity, etc)

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Why cite your sources?

-- To give the information's credit to the author

-- Allows for further reading on the topic

-- Increase your credibility on AG

(Freakenstein and Asherlee)

How to cite

-- A simple link:

If you are starting a thread, it is already expected of you to provide a source for what the thread will be about. Simply copy and paste the URL and provide what/where the source is. You can even use words with the links (refer to BBCode Guide v.4.1 for details)."

-- Use Parenthetical Notes

"INFORMATION" (AUTHOR/SITE, YEAR) " You don't have to go into detail and use MLA or APA format, just properly show where you are getting your information from. If you are using a direct source, just quote the info, provide where you found it, and your credibility is saved.

(Freakenstein)

What about paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is a restatement of a text, passage, or work giving the meaning in another form.
(Source: Webster)

The use of paraphrasing in WEPR is accepted. We should all strive to post a source when paraphrasing another's work. The source does not always have to be a link, a simple mention of where you received your information would suffice. However, if you are challenged by another user on AG to show evidence of your claims, then you must post your source without exception.

(Kudos thepossum for bringing this to light)

What do I do if I spot plagiarism?

Don't spend time on the thread pointing out that someone just plagiarized--report it to a moderator.
Provide 3 links:

1. The user you believe is plagiarizing
2. The actual post he/she plagiarized
3. If you've found the original work

(Asherlee and Freakenstein)

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As you can see, I quoted and sourced wikipedia for some sections of this post. Wikipedia can be a reliable source. You can determine whether or not the information you are using from a Wikipedia article is reliable by referencing the superscripted numbers:

http://i52.tinypic.com/9blzz4.png

will take you to here:

http://i54.tinypic.com/n5htg0.png

These are the references you want to check for reliablity.

  • 56 Replies
GhostOfMatrix
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GhostOfMatrix
15,595 posts
Herald

You have to take the extra http:// and quotation marks out of the links for them to work.

Llamasushi
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Llamasushi
102 posts
Peasant

I think we can safely say that if it's for a grade 10 history assignment due the next morning (and you haven't started, rather you are on armour games replying to threads), then you can plagiarize one or two sentences. There is almost a ZERO percent chance of your history teacher being the original author of the work.
Here's a quote that I wrote. (See what I did there? Plagiarism :P)

"Plagiarism saves time. If in doubt, plagiarize"

That's thing, I think that most people have plagiarised at least once in our life. Examples are: stealing lame jokes from other people in social situations and pretending they're your own so others will admire you, putting plagiarized quotes in your essays for good marks, etc. As long as they're not very widely known, you could distribute it as your original idea and get away with it easily. Actually, my own view is that a little plagiarism is not harmful. There are worse things then plagiarising, as the only real effect that plagiarising has is annoyance that your friend got a better grade then you, or disappointment that your star student copied your someone else's work. After all-- Plagiarism: it's YOUR CHOICE. Risk for reward?

Llamasushi
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Llamasushi
102 posts
Peasant

Sorry for the double post, I should have stated that I read the quote from a book somewhere, so I'm not really sure where it came from. But that's the thing, it's so hard NOT to plagiarize as most of ideas come from others anyway, which could be considered a very minor form of plagiarizing (stealing other's ideas).

athinianhoplite
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athinianhoplite
29 posts
Nomad

... I think ... I think ... Everybody can think everybody can believe in ideas ,in lies ,in truths.But who's the one that can judge whats true whats a lie whats an idea exept our mind.
If I'll steal an idea ,if I'll steal a truth ,if I'll steal a lie i've steal under my knowlenge no one else is responsible that me.
e.g Right i'm stelling the words of Karl Marx.

Firehands
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Firehands
5 posts
Jester

I personally am against direct plagiarism; however, for anyone who has read Malcolm Gladwell, there is a difference between simply stealing someone else's work and building off of it. Inventors throughout history have improved upon each others products. Everything from the steam engine to the iPod was "invented" by people who saw a good idea and made it better.

Joe96
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Joe96
2,226 posts
Peasant

I hate citing in MLA format. I haven't been following this thread, so it may be off topic, but when I had to use the format for an English project, it was not very fun, especially considering the reverse indentation stuff where you have to tab at the end of the line...why does this MLA thing always have to change and become harder?

DontDoDrug
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DontDoDrug
29 posts
Peasant

If you copy two word from another author, you are plageraism

guitarsuperman
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guitarsuperman
3 posts
Blacksmith

Thanks, great information. Always cite and reference the original. NEVER plagiarize. My lawsuit funding firm has stumbled upon a few cases involving plagiarism last year.

nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,991 posts
Grand Duke

I hate citing in MLA format. I haven't been following this thread, so it may be off topic, but when I had to use the format for an English project, it was not very fun, especially considering the reverse indentation stuff where you have to tab at the end of the line...why does this MLA thing always have to change and become harder?


There are always sites that can code it and crunch it out for you.
Naoto1994
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Naoto1994
19 posts
Nomad

Plagiarism is a big problem, especially with the growth of more sites full of borrowed, un-cited information. This makes the proprietors of works, books, thesis's and other important documents lose their recognition for their work. I believe that the effort educational facilities are doing to cut out plagiarism is excellent and should remain in function.

Ploder
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Ploder
19 posts
Nomad

Not too big of a deal, just cite your sources and paraphrase when ever you can. You can use Citation Machine if you need help with the format of a bibliography. Also, scroll all the way down on a Wiki article to find the sources in the "Reference" tab.

melimouse
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melimouse
110 posts
Shepherd

Ok, I've been gone for awhile, but I was overjoyed to see this as well as the thread on basic logic. Plagiarism is definitely rampant in our society and having resources and rules such as these shows the maturity and integrity of the people in this section.

NDD21
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NDD21
1 posts
Nomad

I agree, I hate plagiarism. So many people in my class plagiarizes, and it takes away from those who actually do the work.

tric
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tric
28 posts
Shepherd

I really do hate it when people plagiarize! Luckily, it's becoming easier and easier for teachers and, well, anyone to find out if a work is plagiarized or not. I think the internet really has decreased plagiarism.

T_Slice
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T_Slice
42 posts
Shepherd

Well to steal an idea and take credit is something especially if u do not site where its from. I feel its sometimes harsh to punish people for copying ideas because most points of view are already covered by books and magazines so its hard to find your own opinion and to word it separate from other same opinions

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