4 Tips to Avoid Unintentional Plagarism

Posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

“Originality is undetected plagiarism.” William Ralph Inge

I could have tried to pass off that witty remark as my own, and no one would have been the wiser right? Wrong. A few quick keystrokes in any search engine would show that the quote belongs to Mr. Inge and not me. Technology has given educators more tools to combat blatant plagiarism, but in many cases plagiarism is unintentional. But lack of intent that doesn’t make it any less wrong and the punishment can be just as severe. Whether you are a student here at Algonquin College or at another post-secondary institution, the onus is on you to make sure your work is properly cited and your own ideas are clearly separated from your sources.

I was spurred to write this blog post after I saw this headline yesterday: National Post: University of Windsor suspends its Dean of Education until at least June 2014 over plagiarism. While the details of the plagiarism have not been released, it’s a good trigger for a discussion about the dangers of plagiarism.

What is Unintentional Plagiarism?

Here are a few examples of unintentional plagiarism from Grammar Girl – Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

• Bobby copied an author’s sentence into his notes but didn’t include quotation marks. Later, without adding quotation marks, he inserted that sentence in an essay, so it appeared to be his own writing. Bobby is guilty of plagiarism.
• Cindy didn’t distinguish her own ideas from the ideas she got from her sources. Cindy is also guilty of plagiarism.
• Dylan didn’t cite the source of a paraphrase or a summary in his paper or in his list of references. Dylan is guilty of plagiarism.
• Farrah included a paraphrase of a published passage that was too closely worded to the original passage. Is Farrah guilty of plagiarism? Yes. To avoid the infraction, she should have just directly quoted parts or all of the passage.

In the article Grammar Girl also looks at another type of plagiarism that many students might not be aware of: self-plagiarism. You might be thinking “How can I steal my own ideas?” Let’s say you write a wicked paper, perfectly written and referenced. You submit it and get a stellar mark. Next semester you get a new assignment that very similar. You figure you can use parts or all of the old paper for your new assignment, saving yourself time and energy and guaranteeing another high grade. This is an example of self-plagiarism and it’s just as serious as any other type.

Tips to Avoid Plagiarism

So what can you do to avoid unintentional plagiarism in your work? The University of Pennsylvania Libraries has put together these helpful tips.

1. Be sure to give yourself enough time for research and writing.
You are most likely to plagiarize when you are struggling to write a paper at the last minute. If you haven’t done any research and haven’t had time to construct a true argument, you might be tempted to save time by relying heavily on one or two resources. In your rush you might closely paraphrase large sections of text or unintentionally use direct quotations without giving credit. To give yourself time for research and analysis, start thinking about the paper well before it is due.

2. Take careful notes and keep records of sources.
When done well, research includes taking lots of notes. Note taking style varies from researcher to researcher, but certain patterns should always be followed. Clearly indicate and provide location information for any duplication or paraphrase of original text in your note. This will help you avoid accidental plagiarism and allow you to quickly locate the original text. Furthermore, maintain a working bibliography while you research. This will assure that you don’t forget or lose a work that needs to be cited.

3. Limit quotations and paraphrases to instances when they are really necessary.
The more you rely directly on the work of others, the more likely you are to accidentally plagiarize. Remember, research papers rely on but do not simply duplicate the work of others. An over-reliance on quotes or paraphrases when they are unnecessary could suggest that you do not understand the information well enough to synthesize it for yourself. Quotes or paraphrases are useful when another’s work is being used as a primary resource, when you want to appeal to authority, or when you are summarizing.

4. When in doubt — cite.
You will not always be clear about what needs to be cited. In times of doubt, err on the side of caution. If a paraphrase seems similar to the original source, cite it. If it includes complex ideas that you wouldn’t have thought of on your own, cite it. If large sections of your paper were generated through consideration of someone else’s argument, include a general citation that explains how it influenced your work.

Now you hopefully understand a little bit more about unintentional plagiarism and how to avoid it. So the next time you have a big paper to write, remember to work hard, cite your sources and be original.

Laura Campbell
Marketing Officer, Algonquin College School of Business

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