Unit 5 plagiarism: what it is and how to avoid it

BEFORE READING: Do you believe that plagiarism is really a serious problem in science and in every day life? Have you ever faced this problem yourself ? Can you give any examples of plagiarism you’ve noticed in any sphere of science , art or technology?

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES:

TASK 1 Match the columns:

1.to assert a general truth a) влучне висловлювання

2. to borrow freely b) очевидний, явний плагіат

3. blatantplagiarismc)установлювати, доводити загальну істину

4. to commit d) подтверджувати джерело

5.to acknowledge the source e) запозичати вільно

6.to provide a note f) здійснювати

7. apt expression g) надавати виноски

TASK 2 What do you thimk is necessary to do to avoid plagiarism? Make a list of recommendations of achieving it, then read the text and check your list.

Plagiarism is the act of passing off another’s words and ideas as one’s own. The question of when one has plagiarized and when one has simply asserted a general truth from an unknown source can be sometimes puzzling. In a cosmic sense, the process of learning is made up of countless tiny crimes of plagiarism, since we all borrow freely from one another. No generation speaks a language of its own invention, few people are creators of the proverbs and sayings that they utter daily.

Blatant plagiarism, however, involves the conscious and deliberate stealing of another’s words and ideas, generally with the motive of earning undeserved rewards. The student who copies the paper of a friend is guilty of blatant plagiarism. Likewise, the student who steals an idea from a book, expresses it in his or her own words, and then passes it off as original, has committed an act of plagiarism.

The conventions of writing research papers dictate that students must acknowledge the source of any idea or statement not truly their own. This acknowledgement is made in a note specifying the source and author of the borrowed material. All summaries, paraphrases or quotations must be documented; only personal comments may remain undocumented. In sum, to avoid plagiarism students must: provide a note for any idea borrowed from another; place quoted material within quotation marks; provide a bibliography entry at the end of the book for every source used in the text or in a note.

Not every assertion is documentable, nor is it necessary for students to document matters of general and common knowledge. For instance, it is commonly known that the early settlers of America fought wars with the Indians – an assertion a student could safely make without documentation. As a rule of thumb, a piece of information that occurs in five or more sources may be considered general knowledge. Proverbs and sayings of unknown origins are also considered general knowledge and do not have to be documented.

The following, however, must be accompanied by a citation specifyinf author and source:

-Any idea derived from any known source.

-Any fact or data borrowed from the work of another.

-Any especially clever or apt expression, whether or not it says something new, that is taken from someone else.

-Any material lifted verbatim from the work of another.

-Any information that is paraphrased or summarized and used in the paper.

In writing research papers, students are expected to borrow heavily from the works of experts and authorities – indeed, this is partly the purpose of the research, but they are also expected to acknowledge the source of this borrowed material.

POST-TEXT EXERCISES:

TASK 1 After reading the text decide whether you think the statements are true or false:

1.Sometimes it’s hard to say whether someone has plagiarised or simply asserted general truth.

2 To avoid plagiarism each generation should invent its own language and create sayings and proverbs.

3. Students and scientists have no motives for stealing another’s words and ideas.

4. All quotations, summaries and personal comments should be documented.

5. No information in scientific paper can be considered general knowledge.

6. When writing a research paper students are not allowed to borrow from the works of experts and authorities.

TASK 2 Complete the sentenses below using the words from the text:

acknowledge puzzling to borrow creators to occur conscious

1. The question of plagiarsm and quotation of general truth can be......

2. Few people are..... of the proverbs and sayings they use quite often.

3. Blatant plagiarism means ...... stealing of another’s words and ideas.

4. A piece of information that ..... at least in five sources is considered general truth.

5. Young scientists are expected ....... heavily from the works of experts.

6. Future scientists and postgraduates must ........ any source or ideas and statements not truly their own.

TASK 3 Match the adjectives and the nouns as they are used in the text:

1 tiny a) expression

2 blatant b) comments

3 deliberate c) rewards

4 personal d) plagiarism

5 general e) crimes

6 apt f) stealing

7 undeserved g) knowledge

TASK 4 Find words in the text which have the opposite meaning to the words below:

1 famous 5 documented

2. unconscious 6 silly

3. spend 7 lightly

4. innocent 8 disappear

TASK 5 Remember some phrases that can help you to speak about the author of the book/article:

• The author of the article(book), Professor..., is a well-known scholar who specializes in the study of... .

• This is a serious paper written by a person whose theories on... are widely respected.

• He refers generously to his collegues... .

• Judging from the author’s point of view... ;

• The author of the article/book is... .

• The author discusses (deals with, is concerned with, covers, considers, gives consideration to, describes, give an accurate description of, outlines, emphasizes, places emphasis on) the problem of ... .

• Reference is made to works in... .