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Bradley Evans

Mrs. Wingard

English 9 Honors

2 February 2011

Comparison/Contrast Essay Stephen Ambrose v. Doris Kearns Goodwin

What is plagiarism? Is it a deliberate act, with the conscious though of stealing someone else’s

work? Can you still commit plagiarism by accident? Plagiarism is the act of taking some one's

work without proper and replacing it as one’s own. Both Stepphen Ambrose and Doris Kearns

Goodwin were very respected writers up until plagiarism cases came up in in 2001. At about the

same time, these writers were accused of plagiarism. Ambrose had copied several sentences from

other writings in six of his own book, and most of these were concentrated in his book Wild

Blue. Goodwin had misstepped when she took a clip and placed it in one of her books. Both had

been accused mainly because of not including quotation marks, only a citation was noted at the

bottom.

Stephen Ambrose apparently committed the worst kind of plagiarism; intentional.

According to his response, and several comments he made, he seems fine copying clips here and

there. One of his main excuses was that it was a simple mistake, but his actions reveled his true

thoughts. After accusation, he responded with saying that he would change all future copys of 

the book. Little effort was put into spending money or trying to save his name. Seeing this

behavior, he became infamous as a plagiarist. With his death a year later, his name went down in

history as a plagist.

Doris Kerns Goodwin’s story is entirely different. In one of her 1987 books, The

Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, she had several phases and lines that where without quotation

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marks. Her plagiarism was much like Ambrose’s, with footnotes and citations at the bottom of 

the page and end of the book. Her response was much different though, and told a lot about how

she cared for her reputation. After the report came out, Goodwin immediately addressed the

problem by telling Simon & Schuster pulping all the books in stores saying, ”I cannot bear bla

bla bla citation” She also review the book and all other book she had written. One huge

reprecusstion she received was leaving her seat at the PBS show. According to, “the feeling that

she should leave was mutual.”

Plagiarism is the taking of some one's work and saying it was your own. Writing

thievery, as you could say. It really reveals the motive one’s heart when you steal words. It’s not

like stealing something from a store or bank, which is done openly. Plagrism is done with more

of a subtly. People don’t expect to be caught. They are not a nasty crook taking one hundred

grand from a bank or looting houses, but like a gentleman in a suit slipping a candy bar from a

shop self. Other’s look at him in his black suit and say, ”There is a good, honest businessman

making a fine living.” They never see that precise piece of goodness that he’s slipped away from

the store owner. He could of easily paid for it, spent his hard earned cash like he’s done most of 

the time. The strange thing is that the author, most of the time, can do a better job than the other 

person that he is plagiarizing from. And it wouldn’t take that long, a passage even a paragraph

long (Note Goodwin’s and Ambrose’s parts weren’t even that extensive) would only take a

dozen or so minutes. The bottom line is because they are lazy, and don’t want spend time on

their book. They take the shortcut and skip writing it. Grated, Goodwin’s case may have been

different, but as for intentional plagiarism we must leave it as it is, without excuse and a terrible,

appalling sin.