plagiarism and copyright issues introduction what is plagiarism? identifying plagiarism using...

Plagiarism and Copyright Issues

Introduction

What is plagiarism?

Identifying plagiarism

Using parenthetical citations

What is “common knowledge”?

Talk About It

Your Turn

Introduction

How would you feel if you wrote a short story and a classmate took it and put his name on it?

Plagiarism involves taking someone else’s work and claiming it as your own. Plagiarism isn’t usually quite as blatant as putting your name on a classmate’s story, but it is just as unethical.

What is plagiarism?

Sometimes writers plagiarize because they misunderstand the rules about crediting others’ work properly, but plagiarism is wrong whether it is intentional or accidental.

If you plagiarize in high school, your teacher might give you an F on your paper or fail you in the course.

If you plagiarize in college, you could be expelled.

What is plagiarism?

All of the following actions by writers are plagiarism.

Picking up an author’s exact language without designating the language as a direct quotation

Changing only a few words in an author’s exact language, also known as paraphrasing too closely

Presenting an author’s original ideas as your own by not giving credit

Following the structure, organization, or reasoning of another’s work exactly


One type of plagiarism occurs when you copy directly from a source without using quotation marks.

5With 38 plays and 154 sonnets and two narrative poems credited to his name, Shakespeare’s works are probably the most read and performed of any writer in history.

Is the note from this source an example of a paraphrase or plagiarism?

This is PLAGIARISM.It’s copied word for word without using quotation marks.

Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, William Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest English-language writer ever. With 38 plays, 154 sonnets and two narrative poems credited to his name, Shakespeare’s works are probably the most read and performed of any writer in history.


If you don’t want to use quotation marks, always put the information into your own words by paraphrasing.

5Having written almost 200 plays and poems, Shakespeare is one of the most prolific writers ever.


This is a PARAPHRASE.The words sound distinctly different from the source.

Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, William Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest English-language writer ever. With 38 plays, 154 sonnets and two narrative poems credited to his name, Shakespeare’s works are probably the most read and performed of any writer in history.


Another type of plagiarism occurs when you don’t alter the source’s words enough to sound like your own.

9Shakespeare began his career as an actor and playwright when he moved to London in 1585. Shakespeare returned to Stratford in 1613 and died there three years later.


This is PLAGIARISM.The words are in a different order but too similar.

Shakespeare moved to London in 1585 to begin his career as an actor and playwright. He eventually became part owner in a theater company called Lord Chamberlin’s Men. In 1613, Shakespeare returned to Stratford to retire, and he died there three years later.


When paraphrasing, it’s important to do more than just change a few words. Make the ideas sound like you.

9Shakespeare’s London career lasted almost 30 years. During that time he worked as a playwright and actor and formed an acting troupe called Lord Chamberlin’s Men.


This is a PARAPHRASE.The ideas sound distinctly different from the source.

Shakespeare moved to London in 1585 to begin his career as an actor and playwright. He eventually became part owner in a theater company called Lord Chamberlin’s Men. In 1613, Shakespeare returned to Stratford to retire, and he died there three years later.


Using an author’s ideas without giving credit is another type of plagiarism. It’s like claiming you came up with those ideas on your own.

6Even though not much is known about Shakespeare’s life, he is still one of the world’s most loved writers. “Bardolotry” would be a good way of describing the adulation he still receives to this day.


This is PLAGIARISM.No author is credited for this idea.

There is much speculation about Shakespeare’s life; not many records of his private life exist. Some believe that he did not actually write many of the plays attributed to him, but that theory has never been proved. However, Shakespeare’s fame lives on. George Bernard Shaw called the adulation “bardolotry.”

When you use someone else’s original ideas, even if you paraphrase, you must give credit to the author.


6Even though not much is known about Shakespeare’s life, he is still one of the world’s most loved writers. George Bernard Shaw coined the term “bardolotry” to describe the adulation Shakespeare still receives to this day.

George Bernard Shaw came up with the clever term. Give him credit for his work.

There is much speculation about Shakespeare’s life; not many records of his private life exist. Some believe that he did not actually write many of the plays attributed to him, but that theory has never been proved. However, Shakespeare’s fame lives on. George Bernard Shaw called the adulation “bardolotry.”


Using the exact structure of another’s work is another type of plagiarism.

It’s not acceptable to copy the organization and reasoning of another’s work by just changing the wording and the ideas as you proceed line by line through the content.


Does the introduction to this paper indicate plagiarism or correct use of the source on the left?

This is PLAGIARISM.The writer simply copied the organization of the source.

This paper will outline Shakespeare’s early life, his theatrical career in London, and his later years and death. Then I will discuss his plays, focusing on performances and textual sources, and his poems, focusing on his sonnets. I will discuss his style, influence, and critical reputation, and end with speculation about the authorship of his plays.


Always create your own structure and organization when writing a research paper.

This writer used the information from the source but organized it in her own way.

This paper will focus on speculation about the true authorship of Shakespeare’s plays, taking into account his early life and move to London for a career in theater, as well as the style of his writing.


When you use an author’s words or ideas, use parenthetical citations to give credit to that author.

Put the author’s last name in parentheses at the end of the sentence, before the period.

Such has been Shakespeare’s popularity that it is recognized that he is “not of an age, but for all time” (Jonson).

If the page number of the idea or quotation is available, place that after the author’s last name.

In his Sonnet 66, Shakespeare “is writing about the monotony of the world’s injustice” (Nims 232).


You can incorporate the author’s name smoothly into your sentence.

Nims contends that in his famous Sonnet 130, Shakespeare is “refusing to be taken in by the clichés of second-rate poetry.”

You also can use the author’s name in your sentence and put the page numbers in parentheses as close to the quoted materials as possible.

Shakespeare used stanza patterns in his songs, Bugeja says, “so they resemble measures of music” (168).


Not all information must be cited. Ideas that are considered common knowledge are free from this rule.

A piece of information found in three separate independent sources is considered common knowledge.


In general, well-known facts are common knowledge. Less-known facts, opinions, and original ideas are not common knowledge.

• Shakespeare wrote plays and sonnets.

• Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth are three of his plays.

• He was an actor as well as a playwright.

• His plays were performed at the Globe Theatre.

Common knowledge

• Shakespeare’s father was the “ale taster” of his borough.

• One rumor says Shakespeare fled Stratford-upon-Avon to avoid going to prison for stealing a deer.

• Shakespeare may have been a butcher, schoolmaster, lawyer, or glover before becoming an actor.

Less-known facts or ideas

Conclusion

Sometimes it takes effort to avoid plagiarizing.

It is worth the extra effort, though, to be able to say that your work is your own.

It can take time to make sure you credit your sources by using direct quotations properly, paraphrasing correctly, giving your sources credit for their ideas, and creating your own organization.

Talk About It

Discuss these questions with your classmates.

1. Why do you think some writers end up plagiarizing another’s work unintentionally? What methods have you used in the past to make sure that you don’t unintentionally plagiarize?

2. What should you do to determine whether a fact is common knowledge?

3. What are the repercussions of plagiarism (at school, on the job, as an author)? Why do you think people take plagiarism so seriously?

Your Turn

Use this text from the Wikipedia article on William Shakespeare to complete the activities on the next slide.

Shakespeare's first plays were written in the conventional style of the day. He wrote them in a stylized language that does not always spring naturally from the needs of the characters or the drama. The poetry depends on extended, sometimes elaborate metaphors and conceits, and the language is often rhetorical—written for actors to declaim rather than speak. The grand speeches in Titus Andronicus, in the view of some critics, often hold up the action, for example; and the verse in Two Gentlemen of Verona has been described as stilted.

Then go back and revise what you wrote so that you are crediting your source properly.

Your Turn

Imagine that you are using the source on the previous slide to write a research paper. Write a few paragraphs of your paper while intentionally plagiarizing by:

• quoting directly without using quotation marks

• paraphrasing too closely

• using the source’s ideas without giving credit

• using the source’s organization and reasoning

The End

plagiarism and copyright issues introduction what is plagiarism? identifying plagiarism using...

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plagiarism isnt

william shakespeare

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