Unit 2: Plagiarism

1. Last summer, my family and I traveled to Chicago, which was quite different from the rural area I grew up in. We saw the dinosaur Sue at the Field Museum, and ate pizza at Gino's East. 

This is not an example of plagiarism; the writer is simply explaining where she traveled with her family and where she visited in Chicago.

2. Americans want to create a more perfect union; they also want to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for everybody.

This is an example of plagiarism, because it is not the writers own words and ideas, but taken from the constitution and therefore needs to be cited using MLA or another citation depending on where it was taken from.

3. I find it ridiculous that 57% of high school students think their teachers assign too much homework.

Although the student seems to be voicing her own opinion in this sentence, she is also using a statistic and therefore she needs to cite it.

4. Martin Luther King was certain that nobody would want to be contented with a surfacy type of social analysis that concerns itself only with effects and doesn't deal with root causes.

The student needs to cite this sentence, because he/ she seem to be summarizing Martin Luther King’s opinion and direct words from the letter to Birmingham jail. Contented and social analysis should each have quotes.

5. Martin Luther King wrote that the city of Birmingham's "white power structure" left African- 

 Americans there "no alternative" but to demonstrate ("Letter from the Birmingham Jail" para. 5).

In this example, the student has cited the information correctly. The author and source are included and so is the direct paragraph number.

6. In "Letter from the Birmingham Jail," King writes to fellow clergy saying that although they "deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham, your statement fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations."

In this example, the student cited the sentence correctly, because the author and source are included in the sentence.

7. My friend Kara told me that she loves living so close to the ocean.

This sentence does not need to be cited, because it is merely explaining how the friend feels about the ocean, it is a general opinion and her name is already stated anyway.

8. Americans are guaranteed the right to freely gather for peaceful meetings.

This sentence is not an example of general information, but taken from the bill of rights. Although it is not written word for word, it is still not the writer’s own opinion or information. 

 

                I have learned that plagiarism is a serious offense and is not taken lightly. I realize how easy it can be to plagiarize easily by mistake, such as summarizing a work by rearranging words the author used or simply taking few of the authors own words. I realize how detrimental plagiarism can be and understand why everyone should be educated on the topic. Looking back on previous papers I’ve written I can honestly say I committed plagiarism simply by mistake. I know that while summarizing an author’s factual point of view I had taken some of his/ her own words directly into my writing and did not cite the information. I know now to watch closely for plagiarism in my papers and make sure I am writing in my own words or am using general information when I do not cite and to cite anything that is not my own. I plan to utilize sources that can help me with citing information if I am unsure on how to cite the sources I use.