How to recognize plagiarism - The art of not being an accidental plagiarist

[Voice-over]
Thursday afternoon. Anna is about to commit a crime.
Anna steals the conclusion to someone else’s paper.
Anna translates a text and doesn’t reveal that it’s a translation.
Anna takes someone else’s idea and says it is her own.
Anna “copies and pastes” without naming her sources.
Anna tells herself that this is all she has time to do.
But in the end, Anna cracks.
No, I can’t do it. That’s not who I am.

[Voice-over]
And you? Can you recognize acts of plagiarism? Beyond, of course, copying and pasting or paraphrasing without citing your sources?
Plagiarism sometimes takes the most insidious forms. It isn’t always the intentional stealing of someone else’s words; it can also be taking someone else’s ideas without even realizing it. That is what is called involuntary plagiarism.

You should therefore be vigilant when you start drafting your paper.

Here are some typical situations that can constitute acts of involuntary plagiarism:

•	Copying a part of a text in its entirety or with a few minor changes without indicating the source and without stating that you are not the author.
•	Reformulating someone else’s sentence in your own words and not providing the source.
•	Translating a sentence without noting that you have translated it or mentioning its source.
•	Inserting images, graphics, etc. into your work without indicating where they came from.

Beyond the traditional types of plagiarism, there are also other situations that might compromise the integrity and validity of your work.

Here are some typical examples:

In your classes, you will often have to work in groups, and it might happen that you find one of your groupmates is being careless. You can tell yourself as much as you want that you’re not responsible for their part of the work, but you should know that all the group members will be held responsible. Face up to your responsibility, raise your classmates’ awareness of the issue, and set an example by how you do your work.

Another classic case involves the temptation to reuse something you’ve already written and present it as original work. When you’re short on time, you might feel the urge to reduce your workload by recycling an old introduction, analysis, and so on. But that is what’s called self-plagiarism.

You will often have to make reference to facts or concepts that are considered common knowledge (for example, that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776). In these cases, there is obviously no need to mention where you found the information.

There is nothing wrong with seeking out advice and guidance as you work on your project. (Although, that being said, you should remain the sole author of your papers.) If you know someone particularly knowledgeable on a subject, ask them for advice on your methodology, for useful references, for tips and so on… And no, do not pay someone to do your work for you.