Plagiarism Examples

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Examples of quotation, paraphrasing and summarizing are provided. Which of the following examples is appropriate? For each example, refer to the following text:

"The most famous exams in medieval monasteries were the Lentine. Each Benedictine monk had to read a specific book during Lent and had to pass an exam on it. The exams eventually became formalized, public affairs. All brothers assembled in the chapter house. The bookkeeper read the name of each monk. When called, one by one, each monk placed the book he read on the carpet. The prior or his designate took the book in hand, and publicly examined the brother on it. If the brother did not pass, he had to reread the book."

- Clark, William. 2006. Academic Charisma and the Origins of the Research University. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 96.


Ex. 01

According to Clark (2006), oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. The most famous exams in medieval monasteries were the Lentine. Each Benedictine monk had to read a specific book during Lent and had to pass an exam on it. All brothers assembled in the chapter house. The bookkeeper read the name of each monk. When called, one by one, each monk placed the book he read on the carpet. The prior or his designate took the book in hand, and publicly examined the brother on it. If the brother did not pass, he had to reread the book. Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.

Is this appropriate?

No

You need quotation marks where the text is copied "word for word.”

Done correctly, the above example would be:

According to Clark (2006), oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. "The most famous exams in medieval monasteries were the Lentine. Each Benedictine monk had to read a specific book during Lent and had to pass an exam on it. All brothers assembled in the chapter house. The bookkeeper read the name of each monk. When called, one by one, each monk placed the book he read on the carpet. The prior or his designate took the book in hand, and publicly examined the brother on it. If the brother did not pass, he had to reread the book." Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.

 

Ex. 02

According to Clark (2006), oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. The Lentine exams were the most well-known exams in medieval monasteries. During Lent, each monk had to read a specific book and pass an exam on it. Once all the monks were assembled in the chapter house, the bookkeeper read their names. When called, each monk placed his book on the carpet. The examiner took the book and examined the monk publicly. The monk had to reread the book, if he did not pass. Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.

Is this appropriate?

No

There is minor paraphrasing but it is too close to the original.

Done correctly, the above example would be:

According to Clark (2006), oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. The Lentine exams were “the most [well-known] exams in medieval monasteries.” During Lent, “each monk had to read a specific book” and “pass an exam on it.” Once all the monks were “assembled in the chapter house[,, t]he bookkeeper read [their] name[s].When called,each monk placed [his] bookon the carpet.” The examiner “took the book … and publicly examined the [monk]If the [monk] did not pass, he had to reread the book.” Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.

 

Ex. 03

Oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. For example, one can trace the tradition of oral exams back to medieval monasteries where the well-known Lentine exams were held. Over the period of Lent, monks were required to read a book. At the time of the examination, all the monks gathered and were examined orally in front of their peers. Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.

Is this appropriate?

No

This is a good summary but has no reference.

 

Ex. 04

Oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. For example, according to Clark (2006), one can trace the tradition of oral exams back to medieval monasteries where the well-known Lentine exams were held. Over the period of Lent, monks were required to read a book. At the time of the examination, all the monks gathered and were examined orally in front of their peers. Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.

Is this appropriate?

Yes

This is a good summary and has a reference.

 

Ex. 05

Canada extends from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. It covers 9,984,670 square kilometres (3,854,085 sq. mi.). Its population is 35,158,304  (2013 estimate).

Is this appropriate?

No

Since this information is beyond common knowledge — except for the "ocean to ocean" part — this must be cited, even if used for a PowerPoint® presentation.

Done correctly, the above example would include official government data sources such as Citizenship and Immigration Canada for the area and Statistics Canada for the population:

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, http://www.cic.gc.ca/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/before-land.asp [30 September 2013].

Statistics Canada, www.statcan.gc.ca, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/start-debut-eng.html [30 September 2013].

Many instructors would not accept a source such as:

Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada [21 November 2008].

 

Ex. 06

Montreal is situated on the St. Lawrence River in the province of Quebec. It is known for its multicultural population and vibrant nightlife as well as for its long winters and summer festivals.

Is this appropriate?

Yes

This is an example of common knowledge.

 

 

 

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