PLAGIARISM_THE BASICS FOR UNDERGRAD STUDENTS

Plagiarism:
undergraduate
studies Compiled and written
by Beschara Karam
Open Rubric

1 WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
This is the use of other people’s ideas or images without
acknowledging them (in other words, passing off their ideas or
images, as your own). This amounts to cheating, and is in effect
stealing. In academic writing, referencing (in-text and in your
SOURCES CONSULTED / LIST OF SOURCES /
REFERENCES / BIBLIOGRAPHY) is used in order to
acknowledge the ideas of others.

It is an established academic norm that when writing, all
information, theories, ideas, facts, statistics and direct quotations
taken from other sources must be acknowledged. This is done
by using a standardised method of referencing.
The purpose of this powerpoint is to promote the uniformity and
consistency of such a method of referencing in academic writing.
Researching the chosen reference method (such as the Harvard
Method) will assist you with HOW to reference, while this
powerpoint assists you with understanding WHY you must
reference.

1.1 Intellectual theft
Very simply put: it is the stealing of someone else’s:
• Theories
• Concepts
• Images
• Graphs
• Photographs
• Ideas
• Text,
AND presenting them as if they are your own.

1.2 Questions to ask yourself
• How would you feel if you spent 5 years writing a book and
trying to get it published and then someone else takes your
ideas as their own, without even giving you credit?
• What if you spent two years making a film, only to have
someone else claim the film as their own?
• What if you spent 3 years of your doctorate studies creating
and conceptualising a brand new module in Organisational
Communication, only to have another student or academic
state that it is their creation?

1.3 Trembling at the word
“plagiarism”
• It seems as though everyone knows that to be called a
plagiarist is a very serious accusation, almost as bad as being
called a murderer. Despite this, even though the very word
creates fear and trembling when heard, very few students and
academics know what it is.
• The majority of individuals plagiarise unintentionally, because
they do not understand the concept; while others plagiarise
because they are academically lazy. Plagiarism is easier than
trying to capture what someone else is theorising about, and to
put it into your own words.
• Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism is a breach of
ethical integrity.

Despite the seriousness of plagiarism, very few universities
teach it, and yet we all expect everyone to know what it is.
This powerpoint presentation will define the term and explain
exactly what it means.
It will also discuss how many different types of plagiarism
there are, and guide you on how to avoid it.

2 TWO TYPES OF PLAGIARISM
There are basically two ways to plagiarise:
2.1 IN YOUR TEXT
AND
2. 2 IN YOUR REFERENCES (sometimes called a
“bibliography”; “list of sources” or “sources consulted”.

2.1 IN THE TEXT
In the text plagiarism can include:
2.1.1 Direct quotations
Direct quotations without
• double quotation marks
• the author/s name/s
• the year
• page numbers (if applicable: the internet is referenced
differently, please consult the referencing method you are
using).

2.1.2 Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing without
• double quotation marks
• the author/s name/s
• the year
• page numbers (if applicable: the internet is referenced
differently)
2.1.3 Manipulation of text
Manipulating or twisting the original text to suit your own
argument, is also considered a form of plagiarism.

2.1.4 Figures, photographs, images, screenshots
Figures, photographs, images, screenshots without the
• photographer/s name/s
• director/s name/s
• author/s name/s
• year
• correct page numbers (if applicable: the Internet is
referenced differently).

2.2 IN YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY
Plagiarism in your BIBLIOGRAPHY can be any one of the
following
• If the source appears in your text but not in your
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• If there is no:
❖ Author/s
❖ Director/s
❖ Photographer/s
❖ Publication date
❖ Publisher
❖ Country of publication
❖ Internet site
❖ Journal name
❖ Date when accessed (for Internet sites)

The general rule should be: if in doubt, reference.
A highly recommended strategy used by academics to avoid
plagiarism is paraphrasing; however, if done incorrectly, it can
count as plagiarism.
This powerpoint will assist you with the correct way to
paraphrase, and when done correctly, it does not count as
plagiarism.

The University of South Africa’s assessment policy
describes plagiarism thus:
“5.4 Plagiarism
Types of plagiarism, amongst others:
• Cheating / fraud
• Paraphrasing
• Summary without acknowledging the source.
• Patch writing
• Cut and paste methods and non-attribution of sources.
• Self-plagiarism without appropriate references of
acknowledgements” (UNISA 2013:211).
This is a brief, but apt summary, of the different types of
plagiarism.

In fact, if you use any four
words in a row directly
from a text, it is plagiarism.

ANY
• IMAGE,
• TEXT
• PHOTOGRAPH,
• SCREEN SHOT,
• TABLE, OR
• FIGURES
WITHOUT A REFERENCE, IN-TEXT
AND/OR IN YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY, IS
PLAGIARISM.

3 DEFINING PLAGIARISM
“Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else’s work,
including the work of other students, as one’s own. Any ideas
or materials taken from another source, for either written or
oral use, must be fully acknowledged unless the information
is common knowledge. What is considered common
knowledge may differ from course to course” (How to
recognize plagiarism … 2014).

3.1 Common knowledge?
“The criteria most commonly used in deciding whether or not
something is common knowledge relate to quantity: the fact
can be found in numerous places and ubiquity: it is likely to be
known by a lot of people” (Thompson 2008).
Common knowledge It might even differ from country to country.

For example, it is common knowledge that Nelson Mandela
was imprisoned on Robben Island and then became the first
elected president after the apartheid era in South Africa. Most
people in South Africa and the rest of the world know this fact.
It is common knowledge widely published by radio, television
channels, newspapers, magazines—not only in South Africa,
but also worldwide.
Another example of common knowledge: South Africa was a
non-democratic country that practiced apartheid, and the first
democratic elections were in 1994.

Different authors have different definitions for what is meant by
“common knowledge”. One such definition is that common
knowledge is information that is so well known that it can be
found in numerous sources and does not have to be referenced
(University of Southern Alabama … 2015).

3.2 Why should you be concerned about
plagiarism?
• Plagiarism is a dishonest practice, because the
work of others is misrepresented as that of your
own.
• By committing plagiarism you are cheating yourself,
because you do not learn anything by doing so.
• “Plagiarism devalues the original work of others.
Submitting a professional writer’s work as your
own is taking an unfair advantage over students
who do their own work” (Avoiding plagiarism …
2005).

3.3 The consequences of plagiarism
• As said before, plagiarism is a serious offence. You should
take pride in your work, while also respecting the efforts and
achievements of others. Under no circumstances does ANY
University condone academic vandalism.
• ALL UNIVERSITIES have policies on copyright
infringement, which may also be found in the Calendar or
online.

As a student you are expected to familiarise yourself with this
“code of conduct” and/or Plagiarism policy. If you have not yet
done so, make a note to read it before completing any of your
assignments.

• A strategy to prevent plagiarism is to own an excellent
dictionary or go to an online site, such as:
Oxford English Dictionary at: www.oed.com/
Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus at:
www.merriam-webster.com/
Writing theories, concepts, and the ideas of others into your own
words is a very difficult skill, but it can be learnt, although it takes
practice. One of the most important things about this skill:
making sure you do not unintentionally copy directly from the
text. Use the dictionary to find suitable substitute words that
mean the same.

4 TYPES OF PLAGIARISM
To reiterate:
it is considered plagiarism when copying directly from a text or a
source (for example, books, the Internet, photographs and
advertisements):
• without providing a list of sources consulted and without
acknowledging someone else’s ideas in your writing;
• providing a list of sources consulted but without acknowledging
the use of someone else’s ideas in the body of your writing (in
the text) itself;
• providing a list of sources consulted and acknowledging the use
of someone else’s ideas in your writing but without providing the
necessary inverted commas to show that the idea used is a
direct quotation; and
• not including all the references used within your text in the list of
BIBLIOGRAPHY.

5 DIRECT QUOTATIONS
What is a direct quotation?
A direct quotation is when an author, in this case a student,
rewrites the words of the original author exactly as they appear
in the source material.

If and when you use quotations you need to:
• “integrate them into your text and argument
• source them correctly
• make sure they do not, in any way, detract from the flow of
your logic or argument
• always contextualise the quote you select

• select quotations that either dispute an author/argument or
relate to an unknown fact
• explain the quote further in your own words
• never make use of quotations to support your argument as
stand-alone quotations
• most importantly, argue the relevance of your quote to your
study and current argument” (MDCOMALL 2016).

6 PARAPHRASING
Paraphrasing entails using someone else’s ideas and putting
them into your own words. This is acceptable, BUT when doing
so you still have to acknowledge the source you used to get this
information. This is a very good way of avoiding being accused
of plagiarism. When paraphrasing, it is not good enough to just
simply change a few words from the source. You need to read
the content, understand it and interpret it yourself. You then
write down this interpretation in your own words (Roig 2006)
• For example …

The passage as it appears in the
original source
“From the start, postmodernist thought has challenged
modernist notions of order, particularly the notion that a
particular social order is natural and right. In contrast to
modernist thought, postmodernists maintain that reality is
unordered and unorderly” (Wood 2004:289).
*** (Please note that this section has been adapted from the CMNALLE/303/2008, which is
currently out of print; and the MDCOMALL Tutorial letter prescribed for M & D students,
Unisa, Department of Communication Science,: see SOURCES CONSULTED at the end of
presentation).

The passage in a plagiarised
form
Postmodernist thinking challenges modernist notions that a
particular social order constitutes acceptable social practices.
Postmodernism opposes modernist thinking by stating that
reality is unordered and un-orderly.
Why is this considered to be plagiarism?

• only a few changes were made to the copied text
• there are no quotation marks where direct quotations were
taken from the text, and
• the author has not been acknowledged
• there is no page number
• there is no year.

This student would be penalised for having plagiarized.
THIS COULD HAVE BEEN YOU had you not read this
powerpoint presentation
Also remember, when using another person’s work to
support our own, “we must reproduce the exact meaning of
the author’s ideas or facts using our own words and
sentence structures” when paraphrasing (Roig 2006).
In other words, do not MANIPULATE their meaning to
support your argument. This is more tempting than you might
realise, but rather spend more time looking for an ideal quote
or theory to support your own.

A correct example of
paraphrasing:
The postmodern mind-set defines society as consisting of
multiple realities, as opposed to being controlled by a stipulated
social context. This is opposed to modernist thinking which
states “that reality is unordered or unorderly [sic]” (Wood
2004:89).
Why is this considered the correct way to paraphrase?

Because the:
• Text was interpreted by the student
• The student put the content in his/her own words,
• He/she then supported the interpretation with a direct
quotation,
• The direct quotation was referenced correctly.
The first sentence of the paragraph has been paraphrased.
And …

thereafter quotation marks have been used to illustrate to the
reader that the student is quoting directly from the text.
Paraphrasing adds something of your own to the writing – your
perspective, your point of view, and your understanding.

It is absolutely essential that when paraphrasing and using
direct quotations you credit the author in the text by placing
the author’s surname, the date of publication and the page
number of the source where the information came from in
brackets at the end of the sentence.

For full instructions on how to REFERENCE properly, see the
different websites or different library documents on how to
reference in your bibliography (and in-text). There are many
different types of referencing methods, as Harvard Method or
the Abridged Harvard Method (find out from your lecturers what
is expected of you).
Generally it is:
Author’s surname comma initial full stop date of publication full
stop Title of book full stop Place of publication colon Publisher’s
name full stop.
OR
Nelmes, J. 2013. Film Studies: an introduction. London:
Routledge.
There are different ways to reference different texts, such as
internet sources, but online sources dealing with referencing
methods will explain and give examples.

Consider this essential tip: It is always easier to paraphrase if
you have a “thorough understanding of the ideas and
terminology” referred to (Roig 2006).
Remember, when paraphrasing you are really adding your
perspective or point of view to the writing. This results in
your own understanding of the passage, which has to be
written in your own words. If your sentence is a simple one
but clearly explains what the author intended, then you have
paraphrased properly!

7 OTHER EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM
7.1 Your friends
Copying from someone else forms the basis of all acts of
plagiarism, and that goes for you and your friends as well.
Unless your lecturer specifically stated that you may work in
groups, no two people are allowed to hand in the same
assignment (yes, even if you did change around the words –
see the section on paraphrasing), because that is plagiarism.

7.2 Yourself
If you have published before, you have to reference yourself.
This is more common after you start a Masters dissertation or a
Doctoral thesis. Even if you want to use your own work for your
doctorate from your own MA dissertation, you have to reference
yourself (whatever University you did your studies through
owns the copyright of that work). This applies mainly to
published or completed studies.

8 CONCRETE EXAMPLES
8.1 Example 1
Consider the following passage as it appears in the original
source
“Of course, the body communicates even without movement.
For example, others may form impressions of you from your
general body build, from your height and weight, and from your
skin, eye, and hair colour” (DeVito 2001:196).

The plagiarised version:
Communication need not always be verbal. Your general
body build, the colour of your skin, eyes and hair all allow
others to form impressions of you.
Again, this is INCORRECT because this has no source
whatsoever.

The CORRECT version #1
Communication need not always be verbal. Your general body
build, the colour of your skin, eyes and hair all allow others to
form impressions of you (DeVito 2001:196).

OR the CORRECT version #2
According to DeVito (2001:196), communication need
not always be verbal, because your general body
build, the colour of your skin, eyes and hair all allow
others to form impressions of you.
In your SOURCES CONSULTED/BIBLIOGRAPHY:
DeVito, JA. 2001. The interpersonal communication
book. 9th edition. New York: Longman.

8.2 Editor vs author
The incorrect version
“The purpose of the literature review is often overlooked; its
prime purpose is to help us construct a framework in which we
can then conduct our research in order to resolve the problem”
(Fourie 2009:13).
Why is this incorrect?

At first glance this looks correct because there are:
• Double quotation marks
• An author’s name
• A date
• And a page number
So why is this quotation incorrect? …..

Because I have used the editor as the reference, Fourie and
not the author, who is Wigston.
The correct version is therefore:
“The purpose of the literature review is often overlooked; its
prime purpose is to help us construct a framework in which we
can then conduct our research in order to resolve the problem”
(Wigston 2009:13).

In a compilation book, always differentiate between the editor
and the authors of the different chapters.
It gets tricky when the editor also writes some of the chapters.
Fourie, for example is the editor of the book: Media studies.
Media content and media audiences. But he is also the
author of the chapter entitled “Communication and media
semiotics”.
Please consult the Harvard Method (or whichever method you
are using) on how to reference authors and editors correctly.

9 HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM
Now that you know what plagiarism is, you now need to know
how to avoid it. Remember you cannot simply write an essay
that comprises of one quotation after another. Anyone can
copy type from a study guide or text book. You need to learn
to put theory and ideas into you own words.

• Check to see who the author/s are (is it different from the
editor of the book?)
• Read the chapter/s
• Highlight the important sections
• Summarise the work
• Then summarise the work again. Try to do this without
looking at the book/chapter.
• Plan your time carefully: summarising work is time
consuming.
• Reference each paragraph in-text.

• Select a few important quotations that strengthen your essay,
insert them into your summaries. Cite/reference them in-text
properly.
• Insert your own examples and own analysis into your work
• Explain the theory and your examples and your analysis
• Create your own headings and sub-headings (which should
describe the next paragraphs)
• Write a clear introduction and conclusion.

At the end of your assignment/portfolio have a check list:
• Is every paragraph referenced?
• Have you referenced your theory in-text correctly?
• Do the sources in-text appear in your BIBLIOGRAPHY?
• Have you sourced all films, television programmes, figures,
tables, statistics and images (advertisements and
photographs) in-text?
• Do they appear in your BIBLIOGRAPHY?
• Does your BIBLIOGRAPHY have everything included: from
your study guide, book and book chapters, and films and
photographs?

10 FAMOUS EXAMPLES OF
PLAGIARISM
10.1 Stephen Glass
Stephen Glass plagiarised as a journalist for the Rolling Stone
magazine and the newspaper, The New Republic (Bissenger
2007).
The case was so shocking that a film was even made about his
plagiarism called Shattered Glass (Ray 2003).

10.2 Singer 50 Cent vs famous writer Chinua
Achebe
50 Cent was threatened with a lawsuit by famous Nigerian
author, Chinua Achebe, when the author discovered that 50
Cent wanted to call his film Things Fall apart. This is the same
title as Achebe’s book, written in 1958.
Achebe was offered $1 million to use the title; but he declined
(Famed Nigerian Author … 2011).

10.3 Mike Tyson’s facial tattoo vs The Hangover
Part II
The tattoo artist who created Mike Tyson’s facial tattoo, Mr S.
Victor Whitmill, brought a legal restraint against film distributor
Warner Brothers and the release of the film The Hangover Part
II because one of the central characters has a tattoo on his
face that is directly copied from the tattoo on the face of Mike
Tyson. The case was settled out of court but had it gone to
court, it would stopped the distribution of the film and even the
advertising of the film as the character with the offending tattoo
appeared in all of the advertising posters and screen shots
(Cohen 2011).

10.4 Scientist J. Hendrik Schön
This scientist was fired from his job at Bell Labs after it was
discovered that he had falsified research and manipulated data
(Chang 2004). The University of Konstanz in Germany then
rescinded the scientist’s PhD.
10.5 Led Zeppelin’s song Stairway to Heaven vs
Randy California’s Taurus
Led Zeppelin’s song is currently in the second round of a legal
battle, because it is claimed that the late singer and composer
Randy California wrote a song called Taurus and apparently
Stairway from Heaven is copied from there (Sands 2015).

10.6 Germany’s Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu
Guttenberg resigned his position
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg resigned his position as
Germany’s Defence Minister in 2011 amidst rumours he had
plagiarised. He then admitted to copiously copying from many
different sources. The University of Bayreuth then rescinded
zu Guttenberg’s doctorate after he resigned. He was labelled in
the media as “the minister for cut-and-paste” and “Baron zu
Googleberg” (Pidd 2011).

10.7 Self plagiarism and Jonah Lehrer
Jonah Lehrer was accused of self-plagiarism when he recycled
some of his previous news writing whilst writing for his new job
at The New Yorker. According to Jacob Silverman, Lehrer had
used previous, published, writing from the Wall Street Journal
on New Yorker.com (2012).
The news site offered an apology for this grievous misconduct.

SOURCES CONSULTED
Avoiding plagiarism. 2005. [O]. Available:
https://www.csuchico.edu/sjd/_assets/docs/integrity/Avoiding%20Plagiarism
.pdf
Accessed on 2016/03/04
Bissenger, B. 2007. Shattered glass. [O]. Available:
http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1998/09/bissinger199809
Chang, K. 2004. Researcher loses Ph.D over discredited papers. [O].
Available:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/15/science/researcher-loses-phd-over-
discredited-papers.html?ref=topics&_r=0
Cohen, N. 2011. On Tyson’s face, it’s art. On film, a legal issue. [O].
Available:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/business/media/21tattoo.html?_r=0

DeVito, JA. 2001. The interpersonal communication book. 9th edition. New
York: Longman.
Famed Nigerian author wins legal battle against 50 Cent. 2011. BET. [O].
Available:
http://www.bet.com/news/music/2011/09/14/famed-nigerian-author-wins-suit-
against-50-cent.html
Fourie, PJ (ed). 2009. Media studies. Media content and media audiences.
Cape Town: JUTA.
Indiana University Bloomington. 2014a. How to recognize plagiarism.
Definition of plagiarism. [O]. Available:
https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/definition.html

Indiana University Bloomington. 2014b. Plagiarism: what it is and how to
recognize and avoid it. [O]. Available:
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
Pidd, H. 2011. German defence minister resigns in PhD plagiarism row.
[O]. Available:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/01/german-defence-minister-
resigns-plagiarism
Ray, B. 2003. Shattered Glass. [Film]. Lionsgate.
Roig, MR. 2006. Avoiding plagiarism, self plagiarism, and other
questionable writing practices: a guide to ethical writing. [O]. Available:
http://www.cse.msu.edu/~alexliu/plagiarism.pdf

Sands, D. 2015. “Stairway to Heaven” plagiarism suit moves forward. [O].
Available:
http://forbassplayersonly.com/stairway-to-heaven-plagiarism-suit-moves-
forward/
Shepard, E. 2015. Plagiarism. [O]. Available:
http://libguides.southalabama.edu/c.php?g=171661&p=1131872
University of Southern Alabama. 2015. Tips to avoid plagiarism. [O].
Available:
http://www.flagler.edu/library/polaris/mod6/06-tips-plag.html
Silverman, J 2012. Jonah Lehrer’s ‘Self-Plagiarism’ scandal rocks “The
New Yorker”. [O]. Available:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/20/jonah-lehrer-s-self-
plagiarism-scandal-rocks-the-new-yorker.html

Thompson, S. 2008. How to avoid plagiarism: Plagiarism prevention for
students. [O]. Available:
http://library.csusm.edu/plagiarism/howtoavoid/how_avoid_common.htm
University of South Africa. Department of Communication Science. 2008.
Plagiarism and referencing: tutorial letter CMNALLE/303/2008. Pretoria:
Unisa. OUT OF PRINT
University of South Africa. Department of Communication Science. 2016.
Guidelines and procedures for master’s and doctoral students MDCOMAL
301/0/2016. Pretoria: Unisa.

University of South Africa. 2005. Policy for copyright infringement and
plagiarism. [O]. Available:
http://www.unisa.ac.za/contents/colleges/col_grad_studies/docs/Policy_co
pyright_infringement_plagiarism_16November2005.pdf
University of South Africa. 2008. Calendar Part 8 Vudec/Unisa. [O].
Available: http://www.unisa.ac.za
University of South Africa. 2013. Code of conduct. [O]. Available:
http://www.unisa.ac.za
University of south Africa. 2016. Library: FAQ. What is plagiarism? [O].
Available:
http://www.unisa.ac.za/Default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=15912

Wigston, D. 2009. Quantitative content analysis, in Media studies. Media
content and media audiences, edited by PJ Fourie. Cape Town: JUTA:
3-39.
Williams, BT. 2007/2008. Trust, betrayal and authorship: Plagiarism and how
we perceive students. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 51(4):350-354.
[O]. Available: http://0-
www.jstor.org.oasis.unisa.ac.za/stable/pdf/40026886.pdf?acceptTC=true
(Please note that this article can only be accessed through the Unisa library e-
Resources)
WIPO. What is intellectual property? 2016. [O]. Available:
http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/

Wood, JT. 2004. Communication theories in action. An introduction. 3rd
edition. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
If you want to reference this powerpoint, please reference it this way:
Karam, B. 2016. Plagiarism: undergraduate. Pretoria: Unisa: unpublished
powerpoint presentation.

I got this powerpoint template off of a website called
SmileTemplate, for free. As part of their fair share, I agreed
to their terms which was to provide the following link:
href="http://www.smiletemplates.com/powerpoint-
templates/green-abstraction/02525/">Green Abstraction
PowerPoint Template</
Accessed 2016/03/01
A huge SHOUT TO THEM FOR THEIR AWESOME
TEMPLATES AND FOR SHARING
The End ☺
Beschara Karam, 2016

PLAGIARISM_THE BASICS FOR UNDERGRAD STUDENTS

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