This document discusses 10 scenarios related to plagiarism and determining what constitutes plagiarized content. For each scenario, there are two responses - one agreeing and one disagreeing that the scenario involves plagiarism. The document provides guidance on when citations and references are needed, such as when directly quoting, paraphrasing others' ideas, or using images and charts from sources. It also discusses what can be considered common knowledge not needing citations. Overall, the document aims to help readers understand what types of content use from other sources requires citations and references to avoid plagiarizing.

1. SCENARIO ONE
Agree
Disagree
It’s not plagiarism to cut and
paste a quote into the paper,
as long as you put quotation
marks around it.

2. SCENARIO ONE
Agree
Disagree
Whenever you quote text,
you must provide a source.

3. SCENARIO THREE
Agree
Disagree
I wrote a paper for a
marketing class that has a
lot of synergy with the
current class I’m taking. So,
I took a most of that paper
and added some new ideas
to it for a current class. Is
that considered plagiarism?

4. SCENARIO THREE
Agree
Disagree
Every professor expects original
work in every class from you.
Using work completed for a
different professor in a different
class technically may not be
plagiarism, but it is ethically
dishonest, and if your professor
finds out, s/he could fail you.
Using a small portion of a
previously written paper could be
acceptable, but be sure to include
it, and other related sources, in
your citations.

5. SCENARIO FOUR
Agree
Disagree
I’m careful not to plagiarize
when I write a paper. I
always paraphrase what
someone says, putting it into
my own words. That way, I
don’t have to provide a
citation.

6. SCENARIO FOUR
Agree
Disagree
This is a very common
mistake students make. But, if
you are using someone else’s
ideas, even if you have
paraphrased them, you must
provide the source for those
ideas. Also, when
paraphrasing, make sure you
are being accurate, and not
misrepresenting what was
stated in your source.

7. SCENARIO FIVE
Agree
Disagree
I scanned a chart from my
textbook into my paper. I
didn’t have to cite it,
because it’s in our textbook
and we covered it in class.

8. SCENARIO FIVE
Agree
Disagree
Using materials from
anywhere requires a
citation. Don’t assume that
because your professor is
familiar with your textbook,
that a citation isn’t needed.

9. SCENARIO SIX
Agree
Disagree
I wrote a paper tracing the
market value of a particular
company stock for the past
year. I didn’t have to cite it
because it’s all common
knowledge that’s available
in newspapers and online
sources and journals.

10. SCENARIO SIX
Agree
Disagree
The area of common knowledge can be
tricky. For instance, it is common
knowledge that Charles Lindburgh made
the first successful cross Atlantic Ocean
flight, or that George Washington was the
first U.S. president. A citation would not
be necessary in that instance.
However, other information, such as
stock quotes, which are variable and ever
changing, would need a citation. When
thinking about whether something is
common knowledge, imagine tapping
someone on the shoulder and asking
them the question. If you’re sure they
would know the answer, then it’s
probably common knowledge.

11. SCENARIO SEVEN
Agree
Disagree
I surfed the Internet until I
found an idea for my paper.
When I did, I didn’t use any
of the information I found on
any of the sites, so I didn’t
have to cite it as a source.

12. SCENARIO SEVEN
Agree
Disagree
Correct. You used the entire
Internet as your source as you
searched for ideas. And, you
didn’t use anything directly
from any particular Web site.
Think of it as doing a similar
search in a library – browsing
the books on the shelves for a
topic. In that instance, you
would not cite a specific
source, either.

13. SCENARIO EIGHT
Agree
Disagree
I copied some passages
directly from a journal I
found online. I used
quotation marks, cited the
passages I used in the text,
and included the complete
citation information in my
Bibliography, so I did not
plagiarize.

14. SCENARIO EIGHT
Agree
Disagree
This is the correct way to
treat material taken from
other sources, either as
direct quotes, or
paraphrased.

15. SCENARIO NINE
Agree
Disagree
I took a photo from the
Creative Commons Web
site for use in my paper. I
didn’t have to cite the
source because Creative
Commons is one of those
sites that posts photos for
free.

16. SCENARIO NINE
Agree
Disagree
Creative Commons is a free
repository of photos and
images; however, the artists
submitting the images still
expect their images to be
cited. Other image sources,
such as Flickr and Google
Photos, may charge for many
of their images, as well as
require citations. Just because
something is free doesn’t
mean it doesn’t require a
citation.

17. SCENARIO TEN
Agree
Disagree
If I’m not sure about whether
or not something constitutes
plagiarism, it’s a good idea
to run it by a fellow
classmate. Usually, we can
figure it out together.

18. SCENARIO TEN
Agree
Disagree
There are a number of
sources you can consult to
determine if you are
plagiarizing, including the
sources included at the end
of this presentation. You can
also discuss it with your
professor.

19. PLAGIARISM
Additional
Resources
 WCSU Library Guide:
http://libguides.wcsu.edu/plagiarism
 Plagiarism: Overview and
Contradictions, Purdue University,
Online Writing Lab (OWL)
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01
/
 YouTube: Grammar Bytes!
Presents: Plagiarism: Avoid
Academic Theft for Research
Success
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUSaQ5-mDRI

20. SOURCES
 Video by Bainbridge College, available through
YouTube,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q0NlWcTq1Y
 Avoiding Plagiarism, LibGuides at Mississippi
College, Leland Library,
http://mc.libguides.com/c.php?g=39008&p=247922
 Plagiarism Quiz, Grand Canyon University,
http://www.gcu.edu/Academics/Academic-
Integrity/Plagiarism-Quiz.php