Plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, can take many forms. Identifying the most common types of plagiarism will help to combat this practice, which can be heavily punished.
In this article, we will explore the different types of plagiarism with clear explanations and examples, helping you fully understand these concepts.
Summary:
Translating a text into a foreign language and not quoting the source: that's plagiarism.
Respect for copyright does not stop at the text's original language. Whether it's the original or a translated version, quoting the source remains obligatory and guarantees ethics and loyalty to the author.
Here is an example from the French Intellectual Property Code regarding copyright law:
Any representation or reproduction in whole or in part without the consent of the author or his successors in title or assigns is unlawful. The same applies to translation, adaptation or transformation, arrangement or reproduction by any art or process whatsoever. (Art. L. 122-4)
Example of translation as a type of plagiarism:
A student writes his dissertation in English, but wishes to quote passages by French authors to support his arguments. To respect the language of his thesis, he translates each passage into English. Translating without citing the French author's source, even for linguistic reasons, is contrary to academic ethics.
Paraphrasing is taking an author's ideas and rephrasing them in your own words. Paraphrasing is a way of adapting, explaining or clarifying an idea, but it is not a new idea. To avoid appropriating an idea that does not belong to us, it is essential to quote the original author. Even if it's not an exact quotation and you've made modifications to the author's original idea, you must indicate the source to avoid plagiarism.
Example of paraphrasing as a type of plagiarism:
Original text: Albert Einstein said: “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its life believing it is stupid.”
Paraphrase: According to Albert Einstein, everyone has unique talents, but evaluating a person based on criteria that don't match them can lead them to underestimate themselves.
Not citing the source of one's own work is also considered plagiarism. This is called self-plagiarism. Here, no harm is done to the work of others, yet self-plagiarism violates the rules of academic integrity. Indeed, reusing one's own ideas, or part of a previous work, must be cited in order to respect ethics. Failure to do so can distort the assessment of the effort made, which can notably be wrongly rewarded several times over.
Example of self-plagiarism case:
In the context of a scientific article, a student decides to use his previous work from a research paper he wrote for his Master's degree. If the student does not cite his or her previous dissertation as a reference, this is considered self-plagiarism and is contrary to the rule of academic integrity.
Images and other visual elements are particularly vulnerable to plagiarism. In fact, images, graphics and videos are often used in oral presentations and slide shows. Here again, copyright must be respected, and the source must be cited briefly or mentioned in a mediagraphy.
Example of images use as a type of plagiarism:
A student presents his internship report via a slide show, highlighting visuals of the company taken from its website. These images are protected by copyright. Without citing the source, the student appropriates elements that do not belong to him/her and is guilty of plagiarism.
An abyssal quotation or quotation in abyss represents a quotation from an author who in turn quotes another source. In this case, there are two types of source: the primary source and the secondary source. Failure to cite one of these two sources constitutes a breach of copyright and is a form of plagiarism which may be punished.
Example of quotation in abyss as a type of plagiarism:
A student writes in his assignment: “Man is condemned to be free” (Sartre, 1943).
In this example, the student only quotes Sartre, but he actually found this idea in an analysis by Jean-Paul Martin in his book Comprendre la philosophie de Sartre. The student has not cited the secondary source (Martin), which constitutes plagiarism for the following reasons:
Facts of public notoriety are information widely known and shared by a majority, such as historical events or objective facts. In this case, citations are not mandatory. However, it can be difficult to determine the notion of public notoriety or common knowledge, depending on the subject, the culture or the knowledge of each party. The situation can quickly become ambiguous, and you could find yourself in a situation of unintentional plagiarism. As a precaution, it is advisable to quote the source to avoid sanctions.
Example of common knowledge as a type of plagiarism:
Martin Luther King's world-famous phrase “I have a dream” is common knowledge. However, one might have doubts about a sentence such as: “Newton's research has shown that light is made up of particles and waves”. These facts are not necessarily common knowledge.
An anonymous source, i.e. one that is not known, is just as important and should be cited. To avoid accusations of plagiarism, or even worse, punishment of plagiarism, it is essential to indicate the anonymous source correctly. When a source is anonymous, the author's name is replaced by “Anonymous” in citations, and the same citation standards apply as for an identified source. This makes it possible to indicate that the quotation comes from an unknown author, while respecting the rules of referencing.
Example:
Anonymous (1789). Proverbes historiques. Edition unknown
In addition to the well-known types of plagiarism, several other forms are frequently encountered in both academic and professional settings.
Also known as patchwork plagiarism, this happens when a writer takes phrases, sentences, or ideas from multiple sources and integrates them into their own work without proper attribution. Even if some words are changed, the structure and meaning remain copied.
Example: A student writes an essay by copying sentences from multiple research articles, slightly modifying some words but keeping the original structure, and does not cite the sources.
Also known as global plagiarism, this is the most blatant form of plagiarism, where an individual submits someone else’s work in its entirety as their own. This could involve copying a full research paper, article, or book without giving any credit to the original author.
Example: A student downloads a complete thesis from an online source, replaces the original name with their own, and submits it as their own work.
This type occurs when a person directly copies a portion of text word for word without quotation marks or proper citation. Even if only a few sentences are copied verbatim, failing to acknowledge the original source constitutes plagiarism.
Example: A journalist includes entire paragraphs from a published news article in their report without quoting the original source, making it appear as their own writing.
In this article, we've explored several types of plagiarism, including translation, paraphrasing, self-plagiarism, and complete plagiarism. We hope that these examples have helped you understand the nuances between these different forms of plagiarism.
If you're a student and want to avoid plagiarism, consider using a plagiarism software for students to help you correctly cite sources and prevent any potential sanctions related to plagiarism. Staying proactive in ensuring the originality of your work is the best way to maintain academic integrity and succeed without the risk of plagiarism penalties.
Discover other resources on plagiarism:
Note: This informative article was written in part with the help of ChatGPT. The AI-generated content has been reworked to check the veracity of the information, verify the relevance of the instructions and add clarifications.
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