What's plagiarism?
Definition, forms, risks, penalties...

Understanding plagiarism to avoid it.

What does plagiarise mean?

To plagiarise is to copy an author by improperly attributing passages of his or her work to yourself, without quoting the author. Plagiarism may be unintentional, but the consequences are severe.

Examples of plagiarism: copied-and-pasted text, paraphrasing, translating, recycling an assignment, etc.

What is the definition of plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else's work as one's own. In documentary research and writing (dissertation, internship report, thesis, etc.), you're allowed to use another author's ideas, provided that the source of the idea is mentioned.

Plagiarism is an act "which may be committed intentionally, unintentionally or inadvertently, and which consists of using, in part or in whole, a production or an idea produced by a person who may be oneself or another, without indicating the source". This is the definition of plagiarism given by Martin Hutchison, in the webinar "Plagiarism prevention in secondary schools: the need for urgency".

Copying texts generated by a generative AI such as ChatGPT may be an act of plagiarism. Generative AIs are considered to be third-party authors, so you must quote them if used. AI content can be detected using an AI Checker.

Why is it important not to plagiarise?

What is at stake in respecting copyright?

To attest to honest behaviour
Being careful not to plagiarise means making a point of being an honest person who does not try to cheat.
To promote original creations
Have you been inspired by a source you liked? Quote it to pay tribute to its inventor.
To contribute to research
Developing your own ideas and thoughts based on the work of experts helps to feed research.
Demonstrate your skills
Challenging an existing idea proves your ability to think critically.

[Article] Respecting copyright

Universities raise awareness of copyright
among their students.

Combating plagiarism

University of Lyon website

« Plagiarism is everyone's business! Raising awareness is aimed primarily at students, but plagiarism pertains to all school staff, whether they are teachers, researchers or administrators. It is part of a comprehensive approach that includes signing a charter, specific training, the use of plagiarism-detection tools and recommendations regarding disciplinary actions. »

Anti-plagiarism

Website of the University of Pau and the Adour Region

« Plagiarism violates the rules of academic ethics and constitutes a misrepresentation in the work being graded. Plagiarism also constitutes an infringement of copyright and intellectual property, which could be equated with a crime of infringement. »

Plagiarism? Not for me!

University of Liège website

« Teachers want to assess the student's own abilities - not those of another author. Plagiarism raises doubts about the expected qualities of a university student (critical mind, creativity, honesty, ability to develop a personal argument and articulate it, etc.) and is considered a serious violation of scientific ethics. Plagiarism brings the plagiarist into disrepute, calling into question not only the work in which they plagiarised but also the plagiarist's entire body of work and, by extension, their skills. »

What types of plagiarism exist ?

Voluntary or involuntary plagiarism can take many forms. Do you know them all?

1) Translation

[...] translating a text without mentioning its creator is considered plagiarism. This is called translingual plagiarism or cross-language plagiarism.

Differents types of plagiarism

2) Paraphrasing

[...] it is not enough to simply change a few words but rather to rephrase the whole sentence, words and structure, while still providing a citation.

3) Self-plagiarism

[...] you are allowed to use your own words taken from another document, provided you mention the source.

4) The use of images

[...] the author must be cited (Last and First Name), as well as the date of publication and where the information was found (website, book, newspaper, etc.).

5) A primary source cited by a secondary source

[...] Hence, both the primary and secondary sources should be included in the citation.

6) Common knowledge

[...] Common knowledge, of a fact or event, corresponds to its wide recognition, namely, if it is known to a large majority of people.

7) Anonymous sources

[...] an anonymous source is just as important as a known source.

8) Global plagiarism

[...] Global plagiarism is the most blatant form of plagiarism.

of students were tempted to plagiarise in a research paper

of students do not know how to cite sources

of students rephrase text without citing the author

of students think the teacher does not check for plagiarism

What is an acceptable Plagiarism percentage?

What is the authorised percentage of plagiarism in universities?

Compilatio software (or other plagiarism detectors) calculates the percentage of text taken from external sources (similarity rate) found in the analysed document. The document's corrector interprets this similarity rate to decide whether or not there is plagiarism.

The percentage of plagiarism that is acceptable depends on your institution's policy. Most universities accept a plagiarism rate of less than 10%.

Compilatio supports teachers and students with plagiarism detection and checking tools.

The anti-plagiarism checklist

For teachers

The similarity detector for teachers

Software and tools to make your students aware of plagiarism.

All about Compilatio Magister

For teachers

The similarity and AI detector for teachers

All the features and benefits of the Magister program, plus :

AI Content Detector
Multilingual similarity detector
Priority handling of your analyses

All about Compilatio Magister+

For students

The similarity detector for students

Plagiarism checker and resources to avoid plagiarism in your work.

All about Compilatio Studium

For editors

The similarity detector for writers

Anti-plagiarism program for professional editors and writers.

All about Compilatio Copyright

For editors

The similarity and AI detector for writers

All the features and benefits of the Copyright program, plus:

AI content detection
Multilingual similarity detection
Priority handling of your analyses

Tout savoir sur Compilatio Copyright+

Penalties for plagiarism

Taking quotes without indicating sources is a violation of academic regulations. The consequences can be severe.

Here are some examples of punishments related to plagiarism.

Academically

- Invalidation of the assignment impacted by plagiarism.
- Warning/blame.
- Temporary or permanent expulsion from any public higher education institution.

Legally

- up to 10 years' imprisonment.
- $250,000 fine.

Consequences that can affect the future:

- Reputational damage to the institution and student.
- Cloud of suspicion that follows the plagiarist for a long time and that raises questions for all the other students.
- Calling into question the value of the school's diploma and the quality of teaching.

How to avoid plagiarism?

Don't be fooled, click here.

Boost your knowledge of plagiarism

21 mar. 2025