Pagliaro, Harold. “Teaching Blake’s Psychology of Redemption in Songs.” Approaches To Teaching Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Ed. Robert Bleckner. New York: MLA, 1989. 

“Obviously, the Tyger first recognized by the speaker is very different from the Tyger of the illustration. The Tyger there is not fierce, but neither is it a cat essentially; it is a cat with human features. He who made the Lamb made the Tyger, and he made humanity as well, who is Tyger, Lamb, and more.”

Plagiarized:

The tiger in the poem is not fierce, but neither is it a cat essentially; it is a cat with human features. (Pagliaro 126).

Not Plagiarized:

The tiger in the poem is “not fierce, but neither is it a cat essentially; it is a cat with human features” (Pagliaro 126).

Note: In the previous plagiarized example, the student does give the source credit through the words in the parentheses at the end of the passage. But that is not enough! Even though we know where the material came from, we still don’t know what portion (if any) was quoted unless the quotation marks are in place. The corrected example shows no change in wording; the only difference is the vital addition of the quotation marks.

 

Levi, Peter. A History of Greek Literature. New York, New York: Viking Press, l985.

“In some ways The Odyssey, with its didactic gods and its domestic massacres is a grimmer poem than The Iliad.”

Plagiarized:

One could say that The Odyssey “with its didactic gods and its domestic massacres is a grimmer poem than The Iliad,” The conclusion of The Odyssey is far less understandable as it is “violent and scarcely convincing.”

Not Plagiarized:

One could say that The Odyssey “with its didactic gods and its domestic massacres is a grimmer poem that The Iliad.” The conclusion of The Odyssey is far less understandable as it is “violent and scarcely convincing” (Levi 39).

Note: In the previous plagiarized example, the student does use quotation marks. But that is not enough! Even though we know what portion of the material was quoted, we still have no idea where the information came from. The corrected example shows no change in wording or in placement of quotation marks; the only difference is the vital addition of the author’s name and the page number at the end of the passage. Always remember that you have plagiarized material even if you simply forgot to provide the documentation.

Erskine, John. “Shakespeare Simplified and Improved an Old Story.” Readings on “Romeo and Juliet.” San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1998.

“Even before Shakespeare increased its beauty and widened its appeal, the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was, if not a classic, at least a popular story. The cruder versions of it suggested at least some resemblance to the best ancient and

medieval love legends-for example, to the story of Hero and Leander, of Pyramus and Thisbe, of Tristram and Iseult [or Isolde], perhaps also Troilus and Cressida; and in the continual rehandling of the theme by French and Italian paraphrasers and translators, these reminiscences of long remembered tales developed into unmistakable symptoms of immortality.”

Plagiarized:

Although Shakespeare increased its beauty and widened its appeal, the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was a popular story of his time. There had, in fact, been less polished stories involving similar lovers with different names from ancient and medieval love legends, from Hero and Leander to Troilus and Cressida. French and Italian writers rewrote the stories, but in the continual rehandling of the theme, the tales developed into unmistakable symptoms of immortality (Erskine 40).

Not Plagiarized:

As John Erskine noted in a 1998 article, Shakespeare did not actually invent the tale of Romeo and Juliet; he simply made it his own, more poetic and popular than ever before. The tragedy of his young lovers actually builds on classical myths that describe the unfortunate fates of Hero and Leander, Pyramus and Thisbe, Troilus and Cressida, and others. French and Italian writers had also handled the same storyline time and again, causing the theme of ill-fated love to become part of Elizabethan cultural experience (Erskine 40).

Note: In the previous plagiarized example, the student has incorrectly used the language of the source at the beginning and end of the passage. There is some paraphrasing within the passage, but in order to avoid plagiarism, the student must avoid all original wording, not just part of the original wording. The second passage is about the same length as the original source. It preserves the author’s ideas but uses none of his wording. Notice that documentation is still necessary with a paraphrase and that the reader knows where the paraphrase begins because of the introduction of the author’s name at the beginning of the paraphrase.

permission to collaborate with other students on an assignment, but if the work is assigned to be completed independently by you without the help of others, you should not use the words or ideas of others and claim them as your own.

Plagiarized:

A friend or parent helps you rewrite your draft by revising the sentences and paragraphs for you.

Not Plagiarized:

A friend or parent reads your rough draft and points out sentences that do not make sense, grammatical errors, or problems with organization for you to correct. He or she does not make the changes for you.

Plagiarized:

You copy a friend’s homework and submit it as your own.

Not Plagiarized:

You discuss math problems and their possible solutions with a friend but make all of the calculations by yourself.

Plagiarized:

A friend types your paper for you and corrects your mistakes for you as he types.

Not Plagiarized:

A friend types your paper for you but types any mistakes he might notice just as you have written them. He does not correct your mistakes for you.

** The use of the Internet and classroom textbooks must also be footnoted.