Is This Plagiarism

In practice

This worked example is constructed for this course. A source states that wetlands absorb floodwater, and that a single acre of wetland can store a large volume of water during a storm, according to a regional study. Consider five student sentences. First, a student copies the source's sentence word for word with no quotation marks and no citation. This is plagiarism: exact words, unmarked and uncredited. Second, a student writes "Wetlands act like natural sponges during floods" with a citation, but the source used the phrase natural sponges; the phrase needs quotation marks, so this is plagiarism of wording despite the citation. Third, a student paraphrases the finding about wetland storage in new words and new structure and cites the regional study as quoted in the source. This is acceptable, an indirect citation used correctly. Fourth, a student writes that wetlands are areas where land is covered by shallow water, without a citation. This is common knowledge, found in general references, so no citation is needed. Fifth, a student summarizes the source's whole argument in two sentences with no author named and no citation. This is plagiarism of ideas, since a summary still uses the source's thinking. Two of the five sentences are acceptable; three are plagiarism, for three different reasons: unmarked words, borrowed phrasing, and uncredited ideas.