Probably every college and university in the US has an official statement on plagiarism, including what it is and the consequences of plagiarizing, attesting to its seriousness in the academic setting. So, what is plagiarism and why is it so detrimental to academia? As defined by Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to plagiarize is “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own;” to “use (another's production) without crediting the source;” or, in simpler terms, “to commit literary theft.”1 The foundation of academia revolves around the principle of the “free exchange of ideas;” however, for this principle to work credit must be given to the original thinker of the idea, so plagiarism is essentially a direct attack on the spirit of academia.2 This module was written as a brief introduction to plagiarism for students in the field of Plant Pathology.
1 Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved 20 March 2007. http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/plagiarizing.2 NCSU Student Handbook. 2005-2006. http://www.ncsu.edu/studenthandbook/handbook_print/student_handbook.pdf
The following text is from an actual paper published about a disease called Phytophthora cinnamomi, which can infect Christmas trees. Following this articles are various examples of student work referencing the paper. Complete the questions in the tutorial to learn what constitutes plagiarism versus correct citing of an article.