Did I Plagiarize?

The following seven Yes or No questions will help you determine if you plagiarized:

• Are you confident that your ideas are your own or that they are so obviously common knowledge (like the fact that the earth is round) that you didn't need to cite any sources?
• Did you give credit to all original authors for any text you directly quoted?
• Did you give credit to all original authors for any ideas you summarized or paraphrased, even if you completely changed the wording?
• Did you give credit to all original artists for any images or graphics you used or referred to?
• Are you confident that you didn't distort or misinterpret an author's or artist's original meaning when you cited them?
• Are you confident that the organization and style of your work is your own creation and that you didn't mimic the style or layout of someone else?
• Did you use a proper and recognized citation method or did you include enough citation information that a reader could locate the original work on his/her own?

If you answered "YES" to all of these then you have not plagiarized. If you're confident that what you have written and/or designed is entirely original - in concept, style, structure, diction, and everything else - then you have not plagiarized. Or, if you have used another's ideas to elaborate on or validate your own, but you cite the original author or artist (and you provide their name and all pertinent information so that your reader could locate the original source on their own), then you are also free of plagiarism violations. Plagiarism-free means you have recognized any and all individuals or organizations that influenced your thoughts, writings, and designs and that you have made every effort to cite them according to conventional citation practices.

If you answered "NO" to any of these then you likely plagiarized. If you couldn't answer "yes" to all of the questions (even if you answered "yes" to all but one), then you are mostly likely in violation of plagiarism standards. Note that even the slightest of plagiarism infractions is serious. Even if you didn't mean to plagiarize or you weren't familiar with all plagiarism standards, you are held accountable. Lack of understanding or intent does not free you from serious penalty. However, not all plagiarism violations are treated with the same severity; some are certainly more severe than others. And repeated infractions, just like with the law, can cause harsher penalties. Read the following information to determine how you plagiarized and how serious it is.

How Serious is it?

Use the following questions to determine the type and severity of the violation. Violations are listed here from most severe to least severe.

Did you steal, copy, or purchase another's entire document and take full credit for it being your own? This is Identity Theft plagiarism and is an Insanely Severe violation.

Did you copy large portions (entire paragraphs and sections) of another's work and not give full credit? This is Copy Cat plagiarism and is an Extremely Severe violation.

Did you cherry-pick a few terms and phrases to change but keep the rest of the text and ideas from another's work relatively unchanged without giving credit? This is Cherry-pick plagiarism and is a Terribly Severe violation.

Did you duplicate (re-use) an entire work of your own for another purpose or publication and not cite yourself? This is Mitosis plagiarism and is an Immensely Severe violation.

Did you reuse large portions of a work of your own for another purpose or publication and not cite yourself? This is Recycle plagiarism and is a Profoundly Severe violation.

Did you paraphrase multiple sources and stitch them together, making them sound like your own? This is Remix plagiarism and is a Hugely Severe violation.

Did you cite a source that doesn't exist or did you make up what the source actually said? This is Ghost Citation plagiarism and is a Very, Very Severe violation.

Did you cite many sources correctly but not cite others at all? This is Half-n-half plagiarism and is a Very Severe violation.

Did you misinterpret or cite a source out of context? This is Warp plagiarism and is a Remarkably Severe violation.

Did you cite everything correctly but use very little of your own thought? This is Mosaic plagiarism and is a Quite Severe violation.

Did you cite everything correctly but your work still closely reflects another's? This is Reflection plagiarism and is a Notably Severe violation.

Did you make a mistake in your citation? Wrong words, wrong author, or something similar? This is Miscue plagiarism and is a Somewhat Severe violation.

Did you mostly cite everything correctly but got a bit sloppy on some and failed to note small things like page numbers or publishers? This is Half-hearted plagiarism and is a Mildly Severe violation.

References:

Types of Plagiarism, from Plagiarism.org

Source:

The Visual Communication Guide