I remember the writer well. André was the sort of student who always stood out as exemplary. I had no doubt about the originality of his paper, I knew André was a very good writer, and I knew he had family in Mississippi. Even after reading the exact same paper two more times by two, shall we say... "less gifted" students; I still had no doubt about who originated the work. My only question was this: What was André's role in the plagiarism? As it turned out, he'd freely allowed the other boys to copy his paper, because he wanted them to like him. Even though my most severe ire was reserved for the "copiers" I couldn't ignore his part in the scheme. I gave André a choice. Each boy could have an equal share of the original grade, or André could have it to himself, but I would have a conversation with his father. He chose to receive a 33.
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, as cited on plagiarism.org, to "plagiarize" means
- to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
- to use (another's production) without crediting the source
- to commit literary theft
"In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward."
- to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.
How do you feel about plagiarism? If a group of people think it's acceptable to borrow one another's work and pass it off as original, does that make it so? If you were frequently in a situation where you had to listen to an uncredited borrowed recitation what would be most bothersome to you: The fact that it was borrowed, or the fact that it was borrowed from a poor source? At least my two little plagiarists had the decency to borrow decent material. Is this a black or white moral choice, or are there shades of gray when passing off borrowed material as your own original work? I really hope to get some thoughtful feedback on this topic.
Post-Script: Since publishing this post, I received an e-mail update from "The Weekly Feed," an on-line newsletter of Feedjit.com in which a victim of blog related plagiarism politely but firmly deals with an interesting case of intellectual theft. If interested, you can read about it at Ian Dennis Miller's Blog.
Post-Script: Since publishing this post, I received an e-mail update from "The Weekly Feed," an on-line newsletter of Feedjit.com in which a victim of blog related plagiarism politely but firmly deals with an interesting case of intellectual theft. If interested, you can read about it at Ian Dennis Miller's Blog.
First, I think "intentional" or "pre-meditated" plagiarism is wrong. I think all citations should be noted. Second, I try to always give credit where credit is due, sometimes I fail for one reason or another, but it isn't because I think plagiarism is OK.
ReplyDeleteNo, just because someone or some group repeatedly commits and act that has been deemed to be wrong doesn't not make it OK.
Your third question is a hard one. When listening to a pastor, preach or teach, I don't know always if he is "borrowed" something and is passing it off as original or not, (unless I know the material, the quote, or the author) I would be put off from bad sources, wrong usage of material as much as pre-meditated stealing.
Is there gray areas when you research a sermon thoroughly and some material slips in because you forgot you read it in some source among a ton of sources, yes I think there is some gray area.
But, it is black and white if you take with aforethought someones work and then pass it off as yours - it is wrong.
Unfortunately by brother pastors-teachers are guilty more times than not of taking material form some commentary or well known communicator and presenting it as if it were theirs. Say, it ain't so, Joe? But sadly it is.
I tend to agree that it is impossible to credit every source every time; especially in verbal communication. I'm thinking more of an entire written work delivering as if it were your own. Surely a pastor wouldn't intentionally do this.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about a German defense minister who recently had to resign amidst charges of academic fraud. I guess plagiarism grows more serious based upon the person or entity being lied to. (?)
Cathy,
ReplyDeleteI equate stealing someone's words with stealing.
We should credit our sources when we can, or at least admit we don't know. Timely, as I posted a joke/story today that has been passed around the internet and I have no idea of the origin - only that it wasn't mine!
The catch - as Gregg mentioned - is that ideas can get fuzzy. I read voraciously, and I don't always remember where I've read things. I'm sure there have been times when someone else's idea rattled around in my head for awhile and then came back out in a modified form.
The original idea may or may not be recognizable in my mangled or modified (or possibly even improved) version, and I'm not terribly worried about it. In the first place, I'll give credit wherever I can. And in the second place, I'm not profiting (fame or fortune, grades, etc.) from any of it.
Does that make sense? Or am I making excuses?!
Obviously if I were researching or writing a paper for publication or public presentation I'd be very deliberate about documenting.
Julie
"Obviously if I were researching or writing a paper for publication or public presentation I'd be very deliberate about documenting."
ReplyDeleteI think you've touched the heart of the matter, Julie. Thanks for weighing-in.
I try to give credit were credit is due. Not much original comes out of me and often my blog posts are a blend of stuff I've picked up off the net or received in emails over the years and I have no idea who to credit. I often say that my favorite author is Mr. Unknown.
ReplyDeleteEven though I only blog for fun and not for profit, I still think it's important to give credit when it's available.
Thanks Cathy, this was a very good thought provoking post.
Wait a minute! I think someone else ended their comment with those words on a post I recently read. So let me just say... thank you to "Mrs. Someone Else" before I sign off :-)