Page 202 - English for Writing Research Papers

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11.1 What's the buzz?

1) What do you understand by the term 'plagiarism'? How serious a problem is it?
2) Choose two of the quotations below. Imagine you wanted to cite them in your
paper, but using your own words (i.e. paraphrasing) – what would you write?

What science cannot tell us, mankind cannot know . Bertrand Russell (British philosopher,
mathematician, historian, social critic, and political activist)

Science knows only one commandment – contribute to science . Bertolt Brecht (German poet,
playwright, and theatre director)

Science cannot stop while ethics catches up – and nobody should expect scientists to do all the
thinking for the country . Elvin Stackman (US plant pathologist)

Science has done more for the development of Western civilization in one hundred years than
Christianity did in 18 hundred . John Burroughs (US naturalist)

That is the essence of science: ask an impertinent question, and you are on the way to a perti-
nent answer . Jacob Bronowski (Polish-born British historian of science)

3) Using your own words, write two or three sentences combining and summariz-

ing what is said in the two quotations below.
Plagiarism is unacceptable under any circumstances but, despite this universal disapproval, it
is one of the more common faults with student papers. In some cases, it is a case of downright
dishonesty brought upon by laziness, but more often it is lack of experience as how to properly
use material taken from another source. … Plagiarism in professional work may result in
dismissal from an academic position, being barred from publishing in a particular journal or
from receiving funds from a particular granting agency, or even a lawsuit and criminal pros-
ecution. (Prof. Ronald K. Gratz)

Conventions with regard to what constitutes plagiarism vary in different countries and not
infrequently clash with commonly accepted practice in most international journals. It is vital

that authors ensure that they credit the originator of any ideas as well as the words and figures
that they use to express these ideas. Copying without proper acknowledgement of the origin of
text or figures is strictly forbidden. Small amounts of text, a line or two, are usually ignored.

Plagiarism includes self- plagiarism, which is, in effect, publishing the same work twice. (Prof.
Robert Adams)
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Plagiarism in its simplest terms means cutting and pasting from other studies and
papers. It also means taking credit for work that others have done.

Plagiarism includes plagiarizing your own work. In fact, some journals stipulate
that you cannot use more than fi ve consecutive words from another paper that you
have written.