Avoiding Plagiarism Body Rough Draft

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Avoiding Plagiarism

Most students today, high school and college students in particular, feel an overwhelming

pressure to perform. This urge to perform or compete has led to intentional plagiarism, such as

purchasing research papers from another individual or off the Internet. Some students commit

unintentional plagiarism by paraphrasing poorly, omitting quotation marks, by failing to cite

information incorrectly, or not citing a source where they have collected data or material. The Internet

and computer have allowed individuals access to a wealth of information and with it, the advantage of

using the copy and paste application. With the ease of gathering and transferring information, it has

become easy for a person to intentionally or unintentionally plagiarize. However, the world of

academics is not the only place where plagiarism abounds. On-line plagiarism, plagiarism in journalism,

and literary works are just a few examples that can be found outside of the world of academia.

Regardless of the circumstances, plagiarism is unethical, dishonest, and illegal.

College students today must be very vigilant to avoid plagiarism. Students must give proper

credit whenever they use another individuals statistics, facts, graphs, or illustrations. A writer must

always cite the source of where the information was obtained. Writers must put in quotations anything

used from another author's work, whether the source was written or spoken word. If a writer chooses to

use an illustration or graph from a source, the author must document the source of the visual

information. Students must also be careful when paraphrasing research. Paraphrasing is a skill writers

use the most, but a student must be careful not to just rearrange words or phrases. A writer must use his

or her own words and ideas. A writer must be even more vigilant not to duplicate another person's ideas,

expressions, or language. In some instances this problem has resulted in court cases. (Neville, 2010)

Alex Haley, the author ofRoots: The Saga of an American Family; was accused of plagiarism,

by Harold Courlander, the author ofThe African. A copyright infringement lawsuit followed, in which


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Courlander pretrial memorandum stated, Defendant Haley had access to and substantially copied from

The African. Without, The African,Roots would have been a very different and less successful novel,

and indeed it is doubtful that Mr. Haley could have writtenRoots without, The AfricanMr. Haley

copied language, thoughts, attitudes, incidents, situations, plot and character, During the proceedings

Mr. Haley was adamant that he had never read Courlander's The African,before he pennedRoots.Michael Wood, an expert witness on plagiarism who was, also a Professor of English at Columbia

University, stated: "The evidence of copying from The African in both the novel and the television

dramatization ofRoots is clear and irrefutable. The copying is significant and extensive (Roots) plainly

uses The African as a mode, as something to be copied at some times and at other times modified; but

always, it seems, to be consulted.Roots, takes from The African phrases, situations, ideas, aspects of

style and ofplotRoots finds in The African essential elements for its depiction of such things as a

slave's thoughts of escape, the psychology of an old slave, the habits of mind of the hero, and the whole

sense of life on an infamous slave ship. Such things are the life of a novel; and when they appear in

Roots, they are the life of someone else's novel." After a federal district court trial, Alex Haley settled

with Harold Courlander. Courlander was paid a financial settlement of $650,000 and was offered the

following statement of acknowledgment, Alex Haley acknowledges and regrets that various materials

from The African by Harold Courlander found their way into his bookRoots." Later, Joseph Bruchac,

an educator of black literature at Skidmore College, came forward and made the fact known, he had

given Haley his own copy ofThe African prior to the publication ofRoots. The instructor also recalled

having a discussion with Haley about the book. (Crouch, 2002; Haley, 2010)

Helen Keller, blind and deaf since early childhood, was a speaker, writer, and activist who was

accused of plagiarism. A story Keller had written at the tender age of eleven, The Frost King, came

under scrutiny, when Helen submitted the story as a birthday gift to Michael Anagnos, director of The

Perkins Institute for the Blind. Anagnos published the story in The Mentor, a magazine published by


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The Perkins Institute for the Blind. The accusation was made The Frost King seemed to be a retelling

of Margaret T. Canby's story The Frost Fairies. Twelve year old Helen was brought before a tribunal at

The Perkins Institute. She was found not guilty by the tribunal which included, Michael Anagnos.

Margaret Canby came forward in Keller's defense to say Helen's version of the fairy story was better

than her own. Mark Twain, a noted author and friend of Helen's, later wrote to her and stated he had at

times, committed unintentional plagiarism. Writers were influenced by other authors, experiences, and

thoughts of others. Helen Keller having suffered a nervous breakdown over the whole affair, said she:

remained paranoid about plagiarism ever after. (Keller, 1905)

Regardless of the circumstances plagiarism is unethical, dishonest, and illegal. Students must

not allow themselves to become negligent in citing the original author's work. Even if, an individual

feels the overwhelming pressure to perform, he or she must always give proper credit. The student or

writer must diligently use quotations, document the sources they use, and be careful of how they

paraphrase. A writer must be careful not to duplicate another person's ideas, expressions, language, or

writing style. Even though our writings are shaped by our own personal experiences, books, songs,

lyrics and poetry we have enjoyed in the past, we all must be original in how the thoughts are expressed,

or give the credit to the original author.

Works Cited

Crouch, S. (2002, January 17). The 'Roots' of Haley's Great Fraud.New York Daily News. RetrievedJune 4, 2012, from http://articles.nydailynews.com/2002-01-17/news/18200142_1_alex-haley-hoax-plagiarism

Haley, A. (n.d.). In Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices. Retrieved fromhttp://ezp.lirn.net/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.credoreference.com/entry/sharpecw/haley_alex

Keller, H. (1905). The Story Of My Life. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company. Retrieved fromhttp://digital.labrary.upenn.edu/women/keller/life/life.html

Neville, C. (2010). Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism (2nd ed.). Maidenhead,


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GBR: Open University Press. Retrieved fromhttp://site.ebrary.com/lib/virginiacollege.docDetail.action?docID=10404007&p00=avoiding%20plagiarism

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