by George Brosi

Plagiarism is cheating in academic work. It can be done either orally or in writing. It means copying what others have done without giving them credit. Although there are lots of good uses for anonymous writing and speaking in life, one of the conventions of scholarship is that scholarly work is attributed to its author. This practice improves the process of scholarly inquiry by encouraging scholars to do their very best work because their names are attached to it. In addition, this procedure allows subsequent scholars to contact those who have come before and clarify any questions they might have. Scholars use their own names whether working orally or in writing. One result of this convention is that anyone who reads or hears our work assumes that the content of it is all ours unless it is specifically attributed to another source.

Any time another writer or speaker is quoted directly in writing, that person's actual words are used, those words should be in quotation marks. In oral reports, the speaker should say, "quote" at the beginning and "end quote" at the end of the direct quotation. Of course some of the same words will be used regardless of who is addressing a similar subject. That cannot be avoided. But when more than three or four of the exact same distinctive words in a row are used, there are no exceptions. The current speaker or writer always needs to say who is being quoted and from what source. This is true whether an oral or a written source is being used. Direct quotes demand attribution--credit to the person who is designated as the author or speaker. The person who devised this way of expressing ideas deserves credit and those who subsequently hear or read the quotation deserve to know who said it so they can check it out.

Plagiarism is simply stealing either the words or ideas of another person. It is not only unethical; it is illegal. Anyone who plagiarizes the work of another person is liable in civil court for damages. Society thus recognizes the rights of writers to credit for their work. Carefully learn to avoid plagiarism!

During a recent semester, my Kentucky Literature class wrote a book composed of student essays on state literary figures. My students were careful to credit the sources they used. I hope to teach this subject again and to allow the students in my next Kentucky Literature class to delve deeper into the work of these authors. They will choose which sources of information cited in this semester's book to examine further and give credit both to the authors they find in the library and to this semester's student writers when appropriate.