STUDENT SUCCESS

Unraveling the Five Types of Plagiarism

Plagiarism can be intentional—but it can also be inadvertent. And it can cast a shadow over a student’s educational achievements.

Read on to discover five types of plagiarism commonly found in academic settings. By recognizing plagiarism, you can be intentional about avoiding it and maintaining a high level of academic integrity.

1. Deliberate cheating

   The most blatant form of plagiarism is deliberate cheating. This occurs when a student copies someone else's work—from the internet, purchased papers, or a peer. Despite its obviousness, deliberate cheating sometimes happens in academic environments. The good news is that deliberate cheating is also the easiest type of plagiarism to avoid: just don’t do it.

2. Accidental plagiarism

   Accidental plagiarism is a more subtle misstep, happening when individuals inadvertently incorporate someone else's words or work into their assignments. For instance, maybe you read an article that resonated with you, and the ideas the author expressed became interwoven with your own. Or, maybe you repurposed notes you’d taken that didn’t include a proper citation. It's crucial to keep detailed notes and credit original authors so that you steer clear of unintentional plagiarism.

3. Self-plagiarism

   While it may seem harmless, self-plagiarism compromises academic integrity. This particular transgression involves submitting the same work for multiple classes or reusing a paper without permission from your instructor. Even if a paper contains your own content, recycling it without acknowledgment is misleading: it suggests the ideas and analyses are new, and that you have not previously submitted the work for credit. To avoid self-plagiarism, be transparent with your instructors about any plans to incorporate previous work into upcoming assignments, and make sure they sign off beforehand.

4. Mosaic plagiarism

   Mosaic plagiarism involves copying and pasting content from sources, often found online, with slight modifications, to make it appear original. This might include changing words or sentence structures, but keeping the original content. Students might not realize that using similar phrases or structures without proper paraphrasing citations constitutes plagiarism. You can avoid this by being judicious about crediting others for their ideas. Even if you don’t quote an author directly, you should still cite them if you discuss their ideas. The benefit is that you will showcase the breadth and depth of your reading when you properly cite your sources.

5. AI-produced plagiarism

   As the use of AI tools becomes increasingly prevalent, it’s important to be aware of the risk AI poses to academic integrity. AI can be a helpful resource, but it isn’t a source. AI tools may draw on a variety of sources without properly crediting them, and they can be prone to inaccuracies and biases. Avoid AI-produced plagiarism by doing your own research and analysis, and by using AI as an aid rather than a crutch in your scholarly endeavors.

By understanding the subtleties of these five types of plagiarism, high school and college students can navigate their academic journeys successfully and ethically. Cultivating critical thinking, mastering proper citation, and expressing ideas uniquely are skills that will serve you well throughout your educational and professional life.

Learn more about academic integrity by watching our YouTube series on the topic!