In recent quarters, I have noticed an increase in a particular citation problem in my students’ papers: verbatim (word-for-word) quotations with a citation of the author in parentheses, but without quotation marks around the copied phrases or sentences. In conversations with students, I have learned that teachers in the student’s past have allowed this to pass without notice or even taught them that it is a customary practice.

That is unfortunate, because this practice counts as plagiarism both under university policy and in professional writing in general (academia, journalism, or business). 

Changing a word or two in a quotation is not enough to make it a paraphrase. I quote (in quotation marks!) from the Campus Administrative Manual (CAM, the “law book” for Cal Poly, Section 684):

"Plagiarism is defined as the act of using the ideas or work of another person or persons as if they were one’s own, without giving proper credit to the source. Such an act is not plagiarism if it is ascertained that the ideas were arrived at through independent reasoning or logic or where the thought or idea is common knowledge.

Acknowledgment of an original author or source must be made through appropriate references, i.e., quotation marks, footnotes, or commentary. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to, the following: the submission of work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; failure to give credit for ideas, statements, facts or conclusions which rightfully belong to another; failure to use quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, a sentence, or even a part thereof; close and lengthy paraphrasing of another’s writing without credit or originality; use of another’s project or program or part thereof without giving credit.

Policy on Plagiarism

Plagiarism may be considered a form of cheating and therefore subject to the same policy which requires notification of the Coordinator of Campus Student Relations and Judicial Affairs and includes possible disciplinary action.”

This policy goes on to state that instructors can exercise a certain amount of discretion in deciding how to handle a plagiarism case, especially if the professor believes it to be unintentional. You cannot always rely on a professor’s notion of this, however. It is better to be safe than sorry. Also, you need to be aware that, once you graduate from college, whether you go on to graduate school or take on a career that involves professional writing, plagiarism will not be tolerated or taken lightly.

You should also be aware that, if a professor takes punitive action on account of plagiarism and submits a report to Judicial Affairs, you may wind up having a permanent disciplinary file. This could cause you to lose jobs that require security clearance, admittance to law school, or any checks on honesty, e.g., for teaching jobs.

Many students quote exact words because they are not sufficiently practiced at paraphrasing (putting someone else’s meaning in your own words). Like any other skill, paraphrasing improves with practice; so the way to get better at it is to do it more often. Avoiding the kind of plagiarism described here is excellent practice!