7 Common Types of Plagiarism

When you attempt to pass off someone else’s work as your own, it is labeled as plagiarism. But this is just the basic definition of it. Various kinds of plagiarism may be found in a student’s writing.

Plagiarism is seen as a serious offense that can lead to you failing the assignment and having to repeat the class. You could be put on academic probation, get suspended, or even expelled from your school or program.

Each college and university today has a strict policy against plagiarism. It’s likely that your college is also going to have one that is to be strictly adhered to. Even your professors could have their policies for dealing with instances of plagiarism. You could avoid falling into the trap of plagiarism if you can understand what it is and how you are supposed to properly credit every author whose work you cite in your writing.

Plagiarism is of various types. The 7 different types of plagiarism are discussed below:

Complete plagiarism

This is the most commonly recognized and understood type of plagiarism. Complete plagiarism is when you submit someone else’s work by stating it as your own. In case you hire someone to write your assignment for you and submit that assignment with your name on it, it is also considered complete plagiarism.  This is because it will be considered as stealing/ borrowing someone else’s work and claiming it as your own.

For example, if you submit a paper for your class that your friend or older sibling has already submitted a few years ago, it will be considered a case of complete plagiarism.

Direct plagiarism

As is in the case of complete plagiarism, direct plagiarism also refers to passing off someone else’s work as your own. The difference between the two lies only in terms of the percentage of paper that is plagiarised. In the case of complete plagiarism, the entire paper is copied and submitted as is to the professor. While in the case of direct plagiarism, some sections or paragraphs are copied without crediting the original author.

For example, if you pick up 2-3 lines from your source and use them as is in your writing without trying to explain it in your language and without citing the source it will be direct plagiarism.

Paraphrasing plagiarism

In the scenario that you decide to reuse another person’s work by changing a few words and phrases, it would be called paraphrasing plagiarism. It is more common than one would think it to be. This is because many times students don’t even realize that it’s a form of plagiarism. But you should realize that presenting someone else’s original idea without giving them due credit even if it is in your own words, will still be considered as plagiarism.

Self-plagiarism

It is possible that you might plagiarise yourself. Yes, you read that right. Even though you might think that you are presenting your original thoughts, there are still a few conditions that should be fulfilled. For example, if you had written an essay about a certain topic in some previous class some time ago, a year say maybe and now you are supposed to write a research paper on a topic similar to that. You might feel tempted to reuse your previous content, but it will be considered self-plagiarism if you do so. Though, you can make use of the same sources as you did previously and properly cite them.

Self-plagiarism is mostly an issue only if you write professionally. If you are writing for a client, the work belongs to the client. Reusing that writing for subsequent clients would be plagiarising your work and won’t reflect well on your professional reputation.

Patchwork plagiarism

Patchwork plagiarism refers to a scenario where the writer has used someone else’s work and neatly interwoven it with their original work. This is also sometimes known as Mosaic plagiarism and is often very subtle and easily missable. It usually happens in conjunction with direct plagiarism.

For example, you take a clause from a source and embed it in a sentence of your own.

Source-based plagiarism

This is a slightly tricky form of plagiarism to understand. This is where though the writer cites all of the sources used while writing, the sources are presented in a misleading manner.

For example, it is possible that you refer to a secondary source for some information but cite only the primary source in your paper and not refer to the secondary source of information. If you cite an incorrect source or make up your sources it will be known as source-based plagiarism.

Accidental plagiarism

This is when the writer doesn’t realize that they might have plagiarised someone else’s work. This is one of the most common types of plagiarism and could be in the form of

• Forgetting to cite your sources
• Incorrect citation
• Not highlighting the cited material by using quotes

Accidental plagiarism though not deliberate, could also lead you to fail your assignment.

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