Types of Plagiarism
There are many different types of plagiarism. Just like with cars, you have saloons or sedans, SUV’s, Trucks, Vans and others, the same things go for plagiarism. Some types are more severe than others; ones occur more frequently than others and so on and so forth.
In this article, we will seek to educate and help you understand the wide variety of plagiarism types. Now be aware that there are lots of various kinds which you need to be mindful of. If you are aware, you have high chances to protect your work from it. Let‘s begin!
How many types of plagiarism are there?
Before diving into exact types of plagiarism, we should identify what types of plagiarism exist. At first sight, this should be a simple task. However, different authors do not agree on how many different types of plagiarism there are.
According to Wikipedia, there are ten types of plagiarism. Wikipedia refers to a survey that was concluded by Turnitin. However, the study of Turnitin might be inaccurate or misleading. Teachers’ opinions of where plagiarism comes from are presented as types of plagiarism. It also misses some other concepts of plagiarism, like translated plagiarism, which may not be so notable in English-speaking countries or idea plagiarism.
Defining types of plagiarism
While dealing with plagiarism for years we made an insight that the source of plagiarism is another person’s writing. The condition of plagiarism is the decision to use other paperwork. Just imagine, if an author did not have any access to other papers, he would not have conducted plagiarism. If we accept this insight, it will help us in defining the types of plagiarism.
As soon as our author gets paper written by another person, he decides how to use the essential components of the paper: the idea and the content.
The idea is indivisible, but the content is. So if the author uses the same idea, he may be accused of idea plagiarism. The content will have more possible use cases :
- Use it without changes
- Modify it by making additions or deletions
- Modify translating it
Speaking about the referring he may:
- Quote and cite properly
- Quote and cite improperly or none
Finally, it may be considered as plagiarism inadequately large parts of excerpts, so the scope of usage is important as well.
The aforementioned cases of plagiarism allow us to create a plagiarism canvas.
Plagiarism canvas
Component
- The idea
- The content
Way of use
- Do not modify
- Modify by changing
- Modify by translating
Scope of use
- Small parts
- Large parts
Way of referring
- Proper
- Improper or none
Plagiarism canvas lets us create the list of possible situations with the corresponding outcomes.
| Component | Way of use | Scope | Referring | Outcome |
| Idea | – | – | – | Idea plagiarism |
| Content | Do not modify | Small parts | Proper | No plagiarism |
| Large parts | Proper | Copy-paste plagiarism | ||
| Small parts | Improper | Improper reference plagiarism | ||
| Large parts | Improper | Copy-paste plagiarism | ||
| Modify by changing | Small parts | Proper | No plagiarism | |
| Large parts | Proper | Paraphrase plagiarism | ||
| Small parts | Improper | Improper reference plagiarism | ||
| Large parts | Improper | Paraphrase plagiarism | ||
| Modify by translating | Small parts | Proper | No plagiarism | |
| Large parts | Proper | Translation plagiarism | ||
| Small parts | Improper | Improper reference plagiarism | ||
| Large parts | Improper | Translation plagiarism |
Main types of plagiarism
Grouping the outcomes from the list of situations, we get 5 main types of plagiarism:
- Idea plagiarism
- Copy-paste plagiarism
- Improper reference plagiarism
- Paraphrase plagiarism
- Translation plagiarism
Examples of plagiarism
Copy-paste plagiarism
| Original content | Plagiarized content |
| Given the serious consequences that plagiarism has for students, there has been a call for a greater emphasis on learning in order to help students avoid committing plagiarism. This is especially important when students move to a new institution that may have a different view of the concept when compared with the view previously developed by the student. Indeed, given the seriousness of plagiarism accusations for a student’s future, the pedagogy of plagiarism education may need to be considered ahead of the pedagogy of the discipline being studied.[50] The need for plagiarism education extends to academic staff, who may not completely understand what is expected of their students or the consequences of misconduct. | Given the serious consequences that plagiarism has for students, there has been a call for a greater emphasis on learning in order to help students avoid committing plagiarism. This is especially important when students move to a new institution that may have a different view of the concept when compared with the view previously developed by the student. Indeed, given the seriousness of plagiarism accusations for a student’s future, the pedagogy of plagiarism education may need to be considered ahead of the pedagogy of the discipline being studied.[50] The need for plagiarism education extends to academic staff, who may not completely understand what is expected of their students or the consequences of misconduct. |
Paraphrase plagiarism
| Original content | Plagiarized content |
| However, to impose sanctions, plagiarism needs to be detected. Strategies faculty members use to detect plagiarism include carefully reading students work and making note of inconsistencies in student writing, citation errors and providing plagiarism prevention education to students. It has been found that a significant share of (university) teachers do not use detection methods such as using text-matching software. | However, for the imposition of sanctions, plagiarism needs to be detected. Strategies that faculty members use to detect plagiarism include carefully reading students’ papers and marking inconsistencies in student writing, citation errors and providing plagiarism prevention education to students. It has been found that a significant share of (university) teachers are not using any detection methods such as using text-matching software. |
Sub-types of plagiarism
Some of the sources mention mosaic plagiarism, verbatim plagiarism, self-plagiarism, clone plagiarism, remix plagiarism, hybrid plagiarism, recycle plagiarism, mashup plagiarism, aggregator plagiarism, re-tweet plagiarism, and some others.
If we dive deeper into the explanations of each aforementioned term, we will notice that each might be attributed to one of the main types of plagiarism. This means that the aftermentioned terms are not types, but rather sub-types of plagiarism. Remix, hybrid, and mashup plagiarism, for instance, are all the sub-types of paraphrasing plagiarism.
| Type of plagiarism | Sub-type of plagiarism |
| Idea plagiarism | – |
| Copy-paste plagiarism | Verbatim plagiarism Synonym Self-plagiarism Clone plagiarism Synonym Recycle plagiarism Mashup plagiarism Aggregator plagiarism Re-tweet plagiarism |
| Improper reference plagiarism | Invalid sources Secondary sources No sources |
| Paraphrase plagiarism | Mosaic plagiarism Remix plagiarism Hybrid plagiarism Find-Replace plagiarism |
| Translation plagiarism | – |
Accidental or unintentional plagiarism
Not all things in this world happen because someone had the evil or good intentions to make it so. The same can be said about plagiarism. Far from every instance of it can be traced to the unfairness of a particular writer, researcher or another individual. Up to 10 percent of plagiarism can be considered accidental or unintentional.
Accidental plagiarism is not genuinely harmful if detected before publication. It can bring harm to the author or publisher because unlawful acts, even when done unknowingly, do not exempt you from responsibilities.
Accidental plagiarism can happen due to improper quotations, failed paraphrasing or other related errors. Usually, unforeseen instances could be avoided if you use a plagiarism checker to scan your documents. Oxsic outlines and shows, in detail, in actual percentages, how much plagiarism is found in your particular paper. Anything between 0 and 5% could be considered a technicality or unintentional plagiarism.
Purposeful or direct plagiarism
Purposeful plagiarism is the worst of the lot. Not because it happens intentionally, but because it directly harms the author(s) of the original documents. Usually, direct plagiarism results from buying thesis or paper writing services, students lean towards plagiarism when it is the end of a deadline and within the borders of similar circumstances.
When buying content online, be extremely cautious and double-check the texts you receive. Plagiarism checking services, once again rise to the occasion and help you avoid unnecessary trouble.
Too much paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is explaining something in different words. As an example, two scientists might research Global Warming. One, in the earlier published study, states that global warming is a grandiose issue that might swallow the Earth and end civilization as we know it. The other just rephrased it as a big problem with a terrible potential of harming humans and the Earth.
Even though the words selected, are different, the meaning behind them stays the same. This is a prime example of paraphrasing. In the real world, however, paraphrasing can get a bit more sophisticated. A lot, and we mean a lot of students use paraphrasing. It can happen for a number of reasons:
- The author did not have enough unique ideas or angles, so they paraphrase others to fill the gaps;
- The author had very little time to do research thus they chose to paraphrase;
- The author is basing his work on a different study but overdid it.
When it comes down to it, paraphrasing is not all that bad. However, if you get more than a 5% paraphrasing score, you should worry and look over the document. Paraphrasing cannot be a large part of the paper, only a subtle addition.
Self-plagiarism or copying your own content
Even some of your own greatest hits could be subject to plagiarism. Self-plagiarism can happen both intentionally or unintentionally. However, it does not excuse one from handing in a non-polished document with traces of plagiarism.
This type of plagiarism happens when an author is cross-referencing their work, working on a similar topic, etc. Preventing it is easy, however, with the help of a plagiarism checker.
Addressing the plagiarism
Generally, there are two ways to address the plagiarism:
- Rephrasing
- Quoting & citing
Rephrasing in our suggestion not only means writing words in a different order but rather adding your own thoughts and conclusions. Proper citing and quoting is the second measure to get the paper free of plagiarism.
