Plagiarism for Executives: a Guide

Plagiarism is defined as:
The practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.
New Oxford Dictionary of English

These are all examples of plagiarism:

  • Copying text & images from a website, film or book and passing them off as your own work
  • Paraphrasing text and not citing the original source
  • Handing in a previously submitted piece of work from another subject
  • Copying the work of others
     
    Avoiding plagiarism
     

  • Plan your work
  • Use multiple sources
  • Take notes by paraphrasing & summarising
  • If you use exact words & phrases use “quotation marks”
  • Do not copy & paste from the internet – read and then make notes without looking at the screen
  • Do not copy work from anyone (but especially not well-known creators)
  •  
    Unconscious Plagiarism
     
    Cryptomnesia (hidden memory) occurs when a forgotten memory returns without it being recognized as such by the subject, who believes it is something new and original.

    Examples of Creative Plagiarism

  • Shia LaBoeuf copying almost word for word and scene by scene Daniel Clowes’ comic strip Justin M. Damiano and creating a short movie called Howard Cantour.com
  • Melania trump plagiarising Michelle Obama’s speech (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-36832095)
  • Beyonce has been accused of plagiarising lesser-known artists over the course of her career (http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/beyonce-sued-over-lemonade-trailer-singers-history-plagiarism-complaints-1564560)
  • When George Harrison released My Sweet Lord in 1969 he (perhaps inadvertently) copied the melody for He’s So Fine by the Chiffons. While the judge ruled that the plagiarism was accidental George was still liable for half a million dollars in royalties.
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