Plagiarisms, Authorship, and the Academic Death Penalty

1. Plagiarisms, Authorship, and the Academic Death Penalty Rebecca Moore Howard Katherine Sanford

2. What is plagiarism? • According to Merman-Webster Online Dictionary: • To steal or pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own • To use (another’s production) without crediting the source • To commit literary theft • To present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

3. How widespread is plagiarism? • Is it merely a case of people not understanding the definition of plagiarism? • Who plagiarizes and why? • Here are a few examples:

4. Case 1: William Rafti • William Rafti is a self-proclaimed expert in body piercings who published an ebook entitled The Body Piercing Encyclopedia, which he claimed was a replacement for the published APP manual. However, much of the information in the ebook was taken nearly verbatim from the online glossary of BME, the most extensive web site and information source on body modification. • Shannon Larratt, the founder of BME, went through the ebook and made note of the places where Rafti had plagiarized.

5. BME’s entry EMLA Cream: it should be noted that while EMLA cream is over-the-counter in Canada, it is a prescription-only substance in most countries, including the US. In addition, its application may be illegal for piercers or tattooists to do. Rafti’s entry EMLA Cream: EMLA cream is over-the-counter in Canada, but it is a prescription-only substance in most other countries, including the US.Its application may be illegal for piercers or tattooists to do. An example of plagiarism

6. Case 2: Cassie Edwards • Cassie Edwards is a romance novelist who has recently come under fire when two women who run a romance novel blog, Smart B*tches Who Love Trashy Books, came to the conclusion that Edwards lifted long passages from other sources without crediting them in her books. They published a centralized document of the plagiarism. When confronted, Edwards responded that “she didn’t know she was supposed to cite her sources.” Signet, Edwards’ publisher, initially supported her claim that “she has done nothing wrong” but is now investigating the situation.

7. Source material So the sunflower and the buffalo were two beloved symbols of the Lakota. So first, last, and throughout existence, the Lakota knew that the sun was essential to health and to all life. In spring, summer, and winter its rays were welcome. In the spring its warmth brought forth new grass; in the summer its head cured the suns, dried the meat, and preserved food for storage… Standing Bear, Luther. Land of the Spotted Eagle. University of Nebraska Press, 2006. ISBN: 080329333X p. 49 Edwards’ book She paused, swallowed hard, then said, “The sunflower and buffalo are two beloved symbols of our Lakota people. The sun is essential to all health and life. In spring, summer, and winter, rays are welcome.In the spring, its warmth brings forth new grass; in summer its heat cures the skins, dries the meat, and preserves food for storage.” Edwards, Cassie. Shadow Bear. Signet, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-451-22174-2 An example of plagiarism

8. Case 3: Jessica Seinfeld • According to Missy Chase Lapine, author of The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals, comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s wife Jessica Seinfeld plagiarized extensively from Lapine’s book in Mrs. Seinfeld’s own cookbook, Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Getting Your Kids Eating Good Food. While the investigation is ongoing, Lapine has accused the Seinfelds of lifting “concept, cover art […] style and structure” from her book • Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Michelle Nichols and Todd Eastham, note provided by Kevin Walsh

9. Case 4: Timothy S. Goeglein • A White House aide, Goeglein resigned his position in early March following the discovery that Goeglein plagiarized several articles (unsanctioned by the White House) from the Dartmouth Review. • Story from the Los Angeles Times, note provided by Rachel Dougherty

10. How should plagiarism be treated? • At UR, as at many colleges and universities, plagiarism is not tolerated and often leads to a case before the Honor Council, if the school has one. • However, when “patchwriting” (lifting passages with only minimal changes made) is used by struggling writers it may be a sign of growth • How do we find a balance?

11. The changing definition of authorship • In the past, authorship was relatively easy to define: it referred to whoever had done the physical act of research and writing • With the advent of the internet and hypertext, when articles may be written by several authors with little way to trace who did the writing, the idea of authorship is shifting • With the internet, it has also become much easier to plagiarize

12. Should plagiarism be “punished?” • There is often a feeling of moral obligation to punish plagiarism, going back to when, as children, we are told not to be “copycats” • Does “punishment,” including what Howard calls the “academic death penalty”—expulsion from college/university—really change the plagiarism statistics for the better?

13. Patchwriting as a sign of growth • Patchwriting is most often employed when a writer knows little about a subject, and must by necessity take what he/she knows from a source. It is often difficult to find original words when knowledge about a subject is only cursory. • Howard suggests that patchwriting should not be punished as such, but rather seen as a sign of growth—a sign that a writer wants to learn, and is using imitation as a way to learn.

14. The response to patchwriting • Patchwriting can be useful as a means to learn about a subject, but ultimately it cannot be used in lieu of original words and phrases. • Whatever the case, citations, quotations, and paraphrasing are easy ways to avoid plagiarizing unintentionally.