Types of Plagiarism

Most Common Types of Plagiarism

Writing essays and conducting research are essential components of the learning process for students. While striving to meet all instructions, formatting requirements, and eliminating grammar errors, there is a potential risk that can adversely affect your grade and academic record – plagiarism.

Plagiarism can take various forms. In general, plagiarism refers to copying someone else’s ideas. However, it can be divided into two main categories: intentional and accidental. Intentional plagiarism is when you deliberately take content from other papers and present it as your own. On the other hand, accidental plagiarism happens when you unknowingly use someone else’s work, which can have severe consequences even if you made an effort to avoid it.

Groups of Plagiarism and Their Severity

If you’re a new college student, you may be wondering if plagiarism is illegal. The answer isn’t straightforward and depends on various factors, such as the type of work you’re doing and your role. However, students who plagiarize risk receiving a failing grade or being expelled from their institution. To help you understand the different types of plagiarism, we’ve divided them into intentional and accidental/combined categories. In some cases, plagiarism can fall into both categories, depending on the situation. The following lists rank the types of plagiarism in order of seriousness.

You have learned about the various categories and types of plagiarism, but what do they actually mean? Below, we will provide more in-depth explanations and examples.

From the intentional group:

1. Word-for-word (Verbatim): This is a severe form of plagiarism where the writer copies more than five consecutive words from another source without using proper citation marks or acknowledging the original author.
2. Reverse: This involves fake referencing, where the writer fabricates sources to support their claim. It is a serious offense as it misleads the audience with false information. Another example is when the writer uses an actual source but pretends it contains information that supports their argument.
3. Global: This type of plagiarism occurs when someone presents someone else’s work as their own. It is considered severe as it implies that the writer made little to no effort to compose their paper and intentionally stole the entire content.
4. Patchwork (mosaic): It is difficult to detect this type of plagiarism, but the consequences can be severe, including expulsion and damage to academic reputation. This occurs when the writer combines ideas from various sources like pieces of a mosaic and presents them in one essay, passing it off as their own work. It involves combining results, research implications, and other relevant elements.From unintended organization:
5. Paraphrasing: Considered one of the strictest forms of deliberate plagiarism, it occurs when you take an idea from another text and present it in your own words but fail to do so properly. While rewriting is a good solution to avoid plagiarism, students may fail to put in enough effort, resulting in copied text being caught by plagiarism checkers.
6. Incremental: This type of plagiarism happens when you forget to cite the author or publishing information from which you took any information, even if you presented it as a direct quote.
7. Incidental: A relatively mild form of plagiarism, it involves copying small bits of information and modifying them to make them appear as your own. While online checkers may not detect this, professors are aware and may not tolerate even a small percentage of plagiarism.
8. Self-plagiarism: This occurs when a student reuses previous conclusions or justifications from papers they have written on a similar topic, instead of conducting further research. It is still considered plagiarism, although it is not as severe as other types.
9. Wrong citation: Often categorized as incidental plagiarism, it is a common mistake caused by inattentiveness or ignorance.