Examples of Plagiarism & Tips for Avoiding It
Plagiarism means using someone else’s words or ideas without properly crediting the original author.
Some common examples of plagiarism include:
- Paraphrasing a source too closely
- Including a direct quote without quotation marks
- Copying elements of different sources and pasting them into a new document
- Leaving out an in-text citation
- Submitting a full text that is not your own
The examples below illustrate common instances of accidental plagiarism, with solutions to help you submit your work with confidence. Most of these types of plagiarism are quite easy to detect with a reliable plagiarism checker.
Paraphrasing plagiarism
Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas into your own words. In order to do so correctly, you must entirely rewrite the passage you are referencing without changing the meaning of the original text.
Every time you paraphrase, it’s important to cite the original source and avoid wording that is too similar to the original. Otherwise, you could be at risk of committing paraphrasing plagiarism.
Remember that paraphrasing doesn’t just mean switching out a few words for synonyms while retaining the original sentence structure. The author’s idea must be reformulated in a way that fits smoothly into your text.
Verbatim plagiarism
Quoting means copying a brief passage from another text, enclosing it in quotation marks.
If you fail to include quotation marks or a citation, you’re committing verbatim plagiarism: copying someone’s exact words without acknowledgement. Even if you change a few of the words, it’s still plagiarism.
To quote correctly, introduce the quotation in your own words, make sure it’s enclosed in quotation marks, and include a citation showing where it comes from.
Patchwork plagiarism: Combining multiple sources
Patchwork plagiarism, also called mosaic plagiarism, involves copying elements of different sources and combining them to create a new text. It can include both directly copying and paraphrasing content without citation.
It can be challenging to incorporate several sources into your work at once, so be sure to double-check that you are citing each one correctly.
If you quote or paraphrase multiple sources in one sentence, it’s often best to cite each one separately, so that it’s clear what material comes from which source.
“Americans have always remembered the battle. What we often forget are the difficult decisions tribal leaders made afterward to ensure the safety of their people” (Van Heuvelen, 2020).
“Under skies darkened by smoke, gunfire and flying arrows, 210 men of the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry Unit led by Lt. Colonel George Custer confronted thousands of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors on June 25, 1876, near the Little Big Horn River in present-day Montana. The engagement was one in a series of battles and negotiations between Plains Indians and U.S. forces over control of Western territory, collectively known as the Sioux Wars” (McDermott, 2021).
On June 25, 1876, 210 men of the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry Unit led by Lt. Colonel George Custer confronted thousands of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors. Custer and his men were handily defeated, and Americans have always remembered the battle as “Custer’s Last Stand.” What is often forgotten is the difficult decisions tribal leaders made afterward to ensure the safety of their people.
On June 25, 1876, Lt. Colonel George Custer led a unit of 210 men of the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry against thousands of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors (McDermott, 2021). Custer and his men were handily defeated, and Americans have always remembered the battle as “Custer’s Last Stand.” However, sometimes lost to history are the “difficult decisions tribal leaders made afterward” in seeking to protect their people, especially those most vulnerable (Van Heuvelen, 2020).
Common knowledge: When do I need a citation?
Common knowledge refers to information you can reasonably expect the average reader to accept without proof.
For this kind of information, you don’t need a citation. For example, you won’t be accused of plagiarism for failing to cite your sources when you mention Paris is the capital city of France.
In order to be considered common knowledge, your statement must be widely known, undisputed, and easily verified. It also generally cannot be attributed to a specific person or paper. When in doubt, add a citation.
Real-life examples of plagiarism
Plagiarism is most commonly discussed in the context of academia, but it’s a relevant concern across all sorts of different industries, from pop music to politics.
In 2006, the Brookings Institute accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having plagiarized 80% of his economics dissertation from a paper published by the University of Pittsburgh a few decades earlier.
Dissertation plagiarism committed by other famous politicians, such as former Senator John Walsh, former German Defense Secretary Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg, and former Hungarian President Pal Schmitt, led to their resignations and their degrees being revoked.
Source: CNN
In 1966, famous Pop Art artist Andy Warhol was sued by photographer Patricia Caulfield, who claimed unauthorized use of one of her photographs. Warhol had seen her photo of hibiscus flowers in the 1964 issue of Modern Photography and used it for his silkscreen work Flowers.
While Warhol’s team argued that this was “fair use,” a judge determined that Warhol had, in fact, plagiarized the photo. This led to enduring reputation costs and a large financial settlement.
Source: Garden Collage
In 2016, a speech Melania Trump gave at the Republican National Convention was found to have copied several paragraphs almost verbatim from a speech Michelle Obama gave at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
While her staff claimed that she had incorporated “fragments of others’ speeches that reflected her own thinking,” she was widely considered to have plagiarized.
Joe Biden was found to have committed similar plagiarism in a speech he gave during the 1988 presidential campaign, paraphrasing a speech by Welsh politician Neil Kinnock too closely.
Source: CNN
In 2018, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 2013 hit song “Blurred Lines,” by Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, infringed on the copyright of the song “Got to Give it Up,” by the late Marvin Gaye. The Gaye family was awarded over $5 million in damages as well as 50% of the royalties moving forward.
This sets a precedent that new music must be different in both style and substance from previously copyrighted songs. Other hit artists, such as Sam Smith, George Harrison, and Olivia Rodrigo, have faced similar consequences.
Source: ABC News
Frequently asked questions about plagiarism
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George, T. (2022, July 15). Examples of Plagiarism & Tips for Avoiding It. Scribbr. Retrieved April 21, 2025, from https://www.scribbr.com/plagiarism/examples-of-plagiarism/
