I am indebted to Jon Appleton for a beautiful example of how a simple error in setting up a document can lead to the writer being accused of plagiarism. The paragraph to which he refers in the extract below, which is at the foot of page 3 of my paper, should have been indented. By an error on my part (now corrected), it wasn't. Just as well that I'm not a student at Brookes, where - even though that paragraph was properly footnoted - 'we are clear that this would be regarded as plagiarism'!
Just possibly a slight excess of zeal here?
Peter Levin
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From: Plagiarism on behalf of Jon Appleton
Sent: Mon 05/06/2006 14:14
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Plagiarism in context
Jon Appleton wrote: ...
I was also intrigued by Levin's fifth reference (at the foot
of page 3). Nothing is in quotes and nothing is inset, so
what text is the reference referring to? On checking the
reference, it can be found that, in fact, the whole
paragraph is a direct quote from the source but this is
effectively hidden from the reader. In other words, it
gives the appearance that the author has developed certain
ideas (or, at the very least, has reformulated certain ideas
of others) when, in fact, they were simply copied verbatim
from the work of someone else.
At Oxford Brookes, we are clear that this would be regarded
as plagiarism (although, if there was only one instance in
the work submitted and particularly if the student was at an
early stage of their course, it would not be particularly
serious plagiarism) because we believe that it is essential
to ensure that students understand the importance of very
clearly distinguishing between, in the biblical phrase, mine
and thine in the work they submit for assessment.
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