Which of these is an example of plagiarism?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question presents four statements and asks which one is an example of plagiarism.
Option a: 'Citing a source that you use only once' — This describes a citation behavior, not plagiarism. Providing a citation for a source you used is a normal scholarly practice, though you should still quote or paraphrase appropriately and follow guidelines for source use. So this is not plagiarism.
Option b: 'Effectively paraphrasing parts of an academic article and citing it' — Paraphrasing with proper citation is generally acceptable in academic work, assuming the paraphrase is sufficiently original and not a near-verbatim copy. This is not plagiarism if done correctly, though over-reliance on a single source or insufficiently transformed paraphrase could raise issues.
Option c: 'Copying a paragraph from a book, but changing a few words and giving a citation' — This is the problematic one. Copying verbatim and only making minimal word changes does not constitute true paraphrase, and simply adding a citation does not resolve the lack of originality. The proper approach would be to quote the exact wording with quotation marks and a citation, or to paraphrase substantially in your own words with proper attribution. The presence of only minor changes plus a citation still constitutes plagiarism because the original phrasing is not sufficiently transformed.
In summary, option c is the clear example of plagiarism because it uses someone else’s unique wording with only trivial edits, and attempts to disguise it with a citation instead of using proper quotation or thorough paraphrase. The other options describe acceptable practices when used correctly, or at least do not inherently constitute plagiarism.

ME Mod4 Intake 2A - 14 Apr 2025 - 4 Jul 2025 1.2A - Academic Integrity Quiz

Which of these is an example of plagiarism?

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