Lecture on the Department of Plagiarism Investigation (D.P.I.)

Overview

• Introduction to the concept of the Department of Plagiarism Investigation (D.P.I.).
• Focus on bringing plagiarists to justice and rescuing purloined texts.

Types of Plagiarism

1. Brain Child Snatching

• Named after the Latin origin of the word 'plagiarius'.
• Involves copying and pasting from original work without proper citation.
• Direct quotes are used without quotation marks or changing any words.
• Perpetrators may steal essays for ransom.
• When multiple sources are involved, it's termed a 'kidnapping ring'.

Self-Plagiarism

• Also known as one-sided collaboration.
• Involves reusing one's own previous texts or passages as new material.

2. Wild Goose Chase Technique

• Plagiarists create fake authors, book titles, and page numbers.
• Used to disguise plagiarism.

3. Old Synonym Switcheroo

• Plagiarists use a thesaurus to replace words with synonyms.
• Sentence structure and idea order remain unchanged.
• Misrepresents genuine paraphrasing.

4. Variations on a Smokescreen

• Includes shoddy paraphrasing where multiple passages are poorly paraphrased and compiled.

Misconceptions

• Belief that proper citation and quoting avoid plagiarism:
  • Wholly Quotable Document: Over-reliance on quoted passages without original content is still plagiarism.
  • Pervasively Paraphrased: Closely paraphrased texts from multiple sources lack originality and are deemed plagiarism.

Revealing While Concealing

• Selective citation or paraphrasing while presenting other passages as one's own work.

Conclusion

• Plagiarism ranges from minor to severe offenses.
• D.P.I. is fictional but emphasizes the importance of self-regulation in writing.
• Advocates for original thinking and doing one's own work to avoid plagiarism.

Key Takeaway

• The best defense against plagiarism is original work and critical thinking.