什么是英语作文/论文抄袭剽窃? 用案例(MLA格式)解析

 俗话说,“天下文章一大抄”。借鉴也好、抄袭也罢、各行各业都存在,而且很严重,这并不是说学术圈的人们没有道德观念,好逸恶劳,而是当人的自我概念还没有那么发达,私有财产制度还没有普及到知识分子的话语中时,在写作或论述中引用别人的话并不罕见,也没有强烈的意识要把人和自我区分开来。你可以看到,在早期,当文学学者写书时,他们很少像今天的学术论文那样提供冗长的书目并对其来源进行严格的说明,也没有人指责他们剽窃。

随着学术工作的专业化(每个人都通过发表论文来证明自己的学术能力),学术人群的大众化(高等教育已经普及,不再是少数特权阶层的特权),学术规则的日益严格和正规(否则如何客观地判断优劣),以及学术道德的日益制度化(进入规章制度和审查制度),抄袭越来越被视为严重的道德违规行为。

只有了解了这一历史背景,我们才能理解为什么抄袭对高等教育机构如此重要,以及为什么由于抄袭如此普遍且难以捕捉或制止,教育机构近年来花费了如此多的精力和资源来教导学生和学者正确使用数据,以期首先制止抄袭并更彻底地规范学术界的运作方式。

    以下是我们收集的一些正式定义,从中也可体会学术成规的精神:

 

I. Definitions of Plagiarism:

A. Books

1.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.  Joseph Gilbaldi and Walter S. Achtert, 1988.

 Plagiarism is the act of using another person’s ideas or expressions in your writing without acknowledging the source. (21)重点是必须交代数据来源

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.  Joseph Gilbaldi, 1995.

 Derived from the Latin Word Plagiarius (“kidnapper”), plagiarism refers to a form of cheating that has been defined as “the false assumption of authorship: the wrongful act of taking the product of another person’s mind, and presenting it as one’s own” (Alexander Lindey, Plagiarism and Originality [New York: Harper, 1952] 2). (1.7)新版的MLA手册对于抄袭有了更为强势的定义,也把抄袭的故意性视为作弊欺骗

2.

Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide. James D. Lester, 1976, 1987.

 Fundamentally, plagiarism is the offering of the words or ideas of another person as one’s own. (48) (78)

Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide.  James D. Lester, 1999.

 Plagiarism is purposely using another’s person’s writing as your own. (5h)这个新版本也和MLA新版本一样强调动机是故意的

3.

Form and Style: Research Papers, Reports, Theses.  Carole Slade, 1997.

 Plagiarism, a word from the Latin for kidnapping that now means the use of another person’s ideas or wording without giving appropriate credit, results from inaccurate or incomplete attribution of material to its source. (55)这个定义在追溯源头时很严重,但是说明时却又有些轻松了

4.

Writing the Research and Term Paper. Travis L. Hauser and Lee Learner Gray, 1964.

 When you use someone else’s ideas or phrasing without giving him credit, you are plagiarizing (stealing).这里等同偷窃

5.

Writing the Research Paper: A Handbook Includes MLA and APA Documentation Styles.  Anthony C. Winkler and Jo Ray McCuen, 1999.

 Plagiarism is the act of passing off another’s words and ideas as one’s own.  The question of when one has plagiarized and when one simply has asserted a general truth from an unknown source can be sometimes puzzling…No generation speaks a language of its own invention; few people are creators of the proverbs and sayings that that they utter daily.  The mother who tells her child, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever,” is plagiarizing from the poet John Keats…Innumerable other examples can be given to show how we freely and openly borrow ideas and expressions from one another. 先说明引用抄袭都是常见的

 Blatant plagiarism, however, involves the deliberate stealing of another’s words and ideas, generally with the motive of earning underserved rewards…但是如果有意骗成绩或业绩,那就不一样了

 Under the conventions of writing research papers, you must acknowledge the source of any idea and statement not truly your own…In sum, to avoid plagiarism, you must do the following:

 ※Provide a note for any idea borrowed from another.
※Place quoted material within quotation marks.

  ※Provide a bibliography entry at the end of the paper for every source used in the text or in a note. (p89)

6.

The Research Paper: Process, Form, and Content.  Audrey J. Roth, 1999.

 To pass off as your own any writing you didn’t actually do is morally wrong.  To present such work without acknowledge the source—and therefore to let someone assume it is yours when, in fact, it is not—is plagiarism. (P5)抄袭是个道德问题

7.

A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.  Kate L. Turabian, 1996.

 By definition, a research paper involves the assimilation of prior scholarship and entails the responsibility to give proper acknowledgment whenever one is indebted to another for either words or ideas….Failure to give credit is plagiarism. (p. 74)终于有人说明了为什么不能抄袭──因为你需要消化吸收前人成果,但是也需要表示感恩。忘恩负义就是抄袭的问题所在。

8.

The Oxford English Dictionary (second edition, volume XI Ow-Poisant, 1989)

plagiarize v.  1. To practise plagiarism upon; to take and use as one’s own the thoughts, writings, or inventions of other.  2. To practise or commit plagiarism.

plagiarism n.  1. The action or practice of plagiarizing; the wrong appropriation or purloining, and publication as one’s own, of the ideas, or the expression of the ideas (literary, artistic, musical, mechanical, ect.) of another.  2. A purloined idea, design, passage, or work.

9.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2004)

plagiarize or plagiarise v.  take (the work or an idea of someone else) and pass it off as one’s own.

10.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2004)

plagiarism n.  the act of using someone else’s words, ideas, or work and pretending they are your own.

11.

Random House Webster’s College Dictionary (2000)

plagiarism n.  1. the unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own. 2. something used and represented in this manner.

由于高等学府正是大量训练与要求论述生产的场域,因此抄袭剽窃也往往最盛行于此。近年来,为了防范抄袭行为,众多大学都未雨绸缪的设立写作网站,也在网站内积极讨论抄袭,讨论如何正确引用典籍。这些网站的内容对学生而言,是很好的练习场域,目标倒不一定是防范抄袭,反而可以帮助学生学习如何写作学术论文。以下是一些大学论文网站给抄袭下的定义:

B. Websites:

1.

Schools

a.

Indiana University http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml)(Other resources in this site: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets.shtml

 “…Plagiarism is using others’ ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information… to avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use: another person’s idea, opinion, or theory; any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings—any pieces of information—that are not common knowledge; quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words; or paraphrase of another person’s spoken or written words.”

b.

(香港大学http://www.hku.hk/plagiarism/page2s.htm)

 “…plagiarism is copying the work of another person without proper acknowledgement. There are two parts in the definition: copying and the absence of proper acknowledgement…. it gives an impression to an ordinary reader that the work is the original work of the author when in fact it was copied from some others’ work. The idea underlying plagiarism is very simple: if you appropriate the work of another person, you should give proper recognition to that person. “

c.

Georgetown University http://gervaseprograms.georgetown.edu/hc/plagiarism.html

 “Plagiarism is defined by the Honor Council document as “the act of passing off as one’s own the ideas or writings of another.”

d.

Northwestern University http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html

 “Northwestern’s “Principles Regarding Academic Integrity” defines plagiarism as “submitting material that in part or whole is not entirely one’s own work without attributing those same portions to their correct source.”  Plagiarism can occur in many forms besides writing: art, music, computer code, mathematics, and scientific work can also be plagiarized… In all academic work, and especially when writing papers, we are building upon the insights and words of others. A conscientious writer always distinguishes clearly between what has been learned from others and what he or she is personally contributing to the reader’s understanding. To avoid plagiarism, it is important to understand how to attribute words and ideas you use to their proper source. “

e.

The University of North Carolina http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/plagiarism.html

  “The UNC Honor Court defines plagiarism as “the deliberate or reckless representation of another’s words, thoughts, or ideas as one’s own without attribution in connection with submission of academic work, whether graded or otherwise.” (Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, Section II.B.1.).”

f.

Duke University http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/plagiarism.htm

 ※Copy from published sources without adequate documentation.
※Purchase a pre-written paper (either by mail or electronically).
※Let someone else write a paper for you.
※Pay someone else to write a paper for you.

 ※Submit as your own someone else’s unpublished work, either with or without permission.

g.

Online Writing Lab http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/plag.html

 “Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of someone else’s thoughts or wording either by incorrect documentation, failing to cite your sources altogether, or simply by relying way too heavily on external resources… whether intentional or, as is more often the case, inadvertent, the result is that some or all of another author’s ideas become represented as your own. It’s like lip-synching to someone else’s voice and accepting the applause and rewards for yourself. ”

2.

Other Online Scources

a.

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism

 “Plagiarism is the practice of (dishonestly) claiming or implying original authorship of material which one has not actually created, such as when a person incorporates material from someone else’s work into his own work without attributing it.  Shakespeare’s appropriation of stories into his plays may be considered plagiarism, except that Shakespeare never claimed that the stories were his own, and his transformations of them were so great that they served as literary sources, not as copied materials.”

b.

Wikipedia 中文版 http://zh.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E6%8A%84%E8%A2%AD&variant=zh-tw

抄袭,亦称作学术剽窃、剽窃学术研究成果、违反学术诚信,是对于原著未经或基本未经修改的抄录,这是一种侵犯著作权的行为。但是一些时候是否构成抄袭比较难以界定,例如模仿一个故事的情节是否属抄袭就有很大争议,一些人认为故事情节属于思想范围,而「抄袭思想」并不是犯罪的行为,因为法律只保护思想的表现方式而不是思想本身。

不同学校对于保持学术诚信有不同的要求。简单一点的,会要求学生在提交习作时,要附有至少5个或10个参考书目。亦有学校会要求学生在递交功课时连同一份有法律效力的声明一同递交。严格一点的,会禁止学生把同一份功课同时交给超过一个科目。而对于违反学术诚信的学生,轻则会发警告信,重则会开除学籍。而对于违反学术诚信的教员,则会被撤职。

c.

(大英在线百科全书繁体中文版 http://www.wordpedia.eb.com/tbol/article?i=059452&db=big5

以他人著作伪称为自己所作的行为。这是一种欺诈行为,一般来说违反出版著作法。如果只是意思相同,而文字并不一样,则不算违法。如果文字雷同,但能证明的确是独立完成的,也不算违法。

d.

(慎防剽窃罪名: 谈中文母语留学生的英文写作http://www.swan.ac.uk/cals/staff/shei/publication/plagiarism-chinese.htm

现代西方文化非常重视智慧财产权,而文章所有权是其中之一.凡是学术著作需要引用到前人著作或思想者,按习惯均需要在文章中注明出处…剽窃行为可大致分为恶性剽窃(blatant plagiarism)与偶发性剽窃(casual plagiarism)两种.前者为几乎整篇抄袭,企图蒙混过关.后者则文章主要由自己构思写作,只是参杂程度不一的抄袭成分。

e.

Plagiarism.Org http://www.plagiarism.org/

 “Many people think of plagiarism as copying another’s work, or borrowing someone else’s original ideas.  But terms like “copying” and “borrowing” can disguise the seriousness of the offense:

 According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to “plagiarize” means

 1) to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own
2) to use (another’s production) without crediting the source
3) to commit literary theft

 4) to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

 In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else’s work and lying about it afterward.”

f.

The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/plagiarism.html

 “Plagiarism includes:

 ※ Quoting material without attribution. The most obvious kind of plagiarism.

※ Passing off another’s idea as your own, even if it’s been reworded. Changing an original’s wording doesn’t avoid plagiarism. The underlying idea of plagiarism is unacknowledged borrowing of ideas, not specific words.

※ Imitating a passage’s structure or argument without attribution. Suppose a source presents an assertion and three supporting points. If you adopt that particular structure, including the particular examples or supporting points, you need to provide a citation to the original. This holds even if you substantially revise the wording.

 ※Concealing the extent to which you’ve borrowed from a text or other source. Citing a specific passage in a work doesn’t give you license to draw on the rest of the work without citation. This can be the nastiest kind of plagiarism because it’s so sneaky.”

g.

Writing Program Administrators http://www.wpacouncil.org/node/9

 “…plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledg­ing its source.”

近年来,抄袭剽窃已经从道德问题转化为司法问题,各种相关定义越来越严谨,相关法条规章也逐步被建立起来。在此文化资产全球分享的年代,却也有着最严厉的著作权观念和法规出现,显然是对文化民主化现象的响应。

C. Legal Aspect:

1.

定义: 《著作权法论》著作人就其创作之著作,发生二种权利:其一为有关保护财产利益之权利,例如重制权、公开口述权、公开播放权、公开上映权、公开演出权、公开展示权、编辑权、改作权、出租权、输入权等,总称「著作财产权」。其二位有关保护著作人人格利益之权利,例如公开发表权、姓名表示权、禁止丑化权等,总称「著作人格权」(moral right )(萧雄淋,P3)

2.

与论文写作之相关:依新著作权法之规定,在一定情形下,学校教师或学生亦可合理使用他人的著作,这些情形包括:

一、为报导、评论、研究或其它正当目的之必要,在合理范围内,引用或翻译已公开发表的著作(第五十二条及第六十三条)

  二、基于个人或家庭非营利之目的,例如教师于教学之外,自行从事学术研究,或者学生准备撰写课业报告,可以在合理的范围内重制他人的著作,例如影印一本书中的部分章节或影印一篇文章,但应该注意的是,必须利用图书馆及非供公众使用的机器影印才可以(第五十一条)(洪美华,P87)

3.

问题: 《认识著作权》

 Q:古圣先贤之著作是否受著作权法保护,其持有者又为何人?

  A:著作财产权的存续期间并不是漫无限制的,它最长的一种情形是存续于著作人终身再加上死亡后可以由其子孙继承五十年。也就是说,著作权财产权因存续期间届满而消灭,一经消灭,这项著作(例如古圣先贤的著作)即归属社会公共,任何人在不侵害其著作人格权的情形下(例如不得改窜内容等),都可以自由利用(参见著作权法第四十二条、四十三条规定)(经济部智慧财产局,P101)

既然要学会正确引用别人的智慧资源,就得先学会如何转述人家的话语,下面提供一个很明显的例子。

II. The Case of Paraphrase

1.

Form and Style: Theses Reports, Term Papers.  William Giles Campbell and Stephen Vaughan Bellou, 1974.

 A paraphrase expresses the essence of the author’s idea in about the same number of words but in the student’s own style. Many students who sincerely believe they are paraphrasing a statement are actually guilty of plagiarism. Changing a word here and there and revising the order of phrases is not sufficient, even though you give credit in a footnote. If you cannot write a paraphrase without looking at the original, you are not likely to write it truly and in your own words and style. If in doubts as to how authentic the paraphrase is, look back to the original and make a critical comparison. (p. 10)

2.

How to Write Your Term Paper.  Elinor Yaggy, 1985.

 You will be plagiarizing if (1) you are not accurate in indicating direct quotations or (2) you do not completely reword when you paraphrase. Rewording includes using your own language and your sentence structure. A paraphrase should sound like you, not like the source with the words shifted around. Any plagiarism, intentional or not, casts doubt on the honesty of all your statements. (p. 17)

3.

Examples of Paraphrase and Plagiarism: How to Write Your Term Paper.  Elinor Yaggy, 1985.

[Original] What is a Poet?…He is a man speaking to men: a man, it is true, endowed with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness, who has a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul, than are supposed to be common among mankind; a man pleased with his own passions and volitions, and who rejoices more than other men in the spirit of life that is in him…To these qualities he has acquired greater readiness and power in expressing what he thinks and feels…(Wordsworth, “Preface to Lyrical Ballads”)

[Example of plagiarism] The poet is different from common men. He is a man who is usually more enthusiastic, tender, and possesses more sensitivity, and a man with a more comprehensive soul. The poet is more affected by things absent from the scene than the common man. He has a great sense of the spirit of life within himself.  The poet, above all, has the ability to express what he thinks and feels more readily and powerfully than the ordinary man.即使换了字眼,基本上还是和原文的结构论点相去不远

[Example of an acceptable paraphrase] Wordsworth says a poet and other men are alike except that a poet lives more fully and enjoys life more, has usually sensitive reactions to everything about him, understands himself and others better than the most, and has a vivid memory for details.  Because of these heightened characteristics, he can with practice express himself and others better than most, and has a vivid memory for details.  Because of these heightened characteristics, he can with practice express himself more easily and more forcefully than others.重整了原来的说法

Works Cited

 Campell, Williams G., and Stephen Vaughan Bellou. Form and Style: Theses Reports, Term Papers. 4th ed. U.S.A: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974.

 Gilbaldi, Joseph, and Walter S. Achtert. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 3rd ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1988.

 Gilbaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 4th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1995.

 Hauser, Travis L., and Lee Learner Gray. Writing the Research and Term Paper. New York: Cambridge Book Company, 1964.

 —. Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide. 5th ed. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1987.

 —. Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide. 7th ed. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1993.

 —. Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide. 9th ed. New York, Addison Wesley Longman, Inc, 1999.

 Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide. 2nd ed. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1976.

 Lester, James D., and James D. Lester, Jr. Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide. 11th ed. New York: Pearson Education, Inc, 2005.

 Roth, Audrey J. The Research Paper: Process, Form, And Content. 8th ed. U.S.A.: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999.

 Slade, Carole. Form and Style: Research Papers, Reports Theses. 10th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997.

 Turabian , Kate L.A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.6th ed. U.S.A: The University of Chicago, 1996.

 Winkler, Anthony C., and Jo Ray McCuen. Writing the Research Paper: A Handbook Includes MLA and APA Documentation Styles. 5th ed. U.S.A.: Hartcourt, Inc.

 Yaggy, Elinor. How to Write Your Term Paper. 5th ed. New York: Haper Row.