Third International Symposium on
Academic Writing and Critical Thinking
Analyzing Distinct Varieties of Plagiarism
Chad Nilep
Nagoya University
Plagiarism is widely recognized as a problem in academic writing, both for classwork and for publication. Scholars have discussed causes of plagiarism ranging from students’ ignorance, to teachers’ disengaged style and uninspiring assignments, to the ready availability of copy-able models and relatively mild judgement against plagiarism. Although it is generally viewed as a form of academic dishonesty, however, not all plagiarism comes from students behaving unethically or even negligently. This paper analyzes three cases of plagiarism resulting from distinct causes. Plagiarism arises when students attempt to combine information from texts with similar wording but unrelated information. In one case a writer’s attempt to “borrow standard phraseology from native speakers” as recommended in writing advice (Swales and Feak 1994) results not only in close paraphrase plagiarism, but also loss of information important to the argument. In each case, writers miscommunicate by focusing too much on language form and not enough on the ideas being communicated. These cases show a need for attention to critical thinking and communication in writing education.
プレジャリズムはアカデミックライティングにおいて問題となっている。先行研究によって、その原因として、学生の無知、教員の指導不足、そしてプレジャリズムに対するあいまいな判断などが述べらせている。本稿では、3件のプレジャリズムを分析する。言語形式を重視して、情報や論点が十分伝達されていない状況が発生している。これらのことから、アカデミックライティングにおいて批判的思考やコミュニケーションを重視していく必要性があると言える。
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