EAP - English For Academic Purposes Avoiding Plagiarism Questions and Answers

Question 1

A student finds a sentence in a journal article that perfectly summarizes a key concept for their essay. They copy the sentence directly into their paper and add a citation at the end. What critical element is missing to avoid plagiarism?

Accepted Answer

Quotation marks around the sentence

Answer

When using an author's exact words, it is mandatory to enclose the copied text in quotation marks. Simply providing a citation is not enough, as it implies the words are a paraphrase, not a direct quote. This is a form of plagiarism.

Question 2

Which of the following is the BEST example of 'patchwriting,' which is a form of plagiarism?

Accepted Answer

Taking text from a source, changing a few words to synonyms, and rearranging the clauses while keeping the basic structure, without using quotation marks.

Answer

Patchwriting involves copying from a source and then making superficial changes like substituting synonyms or altering sentence structure slightly. This is considered plagiarism because it presents the original author's phrasing and sentence construction as your own, even if cited.

Question 3

Under which circumstance would a piece of information generally be considered 'common knowledge' and NOT require a citation in an academic paper?

Accepted Answer

The fact that William Shakespeare wrote the play 'Hamlet'.

Answer

Common knowledge refers to undisputed facts that are widely known and can be found in numerous general sources. The authorship of 'Hamlet' is a well-established fact in this category. Specific statistics, direct quotes, and theories attributed to a particular person are not common knowledge and must always be cited.

Question 4

A student writes the following: 'The investigation showed that the marketing strategy was very successful (Lee, 2021).' The original sentence from Lee's article was: 'The research demonstrated that the promotional plan yielded highly effective results.' Which academic integrity issue is most evident here?

Accepted Answer

The paraphrase is too close to the original source's wording and sentence structure.

Answer

This is a clear case of poor paraphrasing, often called patchwriting. The student has only replaced key words with synonyms ('investigation' for 'research', 'successful' for 'effective results') while maintaining the identical sentence structure. A proper paraphrase requires restating the idea entirely in one's own words and sentence patterns.

Question 5

A student is writing an essay on a topic they researched for a different class last semester and wants to reuse some of their previous work. What is the most academically honest first step to take?

Accepted Answer

Consult the current instructor about the course and university policy on reusing previous work.

Answer

Reusing one's own work for a new assignment without explicit permission is considered 'self-plagiarism.' Academic policies often require that all submitted work be original for that specific course. The only appropriate action is to discuss the situation with the current instructor to seek permission and clarification on how to proceed ethically.

EAP - English For Academic Purposes Practice Test

EAP - English For Academic Purposes Practice Test

EAP - English For Academic Purposes Avoiding Plagiarism Questions and Answers