English Language Arts
Grade 10
15 min
Identify plagiarism
Identify plagiarism
What you'll learn
- Identify at least 4 out of 5 examples of similes in a short story and explain how you know they are similes.
- Explain the meaning of 3 different metaphors, using evidence from the text to support your interpretation.
- Distinguish between similes and metaphors in a set of 10 sentences with 80% accuracy.
- Create one original simile and one original metaphor to describe a given object or feeling.
Tutorial Preview
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Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Define plagiarism and differentiate between its main types, including direct, mosaic, and self-plagiarism.
Analyze a written passage against a source text to identify specific instances of plagiarism.
Explain the ethical importance of academic integrity and the potential consequences of plagiarism in high school and beyond.
Distinguish between proper paraphrasing and patchwriting (mosaic plagiarism).
Apply the core rules of citation to determine if a source has been credited correctly.
Evaluate whether a piece of information qualifies as 'common knowledge' and does not require a citation.
Ever seen a movie that felt like a total copy of another one? 🤔 In academic and professional writing, that 'copying' has a serious name: plagiarism....
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
PlagiarismThe act of presenting someone else's work, ideas, or words as your own without giving them proper credit.Copying a paragraph from a website and putting it in your essay without citing the source.
Direct PlagiarismCopying another's work word-for-word (verbatim) without using quotation marks or providing a citation.Student paper: The novel is a critique of the American Dream. Source: 'This novel is a critique of the American Dream.' The student copied the exact sentence.
Mosaic Plagiarism (Patchwriting)Weaving together phrases, sentences, and ideas from a source with your own writing without proper attribution. This often involves replacing a few words with synonyms but keeping the original sentence structure.Source: 'The fragile ecos...
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Key Rules & Conventions
The Quotation Rule
Any sequence of three or more words taken directly from a source must be enclosed in quotation marks and followed by a citation.
Use this rule when you want to use an author's exact words to add power or credibility to your argument. Never use someone's exact words without both quotation marks and a citation.
The Paraphrase Rule
A paraphrased idea must be entirely in your own words and sentence structure. You must still include a citation to the original source.
Use this rule when you want to convey the meaning of a source's idea without using a direct quote. Simply changing a few words is not enough; the structure and vocabulary must be your own.
The Idea Attribution Rule
If an idea, theory, or piece of data is not your own and is not...
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Challenging
A student is writing an essay on Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. They want to include an idea from Critic A, who argues about Lady Macbeth's ambition, and a supporting fact from Historian B, who describes the role of women in 11th-century Scotland. To synthesize these two sources into one original sentence without plagiarizing, the student must:
A.Choose the better of the two sources and only cite that one.
B.Paraphrase and integrate both ideas, and include a citation that credits both Critic A and Historian B.
C.Put the entire sentence in quotation marks and cite whichever source was mentioned first.
D.Cite Critic A for the idea, since the fact from Historian B is likely common knowledge.
Challenging
A student reads a blog post by an amateur historian. The blog post states, 'According to the definitive research of Professor Carl Schmidt, the Vikings' navigation techniques were far more advanced than previously thought.' The student writes in their paper: 'The Vikings' navigation techniques were far more advanced than previously thought (Schmidt).' Why is this a weak and potentially dishonest citation?
A.The student should have cited the blog post, not the professor.
B.The student is citing a primary source (Schmidt) that they have not actually read, relying on a secondary source's interpretation.
C.The student should have put the sentence in quotation marks.
D.The student did not include the page number for Schmidt's research.
Challenging
Source: 'The Impressionist movement, which emerged in the late 19th century, was characterized by its radical use of visible brushstrokes, emphasis on the changing qualities of light, and ordinary subject matter.' Student Passage: 'The art of Impressionism was a new style. The Impressionist movement was characterized by its radical use of visible brushstrokes. This new art focused on the changing qualities of light and everyday topics (Art History Journal, p. 75).' What is the most significant academic integrity failure in the student's passage?
A.The first sentence, 'The art of Impressionism was a new style,' is an unoriginal thought.
B.The final phrase, 'everyday topics,' is an inaccurate paraphrase of 'ordinary subject matter.'
C.The second sentence is direct plagiarism, and the single citation at the end fails to properly attribute it.
D.The citation is incomplete because it does not include the author's name.
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What grade level is "Identify plagiarism"?
Identify plagiarism is a Grade 10 English Language Arts lesson on ExcelOS.
What will I learn in Identify plagiarism?
You'll be able to: Identify at least 4 out of 5 examples of similes in a short story and explain how you know they are similes; Explain the meaning of 3 different metaphors, using evidence from the text to support your interpretation; Distinguish….
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How many practice questions are included with Identify plagiarism?
This lesson includes 25 practice questions across multiple difficulty levels, each with instant feedback and explanations.