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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, May 13, 2002

What constitutes plagiarism? A test

Advertiser Staff

"The figure of Odysseus himself, who has become a symbol of restless questing, is a combination of the weary traveler making his toilsome way home and the insatiable seeker driven by a demonic urge." (24-25)

— Moses Hadas, "A History of Greek Literature" (Columbia University Press, 1950)

If students are writing essays about Homer's "Odyssey," and want to use this passage, which examples would constitute plagiarism?

1. Odysseus is both a weary traveler and an insatiable seeker. Homer depicts him as a complex character.

2. Odysseus, a complex character, combines the exhausted labor of a homesick man and the unquenchable passion of a restless adventurer.

3. Moses Hadas considers Odysseus a complex character. He is both a weary traveler and an insatiable seeker.

4. Odysseus has different sides to his personality. He is both cautious and vengeful, wise and impulsive, proud and humble. Moses Hadas recognizes the complexity of Homer's hero, calling him "a combination of the weary traveler [...] and the insatiable seeker" (24-25).

5. Odysseus has been seen as a complex character whose travels are motivated by unquenchable passion as well as exhaustion and homesickness (Hadas 24-25).

Source: "Keables Guide to English," compiled by Michael LaGory, the Iolani School handbook for grades 7-12.

• • •

What constitutes plagiarism? The answer

• Only 4 and 5 are not plagiarized.

• Student 1 uses Hadas' very words without acknowledging them.

• Student 2 changes the words but uses the ideas.

Student 3 only partially credits Hadas, and expresses the second sentence as if it's an original thought.

From "Keables Guide to English"