What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the act of deliberately taking someone else's words and trying to pass them off as your own.

Consider the following examples

Quote:

Originally Posted by Original Text Mary sat at a computer, writing about her lost love. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and kicked the monitor, causing the computer to shut down amidst sparks. Then, she stomped out of the room, resolving to find Darren and tell him how she felt before he truly was gone forever.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plagiarism One Mary sat at a computer, writing about her lost love. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and kicked the monitor, causing the computer to shut down amidst sparks. Then, she stomped out of the room, resolving to find Darren and tell him how she felt before he truly was gone forever.

This one is obviously plagiarism. Every word is exactly the same as the original.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plagiarism Two Stacie sat at a computer, writing about the man she loved and lost. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and kicked the monitor, causing the computer to shut down amidst sparks. Then, she stomped out of the room, resolving to find Anthony and tell him how she felt before he truly was gone forever.

In this example, a few words were changed here and there. The majority of it is still someone else's words, though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plagiarism Three Stacie gazed at her laptop, reading the words she'd written about her lost love. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She stood and threw her computer across the room, causing it to shut down amidst sparks. She stared at the crumpled mess, briefly regretting her rashness, then fled the room. As she slammed the door behind her, she resolved to find Anthony and tell him how she felt before he truly was gone forever.

This one has been changed quite a bit, but it is still plagiarism. The writer is still using someone else's words.

This is not to say that every phase you write has to be different from every phrase previously written. There are only so many words in the English language. Things will be repeated. People will write about lost loves. People will destroy computers. People will resolve to change things. Make sure, though, that when you write, the words are coming from you, not from something that you previously read and thought sounded good.

What isn't plagiarism?

It is possible to use someone else's words without it being considered plagiarism. Anyone who has ever written a research paper knows what I'm talking about. Very often, in nonfiction works, sentences or entire passages are quoted from other works. The main difference here is that the writer in question is not trying to pass these words off as his own. He is citing and referencing, meaning that for every quote he uses, he says who originally said it and where it was said.

According to fair use, you can quote from another work for up to a certain length before you have to ask the owner of the copyright for permission. While this is not a clearly defined length, it's generally agreed that you can quote about 50 words from a nonfiction article and about 400 words from a nonfiction book.

With fiction works you need to be more careful. Even quoting one or two lines from a novel, poem, play, or song could get you into trouble if you don't get permission. However, this is something you don't need to worry about until your work is getting published.

Parody

Parody is the use of someone else's copyrighted material for the sake of humor. It is legal, though many writers and publishers disapprove.

Short parodies, such as brief references or dream sequences, are rarely objected to, and comic strips and TV shows often use such methods. Longer parodies, such as Barry Trotter and the Shameless Parody, have gotten published and seen success. However, you should be very careful if you decide to write a long parody. The legality is oft debated, and you'll be walking a dangerous line.