V. What does plagiarism look like?

Here is a section of “original text,” as the student would have found it in a research volume.

“To arrive at this point, Molière had to go through half his Parisian career.  But although he
rejected its appearance, he kept the structure of the mask.  Arnolphe, Harpagon, Tartuffe,
Alceste, are made up no differently from the six Sganarelles, from Pantaloon or Scaramouche.”

Citation information for the above quotation:

Lanson, Gustave. “Molière and Farce.”  Molière: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Jacques Guicharnaud.  Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964. p.25.

Direct quote without citation

Wrong:

Although he rejected its appearance, he kept the structure of the mask.

This sentence was taken directly from the source text, with no alteration, and without indication that these are not the author’s own words.  This sentence should be placed in quotes and cited, with an indication that these are the thoughts of the source’s author, as shown below.

Correct:

Lanson agrees that “although [Molière] rejected its appearance, he kept the structure of the mask” (25).

The citation for this source on the paper’s Works Cited sheet should read:

Lanson, Gustave. “Molière and Farce.” Molière: A Collection of Critical Essays.
            
Ed. Jacques Guicharnaud. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964.

Improper paraphrase without citation:

A paraphrase is “a restatement of a text or passage in another form or other words” (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Wrong:

Molière did not accept its appearance, but he kept the structure of the mask.

These are not the author’s own words and need to be paraphrased in his own words and cited, or placed in quotes and cited.

Correct:

Molière opted to maintain the mask in its current form.  However, he was unhappy with this form (Lanson 25).