Practice Quiz Instructions
Now here is a quick quiz that will help you understand the difference between an acceptable use of a source and plagiarism. So take a guess! Click on the answer you think best. If you choose an incorrect answer simply try the other option; no matter which answer you choose, there will be an explanation as to why the example is or is not plagiarism.
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The paragraph below is text taken from a scholarly journal.Then there are five "Potential Use" examples in the boxes below that show different ways that the information has been used by a student. For each different use, indicate whether you think the use is Acceptable Use (properly cited) or constitutes Plagiarism. You will receive immediate feedback to help you learn more!
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Each of the three examples below refer to this passage from a journal article.
"Rap music, unlike disco or funk, is a new genre unto itself. Disco and funk were variations of an already existing, and therefore familiar, form--rhythm and blues. Rap music, in its purest form, presents an entirely new sound. This is one of the reasons rap music tends to be so misunderstood not only by the general public but also by "accomplished" music critics--it is completely unfamiliar."
Taken from Mtume ya Salaam's "The Aesthetics of Rap" African American Review 29 (2): Summer 1995; 303-315. (Passage cited is from page 306.)
Potential Use #1
The student wrote:
"Rap music, unlike disco or funk, is a new genre unto itself." It represents a completely new sound, which is why listeners and critics don't understand it; it is completely unfamiliar (Salaam, 306).
Is this acceptable use or plagiarism?
Potential Use #2
The student wrote:
According to Mtume ya Salaam, rap music is "a new genre unto itself," because it is a completely new form of music. He argues that "the general public" and even "'accomplished' music critics" misunderstand it precisely because it is so unfamiliar (306).
Is this acceptable use or plagiarism?
Potential Use #3
The student wrote:
One of the reasons I listen to rap music is because it seems to be completely different from anything I've ever heard. Mtume ya Salaam confirms this opinion when he states that rap is "an entirely new sound" (306). He goes on to say that many listeners, even critics, don't understand rap because it sounds so unfamiliar to them, unlike disco or funk, which have sprung from rhythm and blues (306).
Is this acceptable use or plagiarism?
Potential Use #4
The student wrote:
Rap music is a new form of music that, unlike disco or funk, represents a completely new sound. This is why listeners and critics don't understand it; it's a genre that is utterly unfamiliar (Salaam, 306).
Is this acceptable use or plagiarism?
Potential Use #5
The student wrote:
Salaam states that in its purest form, rap music represents an entirely new sound, which is why it's so misunderstood by expert listeners as well as the general listener. Because it isn't based on earlier forms of music, it's completely unfamiliar.
Is this acceptable use or plagiarism?
Creative Commons License
This guide is adapted from the Plagiarism Tutorial created by the University of Southern Mississippi. This work licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International License.