Verbatim copying/direct copying example

What is it?

When parts of another person's work are copied directly and presented as your own work. Any use of the exact words of another person or organisation should be placed in quotation marks (“ ”) and cited appropriately, in accordance with the conventions used in your field of study or discipline.

Scholarship example

Original referenced text

The shifting fortunes of war had a terrible impact, and not just on those who were killed or maimed in the fighting. When the republican General Custine's forces took the city of Mainz in the Rhineland in October 1792, local patriots created a Society of Friends of Liberty and Equality with five hundred members, adapted their own version of the 'Marseillaise', the 'Bürgerlied der Mainzer', and planted a liberty tree.

Text used with permission, from p. 182 of: McPhee, P. (2016). Liberty or death: The French revolution. Yale University Press.
Note: This reference is formatted in APA 7 style. See Re:cite for other styles.

Good scholarship

After the capture of the city of Mainz by General Custine, “local patriots created a Society of Friends of Liberty and Equality with five hundred members” (McPhee, 2016, p.182).

Plagiarism and poor scholarship

After the capture of the city of Mainz by General Custine, local patriots created a Society of Friends of Liberty and Equality with five hundred members.

Explanation

  • The exact words of the original author have been used here without any acknowledgment. This is plagiarism.
  • When using a direct quote, you must ensure you use quotation marks to indicate the direct quote and cite the original source.

Check Re:cite on the library website for correct formatting for a range of referencing styles.