Paraphrasing is when you put an idea from a source into your own words. Sometimes you may read something in a source that is important, but you don’t want to put it into your paper as a direct quote. So you rewrite the passage in your own words. That’s perfectly fine, as long as you are careful about citations.

Question

If the information you are paraphrasing is common knowledge, or known by most people, you don’t need to cite the source. But if the information is not common knowledge, you must cite it. Even if the words are your own because you’ve paraphrased, the idea is not. How do you know what ideas are common knowledge and what ideas are original? It can be tricky. Facts that are common knowledge are easy to verify and can be found in multiple sources. A single author’s original research, image or argument is not common knowledge. If you’re unsure whether or not to cite, cite!

Read the following passage from “A Short Walk Around the Pyramids & Through the World of Art” by Philip M. Isaacson:

This is a place called Saqqara. It is on the edge of a great desert an hour’s drive from Cairo. You could reach it by camel, but that would take much longer. As you approach Saqqara, a line of walls and a strange pyramid rise from the sand like a golden mirage. But they are not a mirage. They are among the oldest works of art in the world. They were built more than 4,600 years ago by an Egyptian king with a wonderful imagination. His name was Zoser.

Which of the following sentences plagiarize from Isaacson?

A
When you first see the walls and pyramid at Saqqara, you may think they are a mirage. But they are not.

B
The great pyramid of Saqqara was built by the Egyptian king Zoser.

C
The pyramid at Saqqara was built over 4,600 years ago.

D
Saqqara is about an hour outside of Cairo.

Answer 1

The sentence that plagiarizes from Isaacson is:

A
"When you first see the walls and pyramid at Saqqara, you may think they are a mirage. But they are not."

This sentence closely resembles the original text in its structure and wording, particularly in the phrasing about a mirage. The other options (B, C, and D) provide general information that is more widely known and do not closely follow the original wording or structure, thus they might not necessarily be considered plagiarism. However, they should still be cited if they refer to specific information from Isaacson's work.