Compare the student text with the source.

Question

Source: Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel, pages 39–40. Published by W. W. Norton & Company, 1997:

Anyone who has experienced firsthand the overwhelming power of the life-sized painted bulls and horses in the Lascaux Cave of southwestern France will understand at once that their creators must have been as modern in their minds as they were in their skeletons

Student text:

If you've seen the ancient paintings in France's Lascaux Cave, then you know that their creators must have been as modern in their minds as they were in their skeletons.

Is the student's text plagiarized? Why or why not?

Answer 1

The student's text is not considered plagiarism, but it is very close in wording and structure to the source material. Plagiarism typically involves presenting someone else's work or ideas as one's own without proper attribution. In this case, the student has paraphrased the original sentence, but the paraphrase closely mirrors the phrasing and flow of the source.

To avoid plagiarism, the student would need to either:

1. Use different wording and sentence structure while still conveying the same idea.
2. Include a proper citation to acknowledge the original source.

While the student has shown an understanding of the content, the close similarity in phrasing without attribution could be seen as insufficiently original. Thus, it's advisable for the student to either change the wording further or cite the source to adhere to academic integrity standards.

Answer 2

can you make it more simple and like a kid wrote it

Answer 3

The student’s text is very similar to the original, but it’s not exactly plagiarism. Plagiarism means taking someone else's words or ideas and pretending they are your own. In this case, the student has changed a few words but still kept a lot of the same phrasing from the book.

To avoid any issues, the student could:

1. Change the words and sentence more, so it sounds different.
2. Add a little note saying where the idea came from.

So, while the student gets the idea, they should either write it in their own way more or give credit to the original author. That way, it’s clear they’re not trying to claim someone else’s work as their own.