Writing – Example 5
Easily detected: sudden style switch
Using British spellings by an American-English writer (using non-native dialect)
Knossos is one of four Minoan palaces uncovered in the 1900s. Other palaces are located in Mallia, Phaistos and Zakro. They differ in size. It has been cogently argued that the central building at Gournia is a smaller scale palace, and a recently excavated structure just east of Siteia at Petras is evidently an even smaller one. Currently, excavations are going on in Chania in west Crete. This site may reveal an equally large-scale site.
Verdict: Plagiarized.
- The sudden changes of style, switching from simple to complex sentence structure and vocabulary, catches the instructor's eye
- Details are included that are not "common knowledge".
Recommendation:
- Use quotation marks to enclose a borrowed sentence.
- Use an in-text citation and then include the full source in the "works cited" list. (See Citation styles.)
Knossos is one of four Minoan palaces uncovered in the 1900s. Other palaces are located in Mallia, Phaistos and Zakro. They differ in size. "It has been cogently argued that the central building at Gournia is a smaller scale palace, and a recently excavated structure just east of Siteia at Petras is evidently an even smaller one" (Castle ). Currently, excavations are going on in Chania in west Crete. This site may reveal an equally large-scale site.
Works Cited (Place this at the end of the paper.)
Castle, Roger. Cretan Palaces of the Ancient Minoans. Crete: Chania Press, 1988. Print
(The book above is fictitious and is used for example.)