Question

Is it plagarism if you take something off the internet and change it completely in your own words?

Answer 1

as long as you used it as a reference, you have to cite the sources.

Answer 2

Well it was for a narrative essay

Answer 3

I found a good sample essay online and changed everything around about it

Answer 4

for my essay

Answer 5

is the idea the same?

Answer 6

what do u mean by the idea?

Answer 7

well if you were just changing the words (i.e. paraphrasing or rephrasing) and the idea of the original author is still the same?

Answer 8

yea i guess kinda i don't know how to explain it.. Like for ex he said in the sample essay that the guy was held at gun point i changed mine and said he was held at knife point

Answer 9

yeah, you need to cite it.

Answer 10

and like he had a name of John in the sample and I put my name in there instead

Answer 11

And i've already turned the paper in so yea

Answer 12

well just so you know, it is plagiarism without citation. It's not copying the words, but it is copying the storyline.

Answer 13

I ran it through a online plargraism checker and it said none found

Answer 14

so idk

Answer 15

do college teachers usually run papers for that or how does that work

Answer 16

yes. they have machines that detect plagiarism. However, in your case, if you changed a lot of words, I suppose it won't be detected

Answer 17

Yea i really changed alot of words a lot

Answer 18

so i should be ok then right?

Answer 19

if you take someone's idea, even if you change the words around, you need to site it.

Answer 20

I agree with lgbasallote and ArkGoLucky: you need to cite it because the idea was not yours. Someone else gave you the idea, and you have to give them credit for it.

Answer 21

if you fail to cite the respective source,then it automatically qualifies as plagiarism

Answer 22

changing it into your own words is no different from misquoting the source,which is also a form of plagiarism

Answer 23

Why are you trying to avoid citing it?

Answer 24

I think he's not avoiding citation. It's that he failed to cite, and has already passed his paper. However, he is worried that his teacher might detect his source, so he's trying to get some reassurance he did not plagiarize

Answer 25

lol, well it's too late now.