To plagiarize is to represent another person’s academic work as your own (Fowler & Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, 11th ed., p. 626). Westminster considers it a violation of the eighth and ninth commandments (Exod 20:15–16), which forbid the “taking or withholding from our neighbor what belongs to him” and require the “preserving and promoting of truth between man and man” (WLC Q. 142 and 145). A failure to cite sources means facing the consequences described in Westminster’s plagiarism policy: “Plagiarism is a serious infraction of the law of God and a violation of the Seminary’s Honor Code. For a description of, procedures dealing with, and consequences of infraction of the Honor Code, please see the Student Directory and Handbook.”
Since notions about exactly what practices constitute plagiarism may vary from one institution to another and from one culture to another, we have given examples of what Westminster considers plagiarism and how you can avoid it.
To cite correctly, you may either quote or paraphrase another author’s ideas or words. When you quote phrases or sentences directly from a source, you must copy the author’s exact words and use both quotation marks and a footnote. Using only a footnote is not acceptable. You may also choose to paraphrase an author’s ideas by expressing them in your own words. This also requires a footnote to give credit to the author of the ideas. The following examples illustrate correct and incorrect citation of a passage from J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism.
For a detailed discussion of plagiarism and how to avoid it, see Turabian, 9th ed., 77–84. For a discussion of plagiarism as “sin,” see John M. Frame, “Is Plagiarism a Sin?” in John Frame’s Selected Shorter Writings (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2014), 1:243–46.
EXAMPLE SOURCE TEXT:
Modern liberalism in the Church, whatever judgment may be passed upon it, is at any rate no longer merely an academic matter. It is no longer a matter merely of theological seminaries or universities. On the contrary its attack upon the fundamentals of the Christian faith is being carried on vigorously by Sunday-School “lesson-helps,” by the pulpit, and by the religious press. If such an attack be unjustified, the remedy is not to be found, as some devout persons have suggested, in the abolition of theological seminaries, or the abandonment of scientific theology, but rather in a more earnest search after truth and a more loyal devotion to it when once it is found.1
1 J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, new ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2009), 15.
Incorrect
Correct
Plagiarism: Copying The Words Of The Author
Liberalism in the Church, whatever judgment we may pass upon it, is no longer merely an academic matter. On the contrary, a vigorous attack by Sunday-School teachers, by pastors, and by the religious media is being made upon the fundamentals of the Christian faith. If such an attack is not justified, the remedy is not to be found in the abolition of theological seminaries, or the abandonment of theology, but rather in a more earnest search after truth and a loyal devotion to it.
Explanation:
Note the underlined sections that are taken almost word for word from the original. No quotation marks are used to indicate the exact wording of the original author. The author’s name is not mentioned, and no footnote is used. This is blatant plagiarism. Also notice that the writer rearranged and left out some of the original author’s words. Changing wording slightly or rearranging words is not an option for avoiding plagiarism. Your choices are to quote the author directly or paraphrase the ideas in your own words, using a footnote in either case.
Correct: Quoting And Citing A Source
The most appropriate response to modern liberalism is to engage in a passionate “search after truth” and exercise “a more loyal devotion to it when once it is found.”1
1 J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, new ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2009), 15.
Explanation: Note that when the exact words of the author have been used, they are enclosed in quotation marks. A footnote is provided with full citation information (for models, see the Citation and Formatting Guide). The words within the quotation marks are not altered but reproduced exactly as they appear in the original.
Plagiarism: Inadequate Paraphrase
Liberalism is no longer merely an academic matter. It unjustifiably attacks the fundamentals of the Christian faith, and in response to it, we need not abolish seminaries. We need only to search earnestly for the truth and devote ourselves to it.
Explanation:
The student has changed the wording slightly, but the ideas and the order in which they occur come from Machen, and yet the student does not mention his name or provide a footnote. When summarizing information and ideas from sources, it is not enough to change a few words from an original and represent the thoughts as your own. The specific phrases of the author as well as the flow of his thought cannot be used without giving him full credit.
Correct: Paraphrasing And Citing A Source
According to Machen, modern liberalism in the church should no longer be viewed as just an academic problem. Liberalism is now being spread through church life itself, for example, through sermons and Sunday School lessons. The proper response is not to blame seminaries or theologians but to commit ourselves more completely to pursing and upholding the truth.1
1 J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, new ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2009), 15.
Explanation: Note how this paraphrase presents the ideas of the author in the student’s own words. Even though there are no direct quotations, a footnote must be used. The author’s name is mentioned at the beginning of the paraphrase and a footnote is provided at the end. In this way, all of the ideas that are Machen’s are clearly credited to him. Several of Machen’s words (academic, liberalism) are used without fear of plagiarism, since they express the central content of Machen’s position.
Plagiarism: Taking The Author’s Unique Expressions
Liberalism is a serious adversary of the church. Its attacks upon the fundamentals of the Christian faith are being carried on too vigorously to ignore. What can we do to oppose such a movement? The answer isn’t, as some allegedly devout persons have implied, that we should get rid of seminaries or abandon structured theology. Instead, we are called to make a more earnest search after truth, never letting go of it once it is in our hands.
Explanation:
In contrast with the previous examples of plagiarism, the student has made his own claim, and then draws on Machen for support. However, no footnote is provided, nor is Machen’s name mentioned in the body of the text, even though Machen’s wording is used. The student has adopted Machen’s ideas without giving him credit. Notice that we cannot distinguish the student’s voice from that of the source. It seems as if they share the same opinion. This is a deceptive use of sources. Instead, when you quote or paraphrase a source, you should signal your own stance with reference to the source: comment on it; agree with it; disagree with it; or critique it.
Correct: Maintaining Your Own Voice
Today, many orthodox Christians recognize the need to respond to liberal movements within the church. If left unaddressed, these movements undermine the core of Christian belief. As early as 1923, Machen reminded us that liberal seminaries are not the only or even the central means of disseminating liberalism; since liberalism has worked its way into our churches and our publications, he advised us to address it with renewed personal commitment to Christ, by engaging in “a more earnest search after truth and a more loyal devotion to it when once it is found.”1 This paper outlines several practical ways of responding to Machen’s exhortation.
1 J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, new ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2009), 15.
Explanation:
The student has tracked with the broad topic that Machen presents, using his ideas as a foundation for his own thinking. When Machen is introduced, quotations are used and the source is footnoted. Throughout the paragraph we can clearly distinguish between the voice of the student and that of Machen.
There is no specific number of the author’s words you can use before you risk committing plagiarism. Chances are, if you’re asking this question, you’re relying too heavily on sources and should think more deeply on your own about your topic. Use your sources more selectively: choose key concepts, or quote phrases or sentences from the source in support of your claim when something is well said. You could also quote to represent the opposing view accurately. However, if the source is mostly useful not for its concise wording but for the information it provides, paraphrase the information in your own words, introducing the paraphrase by crediting the author and ending with a footnote.
If you’re looking to insert synonyms into an author’s original sentence structure, you’re still relying too heavily on the source. Copying the sentence structure and changing a few words may mean that you have not fully digested the content of what you're reading. In many cases, this approach would be considered a form of plagiarism. Instead of focusing on individual words, focus on the core meaning of the original sentence, leaving out all the extra details, and concentrate on stating that core meaning in your own words, as if explaining them to your friend. In this way, you will successfully “maintain your own voice.”
If you cannot remember where you heard an idea or read a quotation, don’t panic. If you have learned about the idea or quote from an everyday conversation or in email with a friend, pastor, or professor, you may cite that person in a footnote, but it is not necessary to include an entry for it in the bibliography. If you remember a quotation, try to look up the quotation, and omit it if it cannot be verified.
If you are paraphrasing information from a source—for example, a commentary—that cites other sources for support, you only have to cite the source you are consulting, but focus on the original words and ideas of that source’s author. If it is necessary to mention “Author B,” with whom the source’s author is interacting, in order to make sure the reader accurately understands, you may mention “Author B” when you introduce the quote: Interacting with Jones, Brown asserts, “. . . .”¹² Avoid treating a source as a one-stop shop, from which you will gather many details to support your exegetical claims. Instead, if you want to use information or quotation that is reprinted in a source, look up the information or quotation in the original, so that you can understand and fairly represent its meaning in its original context. If the original source is inaccessible, you may use the form for citing “One Source Quoted in Another,” shown in the Citation and Formatting Guide.
If you are paraphrasing information from a source—for example, a commentary—that cites other sources for support, you only have to cite the source you are consulting, but focus on the original words and ideas of that source’s author. If it is necessary to mention “Author B,” with whom the source’s author is interacting, in order to make sure the reader accurately understands, you may mention “Author B” when you introduce the quote: Interacting with Jones, Brown asserts, “. . . .”¹² Avoid treating a source as a one-stop shop, from which you will gather many details to support your exegetical claims. Instead, if you want to use information or quotation that is reprinted in a source, look up the information or quotation in the original, so that you can understand and fairly represent its meaning in its original context. If the original source is inaccessible, you may use the form for citing “One Source Quoted in Another,” shown in the Citation and Formatting Guide.
Minor changes may be made to blend the quotation into the grammar of your sentence, help the reader understand pronoun references it contains, or focus the reader on certain important information. These changes must be clearly indicated, and the original meaning must be strictly preserved. Indicate additions by placing them in brackets [ ]. If you leave words or phrases out, you must use ellipsis points correctly: use three ellipsis points, each one separated by a space, to show words left out within a sentence. When you leave out full sentences or begin with words in one sentence and finish with words from another, use four ellipsis points. See Turabian, 9th ed., pages 363–369, for a completed discussion of how to modify quotations. Machen reminds us that “Modern liberalism . . . is at any rate no longer merely an academic matter.”¹ ¹ J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, new ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009), 15.
You may add italics to emphasize a point, but this must be noted in one of two ways: (1) immediately following the italicized word, insert “emphasis added” in brackets; or (2) in the footnote, following the page number and a semicolon, insert “emphasis added.” The church should fight to defend the truth of Scripture and to dedicate itself to “a more earnest search after truth and a more loyal devotion to it [emphasis added] when once it is found.”¹ The church should fight to defend the truth of Scripture and to dedicate itself to “a more earnest search after truth and a more loyal devotion to it when once it is found.”² ¹ Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, 15. ² Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, 15; emphasis added.
Quotes of fewer than five lines may be introduced with the name of the author and a verb such as writes, claims, or argues.¹ Concerning liberalism, Machen claims, “its attack upon the fundamentals of the Christian faith is being carried on vigorously by Sunday-School ‘lesson-helps,’ by the pulpit, and by the religious press.”² You may also integrate the quotation into your sentence, making sure the author’s wording fits your sentence structure grammatically, that it does not interrupt the flow of your thought, and that pronouns have correct and clear antecedents. See Turabian, 9th ed., pages 78–79 and 359–361 for more details on how to blend quotations into text. We must consider the fact that an “attack upon the fundamentals of the Christian faith is being carried on vigorously by Sunday-School ‘lesson-helps,’ by the pulpit, and by the religious press.”³ ¹ For a list of other verbs that can be used to introduce a quotation, see the CTW handout “Blending Quotations.” ² Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, 15. ³ Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, 15.
If the quote is five lines or longer, you may use a block quotation. Single space and indent all of the lines you are quoting so that they line up with the indentation of the first line of the paragraphs. You should not use double quotation marks at the beginning or end of a block quote because the indentation and single spacing indicate that the words are quoted from another source. You should, however, insert a footnote at the end of the block quotation. See Turabian, 9th ed., pages 361–262 for more information on formatting. The following excerpt from a student paper illustrates the correct formatting: Many theologians have buckled under the pressure of liberal Christianity, but Machen was not among them. He called for people to live out a more vibrant Christian witness. Note his treatment of the topic in the very first chapter of Christianity and Liberalism:
Modern liberalism in the Church, whatever judgment may be passed upon it, is at any rate no longer merely an academic matter. . . . On the contrary its attack upon the fundamentals of the Christian faith is being carried on vigorously by Sunday-School “lesson-helps,” by the pulpit, and by the religious press. If such an attack be unjustified, the remedy . . . in a more earnest search after truth and a more loyal devotion to it when once it is found.¹
¹ Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, 15.
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