Library 201 PLAGIARISM EXERCISE  

Answers

1. According to Mark Twain in Roughing It, the rider for the pony express was usually a little bit of a man,  brimful of spirit and endurance.

Plagiarism.  The author has quoted Twain without benefit of quotation marks or footnote.

2. The pony express rider had to be, as Mark Twain wrote, "always ready to leap into the saddle and be off like the wind!"^[1]

Okay.  The author has used quotation marks and a footnote.

3. The pony express rider's horse wore a little wafer of a racing-saddle, and no visible blanket. ^[2]

Plagiarism.  A footnote is insufficient if you actually quote the text.  You need quotation marks as well.

4.  The rider traveled fifty miles a day, ten miles per horse.

Plagiarism.  The author has paraphrased, but has not cited the source of their information with a  footnote.

5. The pony express rider generally traveled twice as fast as a stage coach. ^[3]

Okay.  The author has paraphrased Twain, and so quotation marks are not needed.

6. According to Mark Twain in Roughing It, the pony express rider only carried arms that were absolutely necessary.^[4]

Not plagiarism. The author has gotten his/her facts wrong, but that is a different issue.