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  • 25/05/2015 Wikipedia:CloseparaphrasingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Close_paraphrasing 1/7

    Wikipediacopyright

    Policy

    CopyrightpolicyCopyrightviolationpolicyReusingWikipediacontent

    TextofCCBYSA3.0UnportedLicenseTextoftheGFDL

    Guidelines

    PublicdomaincontentNonfreecontent

    NonU.S.copyrightsCopyingwithinWikipediaCopyrightinformationindex

    Processes

    CopyrightproblemsSuspectedcopyrightviolations

    PossiblyunfreefilesContributorcopyrightinvestigations

    Resources

    GeneralhelpCopyrightassistance

    MediacopyrightquestionsRequestingcopyrightpermission

    FilecopyrighttagsDonatingcopyrightedmaterial

    Guidancefortextrelatedcopyrightproblems

    Copyingisn'ttheonlywaytoviolatecopyrightorplagiarize.Closeparaphrasingcanbeaproblem,too.

    Wikipedia:CloseparaphrasingFromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

    WhilethisessayisnotaWikipediapolicyorguidelineitself,itisintendedtosupplementtheWikipedia:CopyrightviolationpolicyandtheWikipedia:Plagiarismguideline,towhicheditorsshoulddeferincaseofinconsistencybetweenthatpageandthisone.

    Thispageinanutshell:Summarizeinyourownwordsinsteadofcloselyparaphrasing.Closelyparaphrasedmaterialthatinfringesonthecopyrightofitssourcematerialshouldberewrittenordeletedtoavoidinfringement,andtoensurethatitcomplieswithWikipediapolicy.PublicdomainsourcesandCCBYSAcompatiblesourcesmaybecloselyparaphrased,andlimitedcloseparaphrasingofcopyrightedsourcesmayalsobepermittedasfairuse.Attributionisalwaysrequired.

    Forinformationoncopyandpastingtext,seeWikipedia:Copyingtextfromothersources.

    Closeparaphrasingisthesuperficialmodificationofmaterialfromanothersource.Editorsshouldgenerallysummarizesourcematerialintheirownwords,addinginlinecitationsasrequiredbythesourcingpolicy.

    Limitedcloseparaphrasingisappropriatewithinreason,asisquoting(withorwithoutquotationmarks),solongasthematerialisclearlyattributedinthetextforexample,byadding"JohnSmithwrote...,"togetherwithafootnotecontainingthecitationattheendoftheclause,sentenceorparagraph.

    Closeparaphrasingwithoutintextattributionmayconstituteplagiarism,andwhenextensive(withorwithoutintextattribution)mayalsoviolateWikipedia'scopyrightpolicy,whichforbidsWikipediacontributorsfromcopyingmaterialdirectlyfromothersources.Publicdomainmaterialmustlikewisebeattributedtoavoidplagiarism.IfthesourcematerialbearsafreecopyrightlicensethatiscompatiblewithWikipedia'slicenses,copyingorcloselyparaphrasingitisnotacopyrightviolationsolongasthesourceisattributedsomewhereinthearticle,usuallyattheend.

    Thebestwaytopreventcloseparaphrasingistounderstandclearlywhenitisaproblem,howtoavoidit,andhowtoaddressitwhenitappears.

    Contents

    1Concepts1.1Copyrightlaw1.2Creativeexpression1.3Moralrights1.4Substantialsimilarity1.5Wikipedia'sguidelines

    2Wheniscloseparaphrasepermitted?2.1Publicdomainorcompatiblylicensedcontent2.2Quotationofnonfreetext2.3Whentherearealimitednumberofwaystosaythesamething

    3Example4Howtowriteacceptablecontent5Existingcloseparaphrasing

    5.1Detecting5.2Addressing

    5.2.1Exampleapproachestodiscussingwithothereditors5.2.1.1Extensiveproblems5.2.1.2Limitedproblems

    6Relevantpoliciesandguidelines7Seealso8References9Externallinks

    Concepts

    Therearelegal,ethical,andorganizationalstandardconsiderationsregardingtheuseofcloseparaphrasing.

    Copyrightlaw

    Wikipedia'sprimaryconcerniswiththelegalconstraintsimposedbycopyrightlaw.Closeparaphrasingofthecreativeexpressioninanonfreecopyrightedsourceislikelytobeaninfringementofthecopyrightofthesource.Inmanycountriescloseparaphrasingmaybealsoseenasmutilationordistortionofanauthor'swork,infringingontheirmoralrights.

    Creativeexpression

    Factsandideascannotbeprotectedbycopyright,butcreativeexpressionisprotected.Thetestofcreativityisminimal.

    Althoughfactsarenotsubjecttocopyright,aselectionorarrangementoffactsmaybeconsideredcreativeandthereforeprotected.Forexample,analphabeticallistofstatesintheUSAgivingtheirname,sizeandpopulationcannotbecopyrighted.However,ashorterlistofstatesgivingthename,sizeandpopulationasbefore,butrankedasthe"topmostlivablestates"wouldbesubjecttocopyright.Theselectionandrankingiscreative.

    Moralrights

    Mainpage:Wikipedia:Moralrights

  • 25/05/2015 Wikipedia:CloseparaphrasingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Close_paraphrasing 2/7

    Wikipediadoesnothaveanofficialpolicyregardingmoralrightsofauthors.

    The"moralrights"ofanauthorareindependentofcopyrightownership.Theyincludetheauthor'srighttocontrolfirstpublicationofaworktheauthor'srighttobeattributedortoremainanonymoustheauthor'srightfortheworktobepublishedwithoutdistortionormutilation.Aswithcopyright,moralrightsapplytocreativeexpressionbutnottomerefacts.RespectingmoralrightscanhelpensurethatWikipediacontentcanbereusedaswidelyaspossible.

    Inaccordancewithverifiabilitypolicy,Wikipediaeditorsshouldnotuseunpublishedwork.Withpublishedwork,editorsshouldattributeeachsourcetotheauthorwherethepublicationnamestheauthor,andattributethesourcetothepublicationifitdoesnotnametheauthor.Itissometimesrelevantforanarticletoincludeashortquotationsuchasasignificantstatementmadebythesubjectofthearticleoranotablecommentaboutthesubject.Inthesecasesaverbatimquotationshouldbegivenratherthanaparaphrase.QuotationsshouldbeusedverysparinglyandmustbeclearlyidentifiedandformattedasdefinedinMOS:QUOTE.

    Substantialsimilarity

    Paraphrasingrisestothelevelofcopyrightinfringementwhenthereissubstantialsimilaritybetweenanarticleandacopyrightedsource.Thismayexistwhenthecreativeexpressioninanimportantpassageofthesourcehasbeencloselyparaphrased,evenifitisasmallportionofthesource,orwhenparaphrasingislooserbutcoversalargerpartofthesourceorcovers"theheart"(themostessentialcontent).Acloseparaphraseofonesentencefromabookmaybeoflowconcern,whileacloseparaphraseofoneparagraphofatwoparagrapharticlewouldbeconsideredaseriousviolation.Editorsmustthereforetakeparticularcarewhenwritinganarticle,orasectionofanarticle,thathasmuchthesamescopeasasinglesource.Theeditormustbeextracarefulinthesecasestoextractthefactsaloneandpresentthefactsinplainlanguage,withoutcarryingforwardanythingthatcouldbeconsidered"creativeexpression".

    UnderUScopyrightlaw,however,substantialsimilaritydoesnotalwaysindicateinfringement.Itdoesnotindicateinfringement,forinstance,wherethedoctrineoffairusepermitstheuseofthematerial.[1]Wikipediadeliberatelyadoptsanarrowerlimitationandexceptionfromcopyrightthanfairuse.OurpolicyandguidelinearesetoutatWikipedia:Nonfreecontent.

    Substantialsimilarityisalsoimmaterialwhenstrongevidenceexiststhatthecontentwascreatedindependently.[2]Anauthormaythinktheyarebeingoriginalwhentheywrite"CharlesdeGaullewasatoweringstatesman",notrealizingthatmanyotherauthorshaveindependentlycomeupwiththeseidenticalwords.Whatlookslikecopyingorcloseparaphrasingmaythusbeaccidental.Thesesimilaritiesaremorelikelytoexistwherecontentislesscreativeandmoreformulaic.Independentcreationislesslikelywhenthereisevidencethatthesourcewasconsultedorclosefollowingisextensive.

    Wikipedia'sguidelines

    Evenwhencontentisverifiablypublicdomainorreleasedunderacompatiblefreelicense,closeparaphrasingmaybeatoddswithWikipedia'sguidelinerelatedtoplagiarism(seeWikipedia:Plagiarism).Whileinthiscontext,too,closeparaphrasingofasinglesentenceisnotasmuchofaconcern,ifacontributorcloselyparaphrasespublicdomainorfreelylicensedcontent,heorsheshouldexplicitlyacknowledgethatcontentiscloselyparaphrased.(Seeabove.)

    Anotherpotentialproblemariseswhenacontributorcopiesorcloselyparaphrasesabiasedsourceeitherpurposefullyorwithoutunderstandingthebias.Thiscanmakethearticleappeartodirectlyespousethebiasofthesource,whichviolatesourneutralpointofviewpolicy.

    Wheniscloseparaphrasepermitted?

    Furtherinformation:Wikipedia:FAQ/CopyrightCanIaddsomethingtoWikipediathatIgotfromsomewhereelse?

    Thereareafewspecificsituationswhencloseparaphrasingispermitted.Ifinformationisgatheredfromthepublicdomainorisfreeusecontent,closeparaphrasemaybeacceptable.Insomeinstancesitishelpfultocapturethewordsaswritten,inwhichcasetheguidelinesforQuotationsapply.Lastly,theremaybesomeinstanceswhereit'sdifficulttoparaphrasebecauseofthenatureofthecontentinsuchcases,thereareacoupleoftipsbelowabouthowtolimitthedegreeofcloseparaphrasingtoavoidissues.

    Whenusingacloseparaphraselegitimately,citingasourceisinmostcasesrequiredandhighlyrecommended.[3]

    Publicdomainorcompatiblylicensedcontent

    Insomelimitedcases,closeparaphrasemaybeanacceptablewayofwritinganarticle.Forexample,manyWikipediaarticlesare(orwere)basedontextfromthe1911EncyclopediaBritannica(seeWikipedia:1911EncyclopaediaBritannica).Ifthesourceisinthepublicdomain,suchasworkoftheU.S.government,orisavailableunderalicensecompatiblewiththeCCBYSAlicense(apartialtableoflicensecompatibilitycanbefoundattheCopyrightFAQ,)thenthesourcemaybecloselyparaphrasedifthesourceisappropriatelyattributed.Attributioninsuchinstancesmayincludeintextattributionthatmakesclearwhosewordsorideasarebeingused(e.g."JohnSmithwrotethat...")ormayincludemoregeneralattributionthatindicatesthematerialoriginatesfromafreesource,eitheraspartofaninlinecitationorasageneralnoticeinthearticle's"References"section(forfurtherinformationonhowtoattributefreesources,seeWikipedia:Plagiarism#Copyingmaterialfromfreesources).

    Quotationofnonfreetext

    Limitedquotationfromnonfreecopyrightedsourcesisallowed,asdiscussedinWikipedia'snonfreecontentpolicyandguideline.Quotationsshouldhaveintextattributionandshouldbecitedtotheiroriginalsourceorauthor(seeWP:Whentocite).Withdirectquotation,editorsshouldclearlydistinguishthequotedmaterialfromtheoriginaltextofthearticlefollowingtheguidelinesforquotations.Extensiveuseofquotationfromnonfreesourcesisgenerallynotacceptable.Evenifcontentisattributed,itcanstillcreatecopyrightproblemsifthetakingistoosubstantial.Toavoidthisrisk,Wikipediakeepsthislikeothernonfreecontentminimal.

    Quotationfromnonfreesourcesmaybeappropriatewhentheexactwordsinthesourcearerelevanttothearticle,notjustthefactsorideasgivenbythesource.Examplesmayincludestatementsmadebyapersondiscussedinthearticle,briefexcerptsfromabookdescribedinthearticle,orsignificantopinionsaboutthesubjectofthearticle.Quotationshouldnot,however,betreatedasanalternativetoextractingfactsandpresentingtheminplainlanguage.Thus:

    Right:Churchillsaid,"Ihavenothingtoofferbutblood,toil,tearsandsweat."[1]Right:TheNewYorkTimesreviewerfoundthefilm"pretentiousandboring".[2]Wrong:AccordingtoBulgarianButterflies,"thepatientobservermaybefortunateenoughtoglimpsethisraremothflittingalongthemossybanksofawoodlandstream."[3]

    Whentherearealimitednumberofwaystosaythesamething

    Closeparaphrasingisalsopermittedwhenthereareonlyalimitednumberofwaystosaythesamething.Thismaybethecasewhenthereisnoreasonablewaytoavoidusingtitlesandtechnicalterm,andmayalsobethecasewithsimplestatementsoffact.

  • 25/05/2015 Wikipedia:CloseparaphrasingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Close_paraphrasing 3/7

    Itisacceptabletouseatitleortechnicaltermsuchas"TheWaroftheSpanishSuccession"or"RelationalDatabaseManagementSystem(RDBMS)"whenthetermiscommonlyusedbysourcesthatdiscussthesubject.Copyrightlawdoesnotprotectnames,titles,orshortphrasesorexpressions.[4]

    Anexampleofcloselyparaphrasedsimplestatementsoffactisgivenbyabiographythatreliesontwosourcesforthebasicoutline.Thesourcesandthearticlestartwith:

    Source1:JohnSmithwasborninHartford,ConnecticutonFebruary2nd1949...HeattendedStateUniversity,obtaininganM.D.in1973.Source2:JohnSmithwasbornon2February1949inHartford...HegraduatedwithamedicaldegreefromStateUniversityin1973.Article:JohnSmithwasbornon2February1949inHartford,Connecticut...HestudiedmedicineatStateUniversity,andearnedanM.D.in1973.

    Inthisexample,thewordingofthearticleisveryclosetothatofbothsources.However,thearticlemerelypresentsstandardfactsforatopiclikethisinstandardsequence.Thearticledoesnotcopyanycreativewordsorphrases,similesormetaphors,andmakesaneffortatparaphrasinginthesecondsentence.Justtwoshortsentencesareclosetothesources.Forthesereasonsthecloseparaphrasingshouldbeacceptable.Note,however,thatcloselyparaphrasingextensivelyfromanonfreesourcemaybeacopyrightproblem,evenifitisdifficulttofinddifferentmeansofexpression.Themoreextensivelywerelyonthisexception,themorelikelywearetorunafoulofcompilationprotection.[5]

    Example

    Inthisexample,Wikipedia'sarticletextisanattemptatparaphrasingthesource.However,almostalloftheoriginalwordchoice,wordorderandsentencestructureisretained.

    Source[6] Closeparaphrase[7]

    "Astatementfromthereceiver,DavidCarsonofDeloitte,confirmedthat480ofthe670employeeshavebeenmaderedundant...Atleast100WaterfordCrystalemployeesarerefusingtoleavethevisitors'galleryatthefactorytonightandarestaginganunofficialsitin.TheemployeessaytheywillnotbeleavinguntiltheymeetwithMr.Carson.Thereweresomescufflesatonepointandamaindoortothevisitors'centrewasdamaged...LocalSinnFinCouncillorJoeKelly,whoisoneofthosecurrentlyoccupyingthevisitors'gallery,saidthereceiverhadtoldstaffhewouldnotclosethecompanywhiletherewereinterestedinvestors."

    "Astatementissuedbythereceiver,Deloitte'sDavidCarson,confirmedthat,ofthe670employees,480ofthemwouldbelaidoff.Theworkersrespondedangrilytothisunexpecteddecisionandatleast100ofthembegananunofficialsitininthevisitors'galleryatthefactorythatnight.TheyinsistedtheywouldrefusetoleaveuntiltheyhadmetwithCarson.Followingtherevelations,therewasaminorscuffleduringwhichthemaindoortothevisitors'centrewasdamaged.LocalSinnFinCouncillorJoeKellywasamongstthosewhooccupiedthevisitors'gallery."

    Analysis:

    "Astatementissuedbythereceiver,Deloitte'sDavidCarson,confirmedthat,ofthe670employees,480ofthemwouldbelaidoff"vs."Astatementfromthereceiver,DavidCarsonofDeloitte,confirmedthat480ofthe670employeeshavebeenmaderedundant".

    ThestructureofWikipedia'sstatementisessentiallythesameastheoriginal.Changingasinglewordandslightlyreorderingonephraseisnotenoughtoconstituteaparaphrase.

    "TheyinsistedtheywouldrefusetoleaveuntiltheyhadmetwithCarson"vs."TheemployeessaytheywillnotbeleavinguntiltheymeetwithMr.Carson".Thestructureofthissentenceisthesameastheoriginalwithtoomuchsimilaritywithinthestructureoftheparagraph.

    "therewasaminorscuffleduringwhichthemaindoortothevisitors'centrewasdamaged"vs."Thereweresomescufflesatonepointandamaindoortothevisitors'centrewasdamaged".

    Thestructureandlanguageofthetwosentencesarethesame."LocalSinnFinCouncillorJoeKellywasamongstthosewhooccupiedthevisitors'gallery"vs."LocalSinnFinCouncillorJoeKelly,whoisoneofthosecurrentlyoccupyingthevisitors'gallery".

    Thisslightrewordingdoesnotchangethefactthattheunderlyingstructureandlanguagearethesame.Minorchanges,suchas"wasamongstthose">"isoneofthose"and"occupied">"currentlyoccupying",arenotenoughtoconstituteanoriginalrewritingofthepassage.

    Seebelowforanexampleofanunusableparaphraserepairedtobecomeacceptable.

    Howtowriteacceptablecontent

    Toproperlyparaphrasecontent,youreviewinformationfromreliablesources,extractthesalientpoints,anduseyourownwords,styleandsentencestructuretodrafttextforanarticle.[8][9]

    Takenotes

    Oneofthekeyfactorsinthecreationofinadvertentcloseparaphrasingisstartingwithtexttakendirectlyfromthesource.Thewordchoiceandstylecaneasilyresurfacesinceitisforemostinourminds.Anapproachtoensurethatinformationisfullyunderstoodandformedintouniquethoughtsistoisolatetheessentialinformationbytakingnotes.

    Startoffbytakingnotesofessentialinformationonly,excludingtheuseofphrases.Recordthesourceforthecitation.Collectinformationfrommultiplesources.Thiswillhaveseveralbenefits:itpromotesatonewithaneutralpointofviewandproducesawellroundedunderstandingofthetopic.Italsomakesitlesslikelythatyourendresultwillfollowtoocloselyonanyonesource.Gathershortquotationswhentheypowerfullyillustrateapointforyourarticle.Overusecanresultinadisjointedarticleandmaybreachcopyright.(Extensivequotationsareforbiddenbypolicy.)

    Writeadraft

    Gatherrelateditemsfromthemultiplesourcesandexplainittoyourself:Thepointistorephraseorsummarizeabodyofinformationinyourownwordsandsentencestructure.Addinlinecitationsinaccordancewiththesourcingguideline.Allowtimebetweennotetakinganddraftingtoclearyourmindoftheoriginaldictionandbetterparaphrasethecontent.Don'tparaphraseinformationinthesameorderitwaspresentedfromthesource.

    Review

    Aftermaterialhasbeenwritten,returntothesourcetodoublecheckforcontentandproperlyparaphrasedlanguage.

    Informationhasbeengatheredfromseveralsourcesanddistilledinyourwords.Quotationsareusedappropriatelyandinfrequently.Wordsorideasdonotfollowthesamepatternandorderasthesourcematerial.

  • 25/05/2015 Wikipedia:CloseparaphrasingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Close_paraphrasing 4/7

    Theexampleaboveonthispageillustratesacommonwayinwhichpeoplecloselyparaphrasecontentthisonedemonstrateshowtoproperlysynthesizeandparaphraseinformation.

    Example:closeparaphrasingrepaired

    Considerthefollowingexampleofa"closeparaphrase"(unacceptableversion)andwaystocorrectittomakeanacceptableversion:

    Example Wording CommentsSource BorninSlavery:SlaveNarrativesfromtheFederalWriters'Project,19361938containsmorethan

    2,300firstpersonaccountsofslaveryand500blackandwhitephotographsofformerslaves.Thesenarrativeswerecollectedinthe1930saspartoftheFederalWriters'ProjectoftheWorksProgressAdministration(WPA)andassembledandmicrofilmedin1941astheseventeenvolumeSlaveNarratives:AFolkHistoryofSlaveryintheUnitedStatesfromInterviewswithFormerSlaves.ThisonlinecollectionisajointpresentationoftheManuscriptandPrintsandPhotographsDivisionsoftheLibraryofCongressandincludesmorethan200photographsfromthePrintsandPhotographsDivisionthatarenowmadeavailabletothepublicforthefirsttime.BorninSlaverywasmadepossiblebyamajorgiftfromtheCitigroupFoundation.Source:BorninSlavery,LibraryofCongress(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html)

    Unacceptableversion Acollectionofmorethan2,300accountsofslaverytakendirectlyfromformerslavesand500blackandwhitephotographsmakeuptheBorninSlavery:SlaveNarrativesfromtheFederalWriters'Project,19361938.Inthe1930sthesenarrativeswerecompiledinthe1930saspartoftheFederalWriters'ProjectoftheWorksProgressAdministration(WPA).Theywereaggregatedandmicrofilmedin1941astheseventeenvolumeSlaveNarratives:AFolkHistoryofSlaveryintheUnitedStatesfromInterviewswithFormerSlaves.ThecollectionisaunitedeffortoftheManuscriptandPrintsandPhotographsDivisionsoftheLibraryofCongress.CitigroupFoundationmadetheBorninSlaverypossiblebyamajorgift.

    Thestructureofthisversionisessentiallythesameastheoriginal.Changingafewwordsandslightlyreorderingphrasesisnotenoughtoconstituteaparaphrase.

    Correctingissuesstep1)Bringinothersource(s).

    TheSlaveNarrativeCollectionprovidesauniqueandvirtuallyunsurpassedcollectiveportraitofahistoricalpopulation.Indeed,historianDavidBrionDavishasarguedthatthevoluminousnumberofdocumentedslavetestimoniesavailableintheUnitedStates"isindisputablyuniqueamongformerslaveholdingnations."Inadditiontothesubstantialnumberoflifehistoriesitcontains,themostcompellingfeatureofthecollectionisthecompositionofthesampleofpeoplewhomadeupitsinformants.Althoughnotarepresentativesampleoftheslavepopulation,theywerearemarkablydiverseandinclusivecrosssectionofformerslaves.Thosewhosevoicesareincludedinthecollectionrangedinagefromonetofiftyatthetimeofemancipationin1865,whichmeantthatmorethantwothirdswereovereightywhentheywereinterviewed.Source:ACollectivePortrait(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snintro01.html)

    Bringinginothersourceshelpstoensurethatthere'sagoodunderstandingofthetopicandaneutralpointofview.

    Correctingissuesstep2)Readsourceinformation,preferablytakingnotestoextractessentialpoints,andwriteasummaryinyourownwords,therebyproducinganacceptableversion.

    Inthe1930saWorksProgressAdministration(WPA)project,calledFederalWriters'Project,wasconductedtocapturethehistoryrecordofpeoplebornintoslavery.Atthetimeoftheproject2/3rdsofthemorethan2,300menandwomeninterviewedwereovertheageofeighty,havingbeenonetofiftyyearsofagewhentheyobtainedtheirfreedomin1865.Over500blackandwhitephotographsweretakenofinterviewsubjects.TheLibraryofCongressManuscriptandPrintandPhotographDivisionsassembledaseventeenvolumecollectionfromtheset,called"BorninSlavery:SlaveNarrativesfromtheFederalWriters'Project,19361938."DavidBrionDavis,ahistorian,claimedthatthelargecollection"isindisputablyuniqueamongformerslaveholdingnations."

    Thisversionbringstogetherinformationfromtwosources,withoutmaintainingtheprevioussentencestructureorstyle.

    Seealso:Wikipedia:Theperfectarticle

    Existingcloseparaphrasing

    Detecting

    Unlikestraightforwardcopyrightviolations,closeparaphrasingisnotoriouslydifficulttodetectfrequentlythecontributorwilladdwikisyntaxandwriteinthestyleofaWikipediaarticle.Herearesomewaysyoumightdetectit:

    Lookfordisjointedandsuddenchangesinthetone,vocabulary,andstyleofcontentintroducedbythesamecontributor.Forexample,"Thecatisasmallpredatorycarnivorousspeciesofcrepuscularmammal.Housecatsliketokillmiceandbats."Lookforredundantcontentthismaybeasignthattwoormoresourceswerecloselyparaphrased.Forexample,"Thecatisasmallpredatorycarnivorousspeciesofcrepuscularmammal.Likemanypets,domesticcatsarecarnivorous."Lookforcontentthatresemblescontentincludedinaquotation.Examinethetalkpagesofmajorcontributorsandotherpageswheretheyhavewrittenintheirownwords,anddetermineiftheirarticlecontributionssubstantiallydifferintone,structure,andvocabularyfromthesediscussions.Takeshortphrasesfromthearticleandputtheminasearchengine.Takealookattheresultsandseeiftheycloselyresemblethearticle.

    Addressing

    Yourapproachmayvarydependingupontheseverityoftheconcern.Hereareacoupleofwaystomanagecloseparaphraseconcerns.

    Flagtheproblem

    Insertacloseparaphrasetemplateorfollowcopyrightinfringementdiscussion:Yourapproachheremaydependupontheextensivenessoftheissuesyoudiscover.

    Youcanusethe{{Closeparaphrasing}}template,whichcanbecustomizedtoidentifythesourceandtoindicateifthesourceispublicdomain,tomarkitforcleanup:

    Thisarticleorsectioncontainscloseparaphrasingofoneormorenonfreecopyrightedsources.Ideasinthisarticleshouldbeexpressedinanoriginalmanner.Seethetalkpagefordetails.

    However,ifyoubelievethatthecloseparaphrasinginquestionissoclosethatitinfringescopyright,insteadfollowtheinstructionsatTemplate:Copyvio,whichmayrequireremovingtheparaphrasingcontentuntilitcanberepaired.Unlesscloseparaphrasingisimmediatelyobvious,itisgoodpracticetocitespecificpassagesalongsidethecorrespondingpassagefromthesourceonthetalkpagetohighlighttheirsimilaritythiswillprovideobjectiveevidenceofclose

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    paraphrasing.

    Noticetothecontributor

    Itisimportanttodiscussyourconcernswiththecontributor.Manypeoplewhoparaphrasetoocloselyarenotintentionallyinfringing,butjustdon'tknowhowtoproperlyparaphrase.Itmighthelptopointthemtothisessayortothereferencesandresourceslistedhere,whichincludesomepointersforproperparaphrasing.

    Exampleapproachestodiscussingwithothereditors

    Note:Alltextintheseexamplesisdedicatedbyitsauthorstothepublicdomain

    Thefollowingexamplemessagescanbecopiedandpasteddirectlyfromthispage,althoughyouwillneedtofillinyourownexamplecloseparaphrasesaswellassupplyingthearticle'stitleandthesourceURL.Themessagesstrivetoavoidaccusationswhileatthesametimepointingtoclearinstructionsonhowtofixerrorsofthissort.Thespacesforexamplesfromtheeditor'sinappropriatetextareprovidedbecauseevenexperiencedorgoodfaitheditorsmaynotrecognizewheretheissuesliewithoutthem.Ifthereisapassageofseveralconsecutivesentenceswhichisacontinuouscloseparaphrase,thismayalonebeasufficientdemonstration.Otherwise,showingthepatterninseveralseparatedsentencesistypicallybetterthanofferingone,briefexample.

    Extensiveproblems

    ThefollowingexamplewasengineeredforcaseswhentheparaphrasingiscloseenoughtorequireblankingofthearticleandlistingatWikipedia:Copyrightproblems.Itwouldnotbeappropriateforsituationswherethe{{closeparaphrasing}}templateisused,sincerewritingcanbedoneonthespotratherthaninatemporarypage.Youmayusethisexampleverbatim,ifyouwish,butmayandshouldmodifyitifitisnotcompletelyappropriatetothecircumstances.

    Limitedproblems

    Thisexamplewasengineeredforcaseswhentheparaphrasingisnotenoughofaconcerntorequireblankingandlistingandthe{{closeparaphrasing}}templateisusedinstead.Youmayusethisexampleverbatim,ifyouwish,butmayandshouldmodifyitifitisnotcompletelyappropriatetothecircumstances.

    Relevantpoliciesandguidelines

    AnumberofWikipediapoliciesandguidelinesarerelevanttothisessay.Theyinclude:

    WP:ORIGINAL.Policystatingthat,whilearticlesshouldbewritteninyourownwords,theyshouldsubstantiallyretainthemeaningofthesourcematerialWP:COPYRIGHT.PolicythatdescribesgeneralprinciplesthatapplytouseofcopyrightedworkWP:COPYVIO.Policythatdescribescopyrightviolationsandhowtoaddressthem.WP:NFCC.PolicythatdefineslimitationsonuseofnonfreecontentWP:NONFREE.GuidelinethatexpandsonWP:NFCCanddescribeswhennonfreematerialmaybeusedunderthe"fairuse"principleWP:PLAGIARISM.Guidelinethatdescribestheimportanceofattributingthesourcesused,evenwhentheymaybeoutofcopyrightWP:MOSQUOTE.Guidelinethatdescribeshowquotationsshouldbefaithfullyreproduced,clearlyidentifiedasquotations

    SeveralWikipediaarticlesdiscussrelatedtopicssuchasCopyrightlawoftheUnitedStates,fairuse,plagiarism,moralrightsandparaphrasingofcopyrightedmaterial.Thesemaybeofinteresttoeditors.However,theymayhaveinaccuraciesoromissions,andWikipediahasabroaderaimofprovidingmaterialthatmaybeusedanywhereforanypurpose,whichimposesfurtherrestrictionsthataredefinedinourpoliciesandguidelines.

    Seealso

    Wikipedia:Plagiarism(guideline)GuidelineonWikipedia'sdefinitionofandapproachtohandlingplagiarismtoavoidmakingtheworkofotherslooklike

    Hi.I'mafraidthe[[ArticleName]]articleyouwrotemaybeaproblemunderourcopyrightpolicies,sincethetextseemsvery[[WP:closeparaphrasing|closelyparaphrased]]from[source].Whilefactsarenotcopyrightable,creativeelementsofpresentationincludingbothstructureandlanguageare.Foranexampleofcloseparaphrasing,considerthefollowing::examplefromsourceThearticlesays::examplefromarticleThereareotherpassagesthatsimilarlyfollowquiteclosely.

    Asawebsitethatiswidelyreadandreused,WikipediatakescopyrightveryseriouslytoprotecttheinterestsoftheholdersofcopyrightaswellasthoseoftheWikimediaFoundationandourreusers.Wikipedia's[[WP:C|copyrightpolicies]]requirethatthecontentwetakefromnonfreesources,asidefrombriefandclearlymarkedquotations,berewrittenfromscratch.

    Thearticlehasbeenreplacedwithanoticeofthesecopyrightconcernsthatincludesdirectionsforresolvingthem.Ifthematerialcanbeverifiedtobe[[Wikipedia:Compatiblelicense|compatiblylicensed]]or[[Wikipedia:Publicdomain|publicdomain]]orif[[WP:IOWN|permissionisprovided]],wecanusetheoriginaltextwithproperattribution.Ifyoucanresolveitthatway,pleaseletmeknowifyouneedassistancewiththosedirections.Otherwise,sothatwecanbesureitdoesnotconstituteaderivativework,thisarticleshouldberewrittenthereisalinktoatemporaryspaceforthatpurposeintheinstructionswhichnowappearinplaceofthearticle.Theessay[[Wikipedia:Closeparaphrasing]]containssomesuggestionsforrewritingthatmayhelpavoidtheseissues.Thearticle[[Wikipedia:WikipediaSignpost/20090413/Dispatches]],whileaboutplagiarismratherthancopyrightconcerns,alsocontainssomesuggestionsforreusingmaterialfromsourcesthatmaybehelpful,beginningunder"Avoidingplagiarism".

    Pleaseletmeknowifyouhavequestionsaboutthis.~~~~

    Hi.I'mafraidthe[[ArticleName]]articleyoucontributedtohaspartswhicharevery[[WP:closeparaphrasing|closelyparaphrased]]from[source].Thiscanbeaproblemunderbothour[[WP:C|copyrightpolicies]]andour[[Wikipedia:Plagiarism|guidelineonplagiarism]].

    Whilefactsarenotcopyrightable,creativeelementsofpresentationincludingbothstructureandlanguageare.Foranexampleofcloseparaphrasing,considerthefollowing:Thesourcesays::examplefromsourceThearticlesays::examplefromarticleThisisanexamplethereareotherpassagesthatsimilarlyfollowquiteclosely.

    Asawebsitethatiswidelyreadandreused,WikipediatakescopyrightveryseriouslytoprotecttheinterestsoftheholdersofcopyrightaswellasthoseoftheWikimediaFoundationandourreusers.Wikipedia's[[WP:C|copyrightpolicies]]requirethatthecontentwetakefromnonfreesources,asidefrombriefandclearlymarkedquotations,berewrittenfromscratch.Sothatwecanbesureitdoesnotconstitutea[[derivativework]],thisarticleshouldberevisedtoseparateitfurtherfromitssource.Theessay[[Wikipedia:Closeparaphrasing]]containssomesuggestionsforrewritingthatmayhelpavoidtheseissues.Thearticle[[Wikipedia:WikipediaSignpost/20090413/Dispatches]]alsocontainssomesuggestionsforreusingmaterialfromsourcesthatmaybehelpful,beginningunder"Avoidingplagiarism".

    Pleaseletmeknowifyouhavequestionsaboutthis.~~~~

  • 25/05/2015 Wikipedia:CloseparaphrasingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Close_paraphrasing 6/7

    yourown.Let'sgetseriousaboutplagiarism,Signpost(dispatch)ThoroughdiscussionofWikipedia'spositionregardingplagiarism,includinghowtoavoidit,goodpracticesandhowtodetectit.Copypaste(informationpage)Informationaboutplagiarismandcopyrightconcernswithcopypaste,whichcannotbedoneexceptinthecaseofshortquotations.Paraphrasingofcopyrightedmaterial(article)Anoverviewofhowcloseparaphrasingistreatedundervariousjurisdictions'copyrightlaws.Ideaexpressiondivide(article)Ideaexpressiondividelimitsthescopeofcopyrightprotectionbydifferentiatinganideafromtheexpressionormanifestationofthatidea.Derivativeworks(copyrightFAQ)Discussionofderivativework:acopyrightconcernwheresomethingthatis"basedonandaclosecopyof"anotherwork.Derivativeworks(talkpage)Discussionofparaphraseandabridgement,acopyrightconcern.Quotationcopyrightandfairuse(essay)Properuseofquotationsinarticles,withcopyrightand"fairuse"considerations.Substantialsimilarity(article)SubstantialsimilarityisthestandarddevelopedandusedbyUnitedStatescourtstodeterminewhetheradefendanthasinfringedthereproductionrightofacopyright.Scnesfaire(article):sometimesthereareonlysomanywaystosaysomethingHowtowriteaplotsummary(essay)Informationabouthowtowriteaplotsummaryforaworkoffiction.PlotonlydescriptionoffictionalworksAmongotherthings,discusseshowtoavoidcopyrightviolationswhenwritingaboutfictionalworks.Plagiarismdetectionincludesalistoffreeandcommercialplagiarismdetectiontools.Template:uwparaphraseuserwarningwhichcanbeusedforuserswhichparaphrasecopyrightedmaterialonWikipedia.

    References1. Keller,BruceP.JeffreyP.Cunard(2001).CopyrightLaw:APractitioner'sGuide.PractisingLawInstitute.p.1141.ISBN1402400500.2. KellerandCunard,1140.3. Anexceptionwouldbewhencloselyparaphrasingacompatiblylicensedsourcethatisnotpermissibleasacitation.Forinstance,onemaycloselyparaphraseanotherWikipedia

    articleorusecontentfromanothercompatiblylicensedusergeneratedwiki,solongasthecontentmeetscorecontentpolicies.Attributionmayberequired,asexplainedatWikipedia:Plagiarism#Copyingmaterialfromfreesources,butcitingitisasourcemightbeagainstpolicy.

    4. "CopyrightProtectionNotAvailableforNames,Titles,orShortPhrases"(http://copyright.gov/circs/circ34.pdf)(PDF).UnitedStatesCopyrightOffice.Retrieved2October2014.5. InFeistPublicationsv.RuralTelephoneService,theUnitedStatesSupremeCourtnotedthatfactualcompilationsofinformationmaybeprotectedwithrespectto"selectionand

    arrangement,solongastheyaremadeindependentlybythecompilerandentailaminimaldegreeofcreativity,"as"[t]hecompilationauthortypicallychooseswhichfactstoinclude,inwhatordertoplacethem,andhowtoarrangethecollecteddatasothattheymaybeusedeffectivelybyreaders"theCourtalsoindicatedthat"originalityisnotastringentstandarditdoesnotrequirethatfactsbepresentedinaninnovativeorsurprisingway"andthat"[t]hevastmajorityofworksmakethegradequiteeasily,astheypossesssomecreativespark,'nomatterhowcrude,humbleorobvious'itmightbe."("Decision"(http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=499&invol=340).FeistPublications,Inc.,v.RuralTelephoneServiceCo.,499U.S.340(1991).)

    6. "StaffprotestoverWaterfordCrystalclosure"(http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0130/wedgwood.html).Retrieved20110628.7. Wikipediaarticle20082009Irishfinancialcrisis(http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2008%E2%80%932012_Irish_financial_crisis&oldid=283141055),200904118. PurdueOWLcontributors(20100421)."Paraphrase:WriteitinYourOwnWords"(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/01/).TheWritingLab&TheOWLatPurdue

    andPurdueUniversity.Retrieved20110628.9. "HowtoParaphraseWithoutPlagiarizing"(http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/researchsources/includingsources/paraphrasing/without.cfm).ColoradoStateUniversity.19932011.

    Retrieved20110628.

    Externallinks

    Paraphrase:WriteitinYourOwnWords(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/01/),PurdueUniversityHowtoParaphraseWithoutPlagiarizing(http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/researchsources/includingsources/paraphrasing/without.cfm),ColoradoStateUniversity

    EssaysaboutWikipedia

    Essaysonbuilding,editing,anddeletingcontent

    Philosophy

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  • 25/05/2015 Wikipedia:CloseparaphrasingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Close_paraphrasing 7/7

    PhilosophyAnuncivilenvironmentisapoorenvironmentBetheglueCivilitywarningsDeletionasrevengeFailureForgiveandforgetIt'snottheendoftheworld

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    Dos

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    Don'ts

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    Essaysonnotability

    Notability

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    Humorousessays

    Humorousmaterial

    AssumebadfaithAssumegoodwraithAssumestupidityAssumethateveryone'sassuminggoodfaith,assumingthatyouareassuminggoodfaith

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    Inactivehistoricalreferences

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    Aboutessays

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    Relatedsubjects AboutpoliciesandguidelinesPoliciesGuidelines

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    Categories: Wikipediasupplementalessays

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