According to the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, to plagiarize is:
1. to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; use (another's production) without crediting the source
2. to commit literary theft; present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
There are four basic types of plagiarism:
*Material found at Bowden University The Common Types of Plagiarism and WriteCheck Self-Plagiarism.
Original Text:
“Perhaps the chief appeal that Marxism held for the Russian intelligentsia, even more so than for the intellectuals of other countries, was its combination of a powerful messianic yearning with an appearance of scientific methodology. It offered youthful enthusiasts the best of both worlds. Their ardent desire to change the world was fortified by sound, or seemingly sound, scientific reasons why this was not only possible, but was, even more seductively, inevitable” (Charmichael 17).
Charmichael, Joel. A short history of the Russian Revolution. Basic Books, Inc., 1964.
Paraphrasing of the text:
I believe that the combination of scientific methodology and a forceful messianic longing explains the appeal held by Russian intellectuals, as well as intellectuals from other countries, for Marxism. It offered the youth of the time the best of both worlds. Marxism seemed to show sound and scientific reasons that is was possible, even inevitable, that those youth’s would change the world. Given the opportunity to make things better, who wouldn’t?
*This paragraph is clearly a paraphrase of the original text without any citation to show who wrote it or where it was found.
Direct Plagiarism:
In regards to the idea of Marxism, when it first appeared the chief appeal that Marxism held for the Russian intelligentsia was its combination of powerful messianic yearning and an appearance of scientific methodology. It could be stated that the youths desire to change the world was fortified by sound, or seemingly sound, scientific reasons why this was not only possible but inevitable.
Charmichael, Joel. A short history of the Russian Revolution. Basic Books, Inc., 1964.
*Although this example includes a citation, it does not include quotation marks around direct quotes, an ellipsis to show a shortened quote, or an in-text citation.