Attachment Five: An Example of Published Plagiarism

(From Classroom Research Paper Guide, by Todd Bolen)

Amihai Mazar in 1992 wrote:

An exceptional EB III pottery group is known as “Khirbet Kerak Ware,” named after the site of Khirbet Kerak (Beth-Yerah), where it was first defined.  The vessels were hand-made, with a thick body, and were fired at a comparatively low temperature.  They were covered by a heavy slip and were highly burnished.  The color of the slip was controlled by fire: on the outside it was either all black or black with red around the rim; on the inside it was red.  Surface decoration includes ridges shaped in the form of triangles, spirals, or certain symbols….This pottery is found mainly in the northern part of the country (at Beth-Yerah, Meggido [sic], Beth-Shean, Hazor, and so forth), while only a few small vessels reached the south, probably through trade…Similar pottery was found in Syria, particularly in the Amuq region (yet it was not found at Tell Mardikh [Ebla], east of the Orontes Valley).  This implies that the pottery of this kind was produced by immigrants who left eastern Anatolia…” (132-33).

Walter Kaiser in 1998 wrote:

The best-known pottery of the EBIII period is called “Khirbet Kerak ware,” after the site of Khirbet Kerak (Beth-Yerah) where it was first described.  This ware was handmade with a thick body and then fired at rather low temperatures.  A heavy slip was applied and then highly burnished, the color of the slip being controlled by the fire.  This pottery was red on the inside, but on the outside was either all black or black with red around the rim.  It is best represented in the northern part of the country (Megiddo, Beth-Shean, Hazor, and Beth Yerah), with few representatives found in the south.  Similar pottery, however, is known at Ebla, east of the Orontes River and in parts of Anatolia” (45)

Why this is clearly plagiarism:

1. Kaiser’s structure directly parallels Mazar’s.

2. Kaiser includes no information which is not directly from Mazar.

3. Attempts at rewording to avoid plagiarism charge are obvious and reminiscent of grade-school attempts to “rewrite” the source.

4. No reference to Mazar is made in the text, in a citation or in a footnote (this would avoid the charge of not giving credit for ideas, but it would not avoid the charge of borrowing Mazar’s words without using quotation marks).  Mazar is cited in a footnote for the previous paragraph, but this is not sufficient as a) different pages are being referenced than what is cited and b) the citation clearly limits Mazar as a source for that particular paragraph.

Comments:

1. This is surprising plagiarism: Kaiser is using the standard archaeological text.  If you’re going to plagiarize, at least use a source that is not so familiar to so many.  [Yes, this is an example of sarcasm.]

2. This is poor plagiarism: Note that Kaiser (apparently in a quick reading) states the opposite of Mazar with regard to the discovery of Khirbet Kerak pottery at Ebla.

3. To “fix” this problem, Kaiser should, in the best case, use multiple sources and give a synthesis in his own words.  Alternately, he could simply quote the relevant section from Mazar (using quotation marks and a footnote, of course!).  Or he could take a middle path and use some quotes, reference Mazar in the text (“Mazar describes…”), do a better job of rewording, and footnote Mazar for the whole section.

Another example:

Merrill in 1987: “the Davidic messianic line was suspended by its slenderest thread” (357-58).

Kaiser in 1998: “hung by the slenderest thread it was ever suspended on” (344).  

Sources:

Kaiser, Walter C.  1998      A History of Israel: From the Bronze Age Through the Jewish Wars.  Nashville: Broadman & Holman.

Mazar, Amihai.  1992      Archaeology of the Land of the Bible:  10,000 - 586 B.C.E.  New York: Doubleday.

Merrill, Eugene H.  1987      Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel.  Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

Note: The above information was communicated to a senior editor at Broadman & Holman both in person and then the above comparison was mailed to him.  No reply was made (as of 9 months later).