In the academic world, plagiarism is a mortal sin. A student once asked the question, “How much copying is considered plagiarism?” If you copy someone’s framework or concept, you are guilty of plagiarism. If you copy one paragraph, it is copying. But what about half a paragraph? What about two sentences? One sentence? I believe that most people in the academic world would say that it is plagiarism even to copy just one phrase. However, there are many writings in the world to be copied, and we are standing on the shoulders of giants. There is nothing wrong with copying other people’s words and it is wonderful merit to spread great quotes for the benefit of the world but we must cite the source instead of stealing them, otherwise it is plagiarism.

In serious academic writings, sometimes the footnotes are very long. A book with dozens of pages of footnotes is a casual matter, adding weight and wasting paper. However, it represents a rigorous and well-reasoned thesis, which has become an essential ritual for academic writing.

What about newspaper forums and column articles? Generally speaking, in more serious essays, if you use someone else’s point of view or the result of someone else’s hard work, you should indicate the source. I once wrote a long article and had to explain the origin of a point of view but the opinion was not very impressive and was only mentioned briefly in the article, so I used a footnote to indicate the source so as not to affect the morale of the article. Unexpectedly, the editor deleted the entire footnote perhaps because of its length. I was very embarrassed because of the lack of respect for the original author and I was afraid that others might misinterpret it as plagiarism. From another perspective, sometimes citing the source is just a way to protect oneself from trouble by admitting to plagiarism.

When writing a column piece, it is often more important to be fluent, comprehensible and concise, but it is also necessary to cite sources. For example, if you refer to some amazing data or bizarre facts that are not commonly known and are supported by evidence, it is appropriate to indicate the source with the goal of enhancing the persuasiveness of the article and giving interested readers something to trace back. If you disagree with certain points of view and you want to express criticism, you will of course clearly state the source, or even the context, to show that you are not being condescending. Similarly, if an article is so interesting that you want to quote it at length, or even use it as the main theme of the paper, the source should be clearly stated. This is the basic respect for the original creator, which I think is common sense.

Certainly, there are times when a column article is casually written, or when the origin of a certain saying is difficult to identify, then it is also possible to indicate that it is not one’s own creation by simply referring to “something a netizen said”, “something a friend said,” or “something I heard.” Of course, for the sake of fluency, it is not necessary to specify the source of the most well-known quotations. For example, it is not necessary to quote Isaac Newton when referring to “standing on the shoulders of giants” as in the first paragraph of this article, or to call upon Mao Zedong every time when talking about “You young people, full of vigor and vitality, are in the bloom of life, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning,” or to bring up George Orwell whenever writing about “the Ministry of Truth” or “ignorance is power.” This will not only ruin the mood of the article, but may also give people the impression of an inkhorn.

It is true that there are plenty of writings to copy under the sky, but in the era of information tsunami, it takes great effort to catch important concepts and copy them skillfully so that readers can appreciate and understand them. If you can filter the key points, link them with your own knowledge and experience, and connect them with reality, the dots will become threads, and new ideas will be stimulated and new knowledge will emerge.

(Allan Au Ka-lun, veteran journalist)

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