A NYT Lede That Duplicates Wikipedia

Well, you really shouldn't be citing Wikipedia at all if you want to avoid the JP.

But when citing in general, if you don't quote directly, you need to paraphrase. It's pretty straightforward. It's not necessarily about shuffling the words, as much as not using the same words and syntax as the source.

 

If I'm writing a book on, say, Ted Williams.

I cite a passage in a book: "In 1941, Ted Williams batted .401."

I write: "According to Montville's book, in 1941, Ted Williams batted .401."

How else was I supposed to write that? If I switched "batted" to "hit," does it pass the test?

 

You're being simplistic.

Nobody is saying a case like your example would be plagiarism. You wouldn't even need to cite Montville's book in this case, because Ted Williams' batting average is easily found in MLB statistical records.

 

Why wouldn't it be?

 

You would cite direct sources rather than written accounts, as often as is possible.

 

Jesus Christ... Because the passage you're talking about is both common knowledge and common phrasing. No thoughts or ideas were taken, because citing a simple Ted Williams stat from a book is unnecessary. You can look up the stat yourself in countless places. Writing a simple stat is not proprietary.

 

Montville writes: "In 1945, Williams roomed with Doerr."

I write: "According to Montville, in 194, Williams roomed with Doerr."

 

"According to Montville, Williams and Doerr were roommates in 1945."

Look at that, I did it without suffering an aneurism.

 

That's what Vogel did!

Nonetheless, it is still an utterly absurd exercise to have to go through in order to not plagiarize. These are facts.

 

That absolutely is not what Vogel did. Vogel used the same order, similar phrasing and facts from a Wikipedia passage, which also came from another source, without attribution.

 

The discussion is whether it would have been plagiarism if she DID attribute.

Of course she plagiarized, as it stands.

 

It's not an absurd exercise if you write in your own voice and not others. It's actually pretty easy.