The following is taken from an essay by Kenneth Clark called "The Young Michelangelo" in The Penguin Book of Renaissance edited by J.H. Plumb (London: Penguin, 1954) pp. 99-100:
Michelangelo was born in Florentine territory on 6 March 1475, and was one of the very few artists to come of aristocratic stock, although by his time the family fortunes had declined. Michelangelo belongs to that small company of poets, artists, and musicians whose greatness has never been seriously questioned, but he differs from his companions - - Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe, Mozart - - in one important way. All of them have maintained this hold on our admiration by appealing to a wide range of human experience so that each generation may extract from their works what suits it best. But Michelangelo has made his own terms with posterity, just as he did with his employers. He is the most concentrated and undeviating of great artists. We come to him for one particular revelation communicated by one particular means ... [which] makes everything else seem small and tame and worldly (Clark 99-100).
Plagiarism Example 1
Here is an example of plagiarism. The writer copies the original paragraph from Clark's "The Young Michelangelo" with only slight alteration: he leaves out some words, changes others, and generally prays that his instructor will be half-asleep when the essay is marked.
Michelangelo comes from that small group of artists, musicians and poets whose genius is never seriously questioned. However he is different from his comrades, Dante, Shakespeare, Mozart, Beethoven, in an important way. All of them are admired by us because they appeal to a wide range of human experience so that every generation may extract from their works what suits them most. But Michelangelo has made his own terms with posterity; he is the most concentrated and undeviant of geniuses and we want him for a particular revelation. This makes all else seem little and tame and worldly.
Plagiarism Example 2
In this version, although there is very little direct copying, the idea is obviously Clark's and represents a paraphrase of the last three sentences of Clark's paragraph (the writer has merely put Clark's ideas into his own words). The writer should have inserted a parenthetical citation at the end of the paraphrase - (Clark 99-100).
We revere men of genius because they have the ability to relate to all sections of humanity, so that every one can find something for himself in them. Michelangelo, however, demands that we approach him on his own terms because he is so concentrated and uncompromising in his works. His artistry, both in form and content, is revealed to us in such a way as to cause all other things to seem insignificant and mundane.
Appropriate Citing Examples
The examples below are NOT plagiarisms. The first is common historical fact and therefore the writer is justified in using it. The second provides a full acknowledgment of the source; even if the writer had paraphrased the original, he would still have given a parenthetical reference at the end of his paraphrase.
Michelangelo was born near Florence on March 6, 1475 of aristocratic parents who had fallen on hard times.
Kenneth Clark writes of Michelangelo's genius as rendering all else to seem "small and tame and worldly" (99) by comparison.
The writer of the second sentence would list Kenneth Clark's essay in his work of Works Cited at the end of his paper.
Note that example is cited in MLA citation style; other styles such as APA and Chicago use different formatting. For more details, see more extensive guides from Library: