Which of the following situations is an example of plagiarism in academic or writing contexts?

Introduction / Context:
Plagiarism is a key concept in academic writing, journalism and professional communication. It refers to using someone else's words, ideas or creative work without proper acknowledgement. This question asks you to recognise real life examples of plagiarism in different situations involving students and writers. Understanding these examples helps learners avoid academic misconduct and maintain integrity in their own work.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• A student copies from online book reviews and presents the material as his own book report.
• A writer copies articles from many websites, changes only the names and republishes them without credit.
• A writer reuses words, phrases and ideas from a source without clear indication of what is borrowed and without proper citation.
• We assume no permission has been obtained and no correct referencing is provided.
• We must identify which options represent plagiarism according to standard academic definitions.

Concept / Approach:
Plagiarism occurs whenever someone uses another person's words, ideas, structure or data and presents them as original, without proper citation or quotation. It does not matter whether the copying is word for word or involves only partial changes, such as altering a few phrases or rearranging sentences. Patchwriting, in which a writer slightly edits the original text but keeps its structure and key ideas, also counts as plagiarism. Therefore, if a student or writer copies from websites, articles or books and fails to credit the original creators, all such actions are clear examples of plagiarism.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Examine option A. The student copies material from online reviews and book reports instead of reading the book and writing his own report. This is direct copying without attribution, so it is plagiarism.Step 2: Examine option B. The writer copies articles from multiple websites, changes only the names and republishes them to earn money. Because the original authors are not credited and the content is substantially the same, this is also plagiarism.Step 3: Examine option C. The writer reuses a mixture of words, phrases and ideas from a source without clearly indicating which parts are borrowed and without proper citation. This is an example of patchwriting or paraphrasing without attribution, which still counts as plagiarism.Step 4: Notice that each of the first three scenarios involves using someone else's work without sufficient acknowledgement.Step 5: Therefore, all three are examples of plagiarism, so the correct choice is the option that includes every one of them.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify this reasoning by referring to typical university policies and writing guides. They emphasise that plagiarism includes copying text word for word, close paraphrasing without credit and presenting others' ideas as your own. They also explain that simply changing names or rearranging sentences is not enough to make the work original. All three scenarios clearly violate these principles. No educational institution would treat any of them as acceptable academic practice, confirming that each one is an example of plagiarism.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Options A, B and C individually describe plagiarism, but the question asks which option is an example and offers All of the above as a combined choice, which best captures the full set of plagiaristic behaviours.
• Option E falsely claims that changing a few words always makes copying acceptable. In reality, even partial copying or superficial paraphrasing without citation is still plagiarism.

Common Pitfalls:
Many students mistakenly believe that plagiarism occurs only when text is copied word for word. They may think that changing a few words or mixing content from different websites avoids problems. Another common mistake is assuming that ideas do not need to be cited if they are not quoted exactly. In fact, borrowing the structure or argument of a source without acknowledgement is also plagiarism. To avoid these pitfalls, always cite the original author when you use their words or ideas and use quotation marks for exact phrases. When in doubt, it is safer to provide a reference.

Final Answer:
The correct answer is All of the above, because each scenario described in options A, B and C is a clear example of plagiarism.