Exercise: Avoiding plagiarism (Chicago) 1

Read the original source passage. Then decide whether each of the items that follows cites the passage acceptably in Chicago style or whether the citation may be considered plagiarism if included in another writer’s work. If the citation is acceptable, choose “OK.” If the citation is plagiarized, choose “Unacceptable.”

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ORIGINAL SOURCE

Poverty, understood in the usual sense of “destitution,” was a permanent feature of the Middle Ages. From classical antiquity through the social and economic regression of more barbarous times, poverty was thought to be inescapable. Not until the Renaissance and Reformation, when contemporaries began to feel ashamed at the sight of people living in a state considered unworthy of human beings, did anyone dream of eradicating it. . . . Two currents of protest run through the Middle Ages. One flowed from the unfortunate themselves, who rose in rebellion at oddly regular intervals, in the twelfth, fourteenth, and sixteenth centuries, to mention only the most prominent instances. The other . . . attempted to reconcile the abjection of actual misery with poverty construed as a virtue; this ultimately gave rise to various charitable endeavors. But in the absence of the knowledge or power necessary to strike at the root of the evil, no one in either camp could envision anything other than provision of relief to the poor or inversion of the social hierarchy to benefit them.

From page 1 of Poverty in the Middle Ages by Michel Mollat (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986).

EXAMPLE

1 of 10

According to Mollat, it wasn’t until the Renaissance and the Reformation that anyone dreamed of eradicating poverty.1
According to Mollat, it wasn’t until the Renaissance and the Reformation that anyone dreamed of eradicating poverty.1

2 of 10

From classical antiquity through more barbarous times, poverty was thought of as inescapable.

3 of 10

The poor rebelled at strangely regular occurrences, in the 1100s, 1300s, and 1500s, to name only the most important cases.

4 of 10

Mollat claims that because they lacked “the knowledge or power necessary to strike at the root of the evil,” people in the Middle Ages accepted poverty as an unfortunate truth.1
Mollat claims that because they lacked “the knowledge or power necessary to strike at the root of the evil,” people in the Middle Ages accepted poverty as an unfortunate truth.1

5 of 10

Poverty in the Middle Ages was considered to be a necessary evil.

6 of 10

In the Middle Ages, the poor chose to live “in a state unworthy of human beings” because it caused the rich to take pity on them and offer them gifts.1
In the Middle Ages, the poor chose to live “in a state unworthy of human beings” because it caused the rich to take pity on them and offer them gifts.1

7 of 10

It was not until the dawn of the Renaissance that people began to understand the root causes of poverty.1
It was not until the dawn of the Renaissance that people began to understand the root causes of poverty.1

8 of 10

Mollat points out that the poor rebelled against their plight “at oddly regular intervals” throughout the Middle Ages.1 At the same time, other people’s perception of poverty began to shift: the poor came to be seen as innately virtuous and worthy of charity.
Mollat points out that the poor rebelled against their plight “at oddly regular intervals” throughout the Middle Ages.1 At the same time, other people’s perception of poverty began to shift: the poor came to be seen as innately virtuous and worthy of charity.

9 of 10

Mollat notes that during the Middle Ages, “poverty [was] construed as a virtue,” and this shift in perception “ultimately gave rise to various charitable endeavors.”1
Mollat notes that during the Middle Ages, “poverty [was] construed as a virtue,” and this shift in perception “ultimately gave rise to various charitable endeavors.”1

10 of 10

Mollat writes that it was not until the end of the Middle Ages, when people started to experience guilt at seeing others existing in animal-like conditions, that anyone imagined abolishing poverty.1
Mollat writes that it was not until the end of the Middle Ages, when people started to experience guilt at seeing others existing in animal-like conditions, that anyone imagined abolishing poverty.1