Question

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clint prepared a paper for his astronomy class. in his paper he wrote the sentence astronomy is the study of stars, planets, moons and galaxies. without citing it. what is this, and which is the best reason why?
∘ not plagiarism, it could be considered common knowledge.
∘ intentional plagiarism, it is clearly a direct quote from another source.
∘ plagiarism, he just paraphrased something he read.
∘ unintentional plagiarism, he probably didnt mean to do it.

Explanation:

To determine if it's plagiarism, we analyze: The definition of astronomy (study of stars, planets, etc.) is common knowledge—widely known without needing citation. Intentional/unintentional plagiarism implies using others’ work without credit, but common knowledge doesn’t require citing. The other options are incorrect: it’s not a direct quote (no indication), paraphrasing common knowledge isn’t plagiarism, and “unintentional” misapplies as common knowledge needs no citation.

Answer:

A. Not plagiarism, it could be considered common knowledge.