“almost exactly”
Is that what scholarly juries or panels are instructed to use as their standard in judging plagiarism?
Seems no more useful than “I know pornography when I see it”.
I’m suspicious of sabotage. In late June Trump hired Cruz aide Jason Miller as communications adviser. Did he hire the speech writers? Did a Cruz loyalist do this as payback for Trump’s nasty tweet about Heidi?
Professional standards often require judgement to apply. Some concepts are not adequately captured by precise definitions. Although the term was mine, it essentially captures the standard that would be applied. Copying a couple of sentences and then changing a few words doesn't make the thought yours. Plagiarism doesn't necessarily require a word-for-word quote.