Avoiding Plagiarism, Citation, Getting Started

Used with permission from Mr. Carmer

Plagarism

Plagiarism Defined

Define Plagiarism:“to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source”1

If you use someone else's words, ideas, phrases, thoughts, etc. without giving them credit through use of a citation you are plagiarizing their workIf the information, idea, phrase, etc. is either widely

known or a well-known statement of fact then it does not need to be cited.Example: The statement that ‘the Japanese military attacked

Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941’ is a well known fact and would not need citation.

Examples of Plagiarism2

Turning in another person's work as your own, and this includes a paper from free website

Copying a paper, an excerpt, a paragraph, or a line from a source without proper acknowledgement (these can be from a print source, such as a book, journal, monograph, map, chart, or pamphlet, or from a nonprint source, such as the web or online databases

Copying materials from a source, supplying proper documentation, but leaving out quotation marks

Paraphrasing materials from a source without proper documentation

Buying a paper from a research service or a commercial term paper mill.

Sharing or swapping from a local source (from student papers that were previously submitted)

Creating invalid or faked citations

How to Avoid PlagiarismOrganize yourself prior to beginning

researchUse note cards to document every resource

you take information from, whether the information is used in the final paper or not

For a direct quote: use quotation marks, copy the phrase exactly, cite the work, page number and author.

For paraphrased information: use your own words, cite the work and page number

Paraphrasing What?

Using your own words to express or restate the ideas and/or expressions of someone else.

Why?Effective paraphrasing helps you to better understand the

original idea being researchedAllows you to write in your own words while avoiding ‘over-

quotation’ How?3

1. Reread original passage until you understand its full meaning.2. Set original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.3. Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you

later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.

4. Check your rendition with original to make sure your version accurately expresses the essential information in a new form.

5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.

6. Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

Additional Info/HelpUse MLA format for citing information within the

paper (Author, Page #)Look over the following site for creating an MLA

Bibliography: http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citmla.htm

Look at the site: A+ Research & Writing for high school and college students at http://www.ipl.org/div/teen/aplus/ for help in getting started.

www.easybib.com

Helpful HintsIf you work together on a homework assignment

that doesn’t mean you should have the same answers. Especially on opinion questions.

Homework assignments in this class are individual assignments and you are not to work with a partner on them anyway. If you need help come see me.

Copying other people’s work in MUN is doubly riskyI might catch you with turnitin.comThe author of the work might catch you! (the

person that wrote the paper, resolution, etc. might still be in MUN and be in your committee or even be your chair!)

Footnote Page

1. “plagiarism.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2005. http://www.m-w.com/cgi-

bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=plagiarized (Jan. 18, 2005).

2. Amrita Madray, Student’s Guide to Preventing and Avoiding Plagiarism [on-line];

available from http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/exhibits/plagstudent.htm;

Internet accessed on 18 Jan 2005.

3. “Paraphrase: Write it in Your Own Words,” Purdue University On-line Writing Lab,

2004; available from

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_paraphr.html; Internet

accessed on 19 Jan 2005.