Citing Sources

Avoiding plagiarism

What is plagiarism?

“to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source” (Merriam Webster Dictionary).

In other words, it is using someone else’s written work and claiming it as your own. This is not always done intentional, but it is still a “crime.”

How do we avoid plagiarism?

1. Quote: Using a direct quote from another source. The information is place in “quotes” followed by the source name in (parenthesis). You may not change any words when quoting directly. The quote can stand on its own or be worked into your sentence.

2. Paraphrase: Rewriting information from a source in our own words. It is not placed in quotes but we must follow the information with the name of the source in (parenthesis).

3. Summarize: State the name of the source and then briefly write the main ideas from the source in your own words.

Quote (direct quote) examples

“The epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States has incited parents, communities, and even legislators to improve kids’ nutrition in one place they invariably eat: schools” (Kingsolver, Hopp 325).

Governments and communities, like Sheboygan Falls, are beginning to look for healthy alternatives “to improve kids nutrition in one place they invariably eat: schools” (Kingsolver, Hopp 325).

Paraphrase examples

Federal support for providing local foods in schools and for local farmers’ markets was only approved after protests by supporters (Kingsolver, Hopp 207).

Many countries, fifty-two to be exact, banned the sale of U.S. beef after the discovery of mad cow disease (Kingsolver, Hopp 231).

Summarizing example

According to Barbara Kingsolver in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, states like Wisconsin have to worry about months when we have too much snow and bad weather to grow food.

In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Barbara Kingsolver describes how plants can cross-pollinate to create a new species of plants.

Works Cited

Kingsolver, Barbara, Steven L. Hopp, and Camille Kingsolver. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. New York: Harper Perennial, 2007. print.