Plagiarism, Paraphrasing and

Documenting Quotations

Plagiarism, Paraphrasing and

Documenting Quotations

Plagiarism – What is it?“the unacknowledged use of

somebody else’s words or ideas” Possible Consequences:

– Mark of 0– Expulsion - particularly at college

or university

• Totally avoidable – just need to document

What?Deliberate Plagiarism Possibly Accidental

Plagiarism

Buying, stealing or borrowing a paper

Using the source too closely when paraphrasing

Hiring someone to write your paper

Building on someone’s ideas without citation

Copying from another source without citing [on purpose or by accident]

Avoiding plagiarism by paraphrasing

• General Advice– When reading a passage, try first to understand it as a whole,

rather than pausing to write down specific ideas or phrases

– Be selective. Choose and summarize the ideas that helps you

make a point

– Think of what “your own words” would be if you were telling

someone like your Mom or your sister what the original source

said

– Remember that you can use some of the original language in

quotes

Source: The Writing Center UW-Madison

How to paraphrase• Look away from the source; then write

– Read the text you need to paraphrase several times – until you feel that

you understand it and can use your own words to restate it to someone

else.

– Then look away from the original and rewrite the text in your own words

• Take notes

– Take abbreviated notes; set the notes aside then paraphrase from the

notes a day or two later

• While looking at the source, first change the structure, then the words

– Changing the structure

• Look at the order in the paragraph – pick out a key word from the

middle and write your paragraph beginning with the key word

• Break up long sentences, combine short ones, expand key ideas

– Changing the words

• Use synonyms or a phrase that expresses the same meaning

• Use words common to the discipline Source: The Writing Center UW-

Madison

Avoiding plagiarism by documenting direct quotations…

• What you must document…

– Direct quotations that

• Show an authority supports your point

• Include especially moving or historically significant language

• Present a particularly well-stated passage whose meaning

would be lost or changed if paraphrased or summarized

• Contain statistics or numbers that could be challenged

Source: The Writing Center UW-Madison

When not to document….• You are writing your own experiences, your own observations, your

own insights, your own thoughts, your own conclusions about a

subject

• You are using “common knowledge”

– Folklore

– Common sense observations

– Shared information within your field of study or cultural group

• You are compiling generally accepted facts

• You are writing up your experimental results

Research Steps1. Start with general references

1. Encyclopedias e.g. World Book online

2. textbooks

2. Move to more specific 1. Library books; online journals