Avoiding Plagiarism
What is plagiarism?
Many people, scholars included, struggle with understanding plagiarism. Generally speaking, there are three types of plagiarism: 1) not giving credit for other people’s words or ideas, 2) not using quotation marks when you use other people’s expressions, 3) not using your own words when you paraphrase or summarize.
Example:
Original: Psychologists do not claim the words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due.
Plagiarism: Psychologists do not declare the words and ideas of another as their own; they give recognition where recognition is due.
This is plagiarism because it uses the ideas and most of the words without citing their source.
Appropriate: According the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (2001), it is not appropriate to use another person’s words or concepts without acknowledging the original source. As the manual states, psychologists “give credit where credit is due” (American Psychological Association, 2001, p. 349).
This is not plagiarism because the words are either: 1) original 2) in quotation marks and the original source is indicated.
Why is plagiarism such a big deal?
There are many reasons plagiarism is seen as a serious offense in academic, entertainment, and legal settings. Plagiarism is a type of stealing. Instead of stealing money or goods, the plagiarizer steals words or thoughts, which are central to scholarship. In addition, writing is often an intimate process analogous to giving birth—something that the writer struggles with and is heavily invested in. A lack of acknowledgement shows a lack of respect. In the academic setting, originality and new lines of thinking are valued and plagiarism stifles this creativity. Engagement with existing work and adding personal contributions is the core of academic writing and plagiarism is a regurgitation of old words and ideas without reexamination or learning.
How do I paraphrase?
Paraphrasing can serve an important function in clarifying or organizing ones understanding of a source. It introduces the writer’s own perspective and gives him or her ownership. This gives the writer his or her own voice and power.
Often writers use quotes when they are not confident in their writing and excessive quotes do not make writing better. Paraphrasing makes it plain that the writer understands the concepts and can write clearly. By using your own words, you make it clear that you are working with and critically thinking about the original source.
Paraphrasing involves restating the original author’s ideas with unique words and sentence structure. A way to paraphrase and avoid plagiarism is to read a source and later write about it based on memory. Then check to make sure your writing does not copy the original sentence structure with occasional use of synonyms. Another option is to write as if you were writing a letter to a friend or family member telling him or her about what you had read.
Example:
Original: In lazy writing, an individual simply lifts paragraph after paragraph out of one or more sources and presents them as a paper. The difference between plagiarism and lazy writing is that in lazy writing, the individual properly cites the source of the material.
Plagiarism: In slothful writing, an individual simply takes paragraph after paragraph out of one or more sources and presents them as a paper. The difference between plagiarism and slothful writing is that in slothful writing, the individual correctly cites the source of the matter (Bordens & Abbott, 1996).
This is plagiarism even though the source is given because large sections of the text are taken word for word from the source with the occasional substitution of a synonym.
Appropriate: There is a distinction between writing that is slothful and plagiarism. In slothful writing, the individual cites the source appropriately, but still uses large sections of another person’s or people’s work as his or her own (Bordens & Abbott, 1996).
This example completely changes the structure of the sentences and wording so that the ideas are the same, but the expression is unique. Additionally, the source is credited.
How do I quote?
When it is crucial to use the original words of a source, it is appropriate to quote. Examples of appropriate uses of quotations include ensuring technical accuracy, discussing the wording of a source, or when the details of an author’s perspective are central to the topic. When using the text from a source, the borrowed words should be separated by either quotation marks or, when the text is long, indentation. Long quotes are defined as either more than 40 words or over four lines of typed text. Indented quotes are called block quotes. The entire text of block quotes should be indented. When using a block quote, quotation marks are not needed because the indentation signals the quote. Exact preferences for block quotes vary by style. Consult a style manual in your discipline or consult your instructor for details.
When words from a quote are deleted, ellipses are used. Words that are added to quotes are enclosed brackets. For details on how to do this, please consult a style manual in your discipline or an instructor.
Example:
Original: Quotation marks are used only for quotations that employ the exact words from some source (either spoken or written), but not for indirect quotations in which a source’s ideas are used but not the exact words.
Plagiarism: According to the Webster’s New World English Grammar Handbook, quotation marks are used only for quotations that employ the exact words from some source (Loberger & Welsh, 2002, p. 172).
Although the source is acknowledged, there is no indication that the words came from someone other than the writer of this passage.
Appropriate: According to the Webster’s New World English Grammar Handbook, “quotation marks are used only for quotations that employ the exact words from some source” (Loberger & Welsh, 2002, p. 172).
Quotation marks clearly indicate the words that came from the other source and that source is appropriately acknowledged.
How do I use in-text citations?
When using quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing it is important to signal to the reader that you are introducing someone else’s ideas. Using variability in how you introduce a quote or paraphrase, makes your writing more interesting.
It also is crucial to indicate the source of the words or ideas. This is done by indicating the author and year, and in the case of a quote, page number, of the original source. The style used depends upon discipline, so please consult the appropriate style manual or your instructor. The full reference of each source used also should be cited in your bibliography or references pages. It is very helpful to keep track of references while writing.
Example: All of the above appropriate examples demonstrate proper use of in-text citations using the American Psychological Association style. Other styles may vary slightly.
Where can I look for additional information?
A Writer’s Reference, fourth edition, by Diana Hacker
http://gervaseprograms.georgetown.edu/hc/plagiarism.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
References
American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington , DC: American Psychological Association.
Bordens, K. S. & Abbott, B. B. (1996). Research design and methods: A process
approach (3rd ed.). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Loberger, G. & Welsh, K. S. (2002). Webster’s new world English grammar handbook.
Indianapolis, IN: Wiley.