How to Avoid Plagiarism

Has included some directly quoted material but failed to put it in quotation marks or cite the source.

Has cited a source and attempted to paraphrase, but has actually copied much of the material word for word.

Has turned in a paper he found on a “Free Essays” website. Has turned in a paper his girlfriend wrote last year. Has included correctly paraphrased material but failed to cite the

source. Has included a quote, in quotation marks, but failed to cite the source.

Order the offenses—which is worst? What do you do in each case?

Take a few points off Take a lot of points off Automatic F (59) on the paper Automatic zero on the paper Automatic zero in the class X grade in the class.

Failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks

Failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your own voice

Failing to cite quotes and borrowed ideas

If in doubt, cite the source! If the ideas or words are not your own,

chances are, you have to cite them.

You use direct quotations You use arguable information that is not

your opinion You use information that is not common

knowledge The opinions and assertions of others Any information you did not generate

yourself

According to Joe Smith of The New York Times, “Lil’ Wayne is a no-talent hack riding the coattails of more successful rappers” (35).

Some critics even believe that Justin Beiber is not a real artist; he is merely a YouTube sensation taken too far (Johnson 22).

Apple sold over 450,000 iPads in 2011 alone (“iPad Mania”).

According to a recent poll, only 45% of Americans believe in evolution (“Poll: Majority Reject Evolution).

Bill Maher, for example, believes that Tim Tebow is completely inept as a quarterback.◦ Note that we have no parenthetical citation here.

This is because we have a signal phrase but no page number. (The information came from a video.)

His critics claim that Tim Tebow is completely inept as a quarterback (Maher).

It is information most readers are likely to know (Common Knowledge)

Information and documents are widely available

Using well-known quotations You gathered the material yourself

Osama bin Laden, the terrorist responsible for masterminding the 9/11 attacks on the United States, was killed in 2011.

The preamble to the Constitution begins with, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union . . ..”

When Neil Armstrong first stepped foot on the moon, he said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Over two-thirds of the people I surveyed thought that Kim Jong Un was the president of China. The remaining third thought he was the kid from Up.

How do we do it? Bookends and sandwiches!

Bookends make sure that you avoid plagiarism by giving sources proper credit.

Sandwiches make sure your quotes fit smoothly with the rest of your paper.

We’ll talk about bookends first

Rules for MLA and APA are similar.◦ We’ll start with MLA.

1. Source is introduced with signal phrase that names author (in-text citations)

2. Cited material is followed by page number in parentheses

3. Works Cited page at end of paper gives all information about each source.

Signal Phrase Text (Citation)

Plus Works Cited Entry

Legal scholar Jay Kesan points out that the law holds employers liable for employees’ actions such as violations of copyright laws, the distribution of offensive or graphic sexual material, and illegal disclosure of confidential information (312).

Plus entry in Works Cited page.

The signal phrase introduces material from another source.

It alerts the audience that the upcoming ideas are not yours, but those of your source.

A good signal phrase includes:◦ Author’s name◦ Credentials◦ Often, the source it came from◦ A good signal verb

Joe Smith, a popular columnist for The New York Times, discusses the issue in his recent article “The Health Care Debate.” Smith claims…

Author’s Name Credentials Source Signal Verb

Avoid overusing “says” or “according to.”

Vary your verbs for precision and to avoid monotony.

Admits; agrees; argues; believes; claims; compares; contends; declares; denies; insists; notes; points out; reasons; reports; suggests; thinks

Do you have to give all that information again?

NO! Simply use his or her last name.

◦ Smith believes… DON’T use just his first name

◦ Joe thinks…◦ He isn’t your friend, so give him the

professional courtesy of referring to him formally

Page number goes in there.◦ In MLA, no “p.” or “pp.”

Legal scholar Jay Kesan points out that the law holds employers liable . . . (312).◦ Note placement of period.

Why don’t we say “(Kesan 312)”?

1. Source is introduced with signal phrase that names author (in-text citations)

2. Cited material is followed by page number in parentheses

3. Works Cited page at end of paper gives all information about each source.

Kesan, Jay P. “Cyber-Workings or Cyber-Shrinking? A First Principles Examination of Electronic Privacy in the Workplace.” Florida Law Review 54.2 (2002): 289-

332. Print.

Consult your style guide for specifics

The rules are almost the same. Add two things:

◦ Year of publication in signal phrase◦ “p.” in parenthetical citation

Yanovski and Yanovski (2002) explained that sibutramine suppresses appetite by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain (p. 594).◦ Use “pp.” for multiple pages (pp. 8-9)

APA uses a “References” page that has a different format than a “Works Cited” page

Yanovski, S.Z., & Yanovski, J.A. (2002). Drug therapy: Obesity. The New England Journal of Medicine, 346, 591-602.

Make sure to consult your style guide to get the right format!

What about borrowed words? Martin Luther King Jr. hoped for a land

in which people would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.◦ Okay?

NO! What are we implying here?

Martin Luther King Jr. hoped for a land in which people would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (13).

Give credit for IDEAS using bookends. Give credit for WORDS using bookends

and quotation marks.

Most students are pretty good at finding useful quotes for their papers.

Most students, however, have a hard time using the quote correctly.

We need to know where the quote comes from, as well as how it relates to your paper.

Barack Obama was elected President of the United States on November 3, 2008. “The election of Barack Obama represents a breakthrough in the struggle of the African American in society.” Barack Obama took office on January 20, 2009.

Also called a “dropped quote.” The student hits us with a quote and takes off, with

no explanation of the source or purpose of the quote.

Barack Obama was elected President of the United States on November 3, 2008.◦ Okay so far…

“The election of Barack Obama represents a breakthrough in the struggle of the African American in society.”◦ Good quote, but who said it? Where did it come

from? Barack Obama took office on January 20, 2009.

◦ Whoa! Moving on already? What did that quote mean? Why is it in your paper? How does it contribute to your argument?

A sandwich has three layers…

Bread

Meat

Bread

Bread: Introduction of the quote.◦ Who said it?◦ What are his credentials?◦ Where was the information published?

Meat: The quote itself.◦ In quotation marks.◦ Appropriate citation at the end.

Bread: Explanation.◦ What the quote means, if it is difficult to

understand.◦ How the quote relates to your paper and/or how it

supports/refutes your argument.

Barack Obama was elected President of the United States on November 3, 2008. James Smith, a popular political author, comments on the history-making event in his book The Dawn of the Obama Era. He claims, “The election of Barack Obama represents a breakthrough in the struggle of the African American in society” (14). Smith is right; when Barack Obama took office on January 20, 2009, he tore down a wall that had long stood between African Americans and political success.

Bread:◦ James Smith, a popular political author,

commented on the history-making event in his book The Dawn of the Obama Era.

Meat:◦ He claims, “The election of Barack Obama

represents a breakthrough in the struggle of the African American in society” (14). Note the introduction (He claims . . .) and the citation.

Quotes need bookends too! Bread:

◦ Smith is right; when Barack Obama took office on January 20, 2009, he tore down a wall that had long stood between African Americans and political success.

◦ When language is especially vivid or expressive.◦ When exact wording is needed for technical

accuracy.◦ When it is important to let the debaters of an

issue explain their positions in their own words.◦ When the words of an important authority lend

weight to an argument.

Sometimes, a quote is not the best way to get information into your paper.

In these cases, you’ll want to put things in your own voice through summary and paraphrase.

You can control the length and structure of the information.

You can make complicated information clear to your audience.

You can tailor the information to fit your purpose.

Keeps tone and voice consistent. Don’t want excessive quoting.

Summary = the expression of others’ ideas in your own words◦ For our purposes, we’ll also define a summary as

a condensed version of the original So if the original is one hundred words, how

long might your summary be?

Paraphrase = a restatement of an author’s ideas in your own voice

So if an original is fifty words long, about how long will the paraphrase be?

About fifty words!

Summarize if a concept is important to your paper, but the specifics of that concept are not.

Paraphrase if you want to include all of the information in a passage, but you want to avoid a long quote and stick with your own voice.

Original: In earlier times, surveillance was limited to the information that a supervisor could observe and record firsthand and to primitive counting devices. In the computer age surveillance can be instantaneous, unblinking, cheap, and, maybe most importantly, easy.

Paraphrase: Scholars Carl Botan and Mihaela Vorvoreanu argue that in earlier times monitoring of employees was restricted to the information that a supervisor could observe and record firsthand. In the modern era, monitoring can be instantaneous, inexpensive, and, most importantly, easy.

Is this okay?

Original: In earlier times, surveillance was limited to the information that a supervisor could observe and record firsthand and to primitive counting devices. In the computer age surveillance can be instantaneous, unblinking, cheap, and, maybe most importantly, easy.

Paraphrase: Scholars Carl Botan and Mihaela Vorvoreanu argue that in earlier times monitoring of employees was restricted to the information that a supervisor could observe and record firsthand. In the modern era, monitoring can be instantaneous, inexpensive, and, most importantly, easy (126).

Original: In earlier times, surveillance was limited to the information that a supervisor could observe and record firsthand and to primitive counting devices. In the computer age surveillance can be instantaneous, unblinking, cheap, and, maybe most importantly, easy.

Paraphrase: Scholars Carl Botan and Mihaela Vorvoreanu claim that the nature of workplace surveillance has changed over time. Before the arrival of computers, managers could collect only small amounts of information about their employees based on what they saw or heard. However, because compters are now standard workplace technology, employers can moniter employees efficiently (126).

Read carefully a few times, then write in your own words without looking at the text.

If you use a source’s ideas, but your words?

YES! ◦ Paraphrases and summaries, even though in

your own voice, are the ideas of another. You must give that source credit!

◦ Use Bookends!

All ideas from other sources must be credited.

Use bookends for this!

All borrowed words must be in quotes. Use quote sandwiches to integrate into

your paper!