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IN
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In college courses, we are continually engaged with
other people's ideas: we read them in texts, hear them in lecture, discuss
them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing. As a result, it
is very important that we give credit where it is due. Plagiarism is using
others' ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that
information.
To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use
To help you recognize what plagiarism looks like and what strategies you can use to avoid it, select one of the following links or scroll down to the appropriate topic.
Here's the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie
Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams
et al.:
The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population
were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history.
As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American
landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial laborers,
and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came
urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts,
where the Bordens lived) which became the centers of production as well as
of commerce and trade.
Here's an UNACCEPTABLE
paraphrase that is plagiarism:
The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion
of the population were three large factors of nineteenth century America.
As steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the
country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for
the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities
like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centers of commerce
and trade as well as production.
The preceding passage is considered plagiarism for two reasons:
If you do either or both of these things, you
are plagiarizing.
NOTE: This paragraph is also problematic because it changes the
sense of several sentences (for example, "steam-driven companies" in sentence
two misses the original's emphasis on factories).
Here's an ACCEPTABLE
paraphrase:
Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of
northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Steam-powered
production had shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants
arrived in the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result,
populations grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these
manufacturing and commercial centers (Williams 1).
Why is this passage acceptable?
This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:
Here's an example
of quotation and paraphrase used together, which is also ACCEPTABLE:
Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of
northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. As steam-powered
production shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, the demand for
workers "transformed farm hands into factory workers," and created jobs for
immigrants. In turn, growing populations increased the size of urban areas.
Fall River was one of these manufacturing hubs that were also "centers of
commerce and trade" (Williams 1)
Why is this passage acceptable?
This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:
Note that if the writer had used these phrases or sentences in own paper without putting quotation marks around them, he/she would be PLAGIARIZING. Using another person's phrases or sentences without putting quotation marks around them is considered plagiarism EVEN IF THE WRITER CITES IN HIS/HER OWN TEXT THE SOURCE OF THE PHRASES OR SENTENCES HE/SHE HAS QUOTED (stolen!).
The World Wide Web has become a more popular source of information for student papers, and many questions have arisen about how to avoid plagiarizing these sources. In most cases, the same rules apply as to a printed source: when a writer must refer to ideas or quote from a WWW site, she must cite that source.
If a writer wants to use visual information from a WWW site, many of the same rules apply. Copying visual information or graphics from a WWW site (or from a printed source) is very similar to quoting information, and the source of the visual information or graphic must be cited. These rules also apply to other uses of textual or visual information from WWW sites; for example, if a student is constructing a web page as a class project, and copies graphics or visual information from other sites, she must also provide information about the source of this information. In this case, it might be a good idea to obtain permission from the WWW site's owner before using the graphics.
1. Put in quotations everything that comes directly from the text
especially when taking notes. However,
if you just quote everything you are not using your own mind and your grade
will suffer. No essay should contain more than a few quotes - certainly
never a series of paragraphs quoted. Sentence after sentence of quotes
will just reduce the grade. Any essay with more than 20% (which is
very high) quotes will receive an automatic "F"
grade.
2. Paraphrase, but be sure you are not just rearranging or replacing a few words.
Instead, read over what you want to paraphrase carefully; cover up the text with your hand, or close the text so you can't see any of it (and so aren't tempted to use the text as a "guide"). Write out the idea in your own words without peeking.
3. Check your paraphrase against the original
text to be sure you have not accidentally used the same phrases or words,
and that the information is accurate.
Common knowledge: facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a lot of people.
Example: John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960.
This is generally known information.
You do not need to document this
fact.
However, you must document facts that are not generally known and ideas that
interpret facts.
Example: According the American Family Leave Coalition's new book, Family Issues and Congress, President Bush's relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation (6).
The idea that "Bush's relationship with Congress has
hindered family leave legislation" is not a fact but an
interpretation; consequently, you need to cite your source.
But
why not have your own point of view which may certainly be
similar.
Quotation: using someone's words. When you quote, place the passage
you are using in quotation marks, and document the source according to a
standard documentation style. Document by placing
the source in parentheses following the passage or by placing a footnote
number and then the source at the end of each
essay.
The following example uses the Modern Language Association's style:
Example: According to Peter S. Pritchard in USA Today, "Public schools need reform but they're irreplaceable in teaching all the nation's young" (14).
Paraphrase: using someone's ideas, but putting them in your own words. This is probably the skill you will use most when incorporating sources into your writing. Although you use your own words to paraphrase, you must still acknowledge the source of the information.