Plagiarism

1. Plagiarism Plagiarism is a form of cheating that involves taking ownership or authorship of a work product that is not your own.

2. The specifics • MLA states that plagiarism includes two kinds of wrongs. • The first is “using another person’s ideas, information, or expressions without acknowledging that person’s work” (66). • The second is “passing off another person’s ideas, information, or expressions as your own to get a better grade or gain some advantage constitutes fraud” (66).

3. How to avoid plagiarism • It is critical that when you use another person’s ideas, information, or expressions that you give the source credit, EVEN IF YOU PARAPHRASE OR SUMMARIZE THE MATERIAL (Gibaldi 69). • Be aware that if you use the author’s exact wording without the use of quotation marks, you have plagiarized, EVEN IF YOU CITE THE MATERIAL (Gibaldi 70).

4. How to avoid plagiarism • There are four rules that you can follow to avoid plagiarism (Kleppner 8). • If a fact is not common knowledge, it must be cited. • For our purposes, common knowledge is something that most people in our society would know. • The Incas used stone to build roads, bridges, fences, and weapons (McIntyre 37). • Though you do not have to cite your own ideas, you do have to cite the ideas of others, even if you paraphrase or summarize. • Example of student observation: Much of the literature in America during the early nineteenth century contained lonely characters. • Though priests and missionaries tried to convert the Chipaya Indians, they resorted to their pagan ways (McIntyre 88).

5. How to avoid plagiarism • When you use someone’s exact words, you must do two things. You must put them in quotation marks, and you must cite the quotation. The absence of quotation marks AND a citation is plagiarism. • One historian states, “Bone-crushing weapons of war—combined with skilled tactics, shrewd diplomacy, and an awesome reputation—aided Inca armies in the conquest of such powerful foes as the Chimu nation of Peru” (McIntyre 93). • When you use another person’s ideas or information, you must put them into your own words. You CANNOT simply rearrange or change a few of the author’s words. In addition, you should cite the source. • Original statement: “By any definition, he was a peculiar little man. He had a high-pitched voice, clothes that were too fine by most local standards, and he was bookish.” • UNACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE: One critic said that Truman Capote was a peculiar little man by any definition. He had a high-pitched voice, and his clothes were far too nice by most local standards. Capote was also bookish (Marshall A7).

6. http://www.rio.maricopa.edu/distance_learning/tutorials/study/plagiarism.shtmlhttp://www.rio.maricopa.edu/distance_learning/tutorials/study/plagiarism.shtml • Most students would never intentionally steal objects. All too often, however, they steal another writer's ideas and words—they plagiarize. To be fair and to avoid even the appearance of plagiarism, always use your own words and generously credit your sources. Be careful when you use research that others have done. • Only information that is widely available from a variety of sources—such as historic facts and geographic data—can be used without giving credit. • For example, if you were writing a research paper on earthquakes and you wanted to do some comparing of California earthquakes to others throughout history, you could find and use the dates and locations of other major earthquakes without referencing a specific source because similar information is available from any number of sources. If, however, you wanted to use a person's story about an earthquake, an analysis of the cause of an earthquake, or even a description of an earthquake, you would have to give credit to your source

7. To serve as an example, this is an original paragraph from Joan Delfattore's book: • In the Dick and Jane readers some of us remember from our childhoods, a family consisted of a married couple, two or three well-behaved children, and a dog and a cat. Father wore suits and went out to work; mother wore aprons and baked cupcakes. Little girls sat demurely watching little boys climb trees. Home meant a single-family house in a middle-class suburban neighborhood. Color the lawn green. Color the people white. Family life in the textbook world was idyllic; parents did not quarrel, children did not disobey, and babies did not throw up on the dog. Joan Delfattore, What Johnny Shouldn't Read—Textbook Censorship in America

8. Plagiarism • These three paragraphs illustrate common ways Delfattore's paragraph is plagiarized. • In the Dick and Jane readers some of us remember from our childhoods, a family consisted of a married couple, two or three well-behaved children, and a dog and a cat. Father wore suits and went out to work; mother wore aprons and baked cupcakes. Little girls sat demurely watching little boys climb trees. Plagiarized.Problem: This has been directly copied without quotation marks or credit to the author.

9. A simple fix • “In the Dick and Jane readers some of us remember from our childhoods, a family consisted of a married couple, two or three well-behaved children, and a dog and a cat. Father wore suits and went out to work; mother wore aprons and baked cupcakes. Little girls sat demurely watching little boys climb trees”(Delfattore,25).

10. Plagiarism • According to Delfattore, the Dick and Jane readers of several years ago pictured an unrealistic family life. Stories always seemed to take place in middle-class suburban neighborhoods where life was idyllic; parents never quarreled and children always obeyed. Plagiarized.Problem: Although portions have been paraphrased and credit has been given to the author, quotation marks are still needed around the copied portion.

11. A quick fix • According to Delfattore, the Dick and Jane readers of several years ago pictured an unrealistic family life. Stories always seemed to take place in middle-class suburban neighborhoods where life was idyllic; parents never quarreled and children always obeyed (Delfattore, 25).

12. Plagiarism • In the past, elementary school reading books told stories of an unrealistic life style. Families always lived in suburbia where homes and life were picture perfect... Plagiarized.Problem: Although this has been paraphrased, credit has not been given to the author.

13. A fix • In the past, elementary school reading books told stories of an unrealistic life style. Families always lived in suburbia where homes and life were picture (Delfattore, 25).

14. Works Cited • Now that you have used the work of Delfattore, you must be more specific with your reference. • You need to cite Delfattore’s work on you works cited page. • Delfattore, Joan. What Johnny Shouldn’t Read-Textbook Censorship in America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993. • Now that it is cited, as your reader, I know exactly where to go to find your source.

15. Advice • Professional writers always credit their sources unless they are absolutely certain their information is available from a wide variety of references; you should too. General guidelines: • Use quotation marks and credit the source when you copy exact wording. • Use your own words paraphrase instead of copying when possible. • Give credit for words and ideas that aren't your own, even if you paraphrase (http://www.rio.maricopa.edu/distance_learning/tutorials/study/plagiarism.shtml).