Why Document Sources?

1. Why Document Sources? Shawna Corsello English Teacher Christiana High School

2. Why is it important to carefully document sources in your writing? Think about how you might answer this question. Jot down your thoughts onwhat you think is the most important reason.

3. Objectives To articulate at least four reasons why careful documentation of sources is important. To define plagiarism. To adopt a method of taking notes that allows easier source identification and avoids plagiarism.

4. Careful documentation of the sources in your writing ...

5. 1. Helps you clarify your ideas. As you continue working on your paper, you may realize that you need to revisit a source in order to Gather more information Clarify or confirm a concept or statement

6. 2. Supports Your Argument Authoritative sources that support your ideas strengthen your argument. The use of several sources that confirm your position makes your point even more convincing.

7. 3. Becomes a Source for Other Scholars Scholarly work is studied by other scholars. When an idea or fact intrigues a scholar, s/he may want to consult your source for more information or clarification. (Columbia University Libraries) A scholar may need to examine the date of publication of a source to determine how it relates to other sources on the subject.

8. 4. Shows Respect of Ownership “First, the ideas and words of an author are his/her intellectual property. Intellectual property, like any kind of property, has a commercial value - so taking someone's ideas or words as your own is a form of theft. If you plagiarize, you could face disciplinary action from the university or, if you continue these habits and publish plagiarized work later in your life, you could face legal consequences” (Columbia University Libraries).

9. 5. Avoids Plagiarism Documenting use of another’s work in your writing ensures that you do not plagiarize. Citing your sources in the body of your paper not only distinguishes your work from that of your sources, it also allows readers to identify the correct source for each citation.

10. What did you think was most important?What surprised you?

11. Use the First Letter of a Key Word from Each Reason to Develop an Acronym, for ex: Helps you clarify ideas from the source Supports your argument Becomes a source for other scholars Respects intellectual property Avoids plagiarism

12. Example of an Acronym with a Memorable Phrase BARS – Bad Hair Actor Ruins Show Becomes a source for other scholars, Helps you go back to clarify ideas, Avoids plagiarism, Respects intellectual property, and Supports your argument

13. Create your own personal acronym now. (Prizes for funniest and most memorable acronyms!)

14. What is plagiarism? Jot down your definition on your paper. Share your thoughts with a nearby classmate. Collaborate on a definition.

15. Definition of Plagiarism “Plagiarism is the failure to acknowledge ideas or words that are not your own. You are plagiarizing if: You insert exact words or phrases from another author's work into your own work. You use another author's ideas EVEN IF YOU PUT THEM INTO YOUR OWN WORDS.” (Columbia University Libraries)

16. Compare Definitions Where did your definitions overlap with that of Columbia University Libraries? What elements, if any, did you leave out?

17. How Can Notes Help? Allows you to distinguish one source from another Gives you enough information to help you return to the exact spot in the text if needed Clarifies for you which words are the author’s and which are yours

18. How Can Notes Help? Here are tips on how to take better notes from the University of N. Carolina’s Writing Center: Write down all bibliographic info from each

19. Bibliographic Notes Include Title of work in quotes (short work) or underlined (long work) Author’s full name (if given) Sponsoring organization or publisher Date of publication Page numbers (or URL if website) Date you accessed source (if online)

20. How Can Notes Help? Here are tips on how to take better notes from the University of N. Carolina’s Writing Center: Write down all bibliographic info from each source at the time you first identify it. “Adopt a conversational approach to note taking …” (See questions on next slide.)

21. Questions for “Conversational Approach to a Source” (UNC) “What is the author trying to explain? “Why does s/hethink thesepoints areimportant? “How has s/he decided to construct the argument? “How does the structure of the argument affect the reader's response to the author's ideas? “How effective is the author's argument?”

22. How Can Notes Help? Here are tips on how to take better notes from the University of N. Carolina’s Writing Center: Write down all bibliographic info from each source at the time you first identify it. “Adopt a conversational approach to note taking …” Use quotes around any exact text from the source.

23. Practice Note Taking Read the information about academic dishonesty in the handout from Delaware Tech’s Student Handbook (15-16): http://www.dtcc.edu/handbook/pdfs/6_14_10.pdf Take notes on the topic using the steps recommended by UNC Share your notes with a nearby classmate and discuss similarities and differences of your notes. How easy or hard is it to take notes using this method?

24. For Further Study (at home) Take notes using the UNC method for the next class reading assignment. Choose at least one key quotation from each chapter and note the page number. Include recommended information from at least one source.

25. Questions?

26. Sources “Documenting Your Research,” Library Compass. Columbia University Libraries and the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning. 2003. Accessed 30 July 2010 <http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/compass/discipline_humanities/documenting.html>. “Plagiarism.” The Writing Center. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2007. 30 July 2010<http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/plagiarism.html >.