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Avoiding Plagiarism. Why Might You Use Outside Sources?. Background information Evidence (e.g., examples, statistics, expert testimony, etc.) Opposing arguments (Note: claims and explanations are usually your own ideas). How Can You Use Outside Sources?. “Direct Quotations” Paraphrases
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Why Might You Use Outside Sources? • Background information • Evidence (e.g., examples, statistics, expert testimony, etc.) • Opposing arguments (Note: claims and explanations are usually your own ideas)
How Can You Use Outside Sources? • “Direct Quotations” • Paraphrases • Summaries
What are Citations? Citations tell the reader that: • An idea is from an outside source, • Which source it’s from, and • Where in the source we can find the information. For Example: In “Public Education,” Ben Johnson argues that “the budget crisis has severely damaged our public education system”(132). In-text citation Johnson, Ben. “Public Education.” Sociology of Education 80.3 (2007): 112-142. JSTOR. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. Works cited When you use words/ideas from an outside source, you almost always have to cite them, or it could be considered plagiarism.
What is Plagiarism? • Stealing or passing off as one's own the ideas or words of another • Using a creative production without crediting the source
Which of the Following are Plagiarism? • Turning in someone else’s work as your own • Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit • Paraphrasing a source without giving credit • Failing to put another author’s exact words in quotation marks • Giving incorrect information about a source • Turning in work you’ve already written for another assignment/class
What Are the Consequences? • Rewriting the assignment • “F” on the assignment • “F” in the class • Expulsion from the college What determines the severity of the consequences?
How Can You Avoid Plagiarism? • Understand what constitutes plagiarism. • Take careful notes while researching (including the source information and “exact words” from sources). • Know MLA format. • Be meticulous. • WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE!
Some Rules… What to cite and what not to cite
What Information from Sources Do You ALWAYS Have to Cite? • Exact words from a source • Use “quotation marks” • Opinions of others (that you did not hold before reading the source) • Specific information from a source • If you want to cite specific information from memory, find a reliable source to credit it to.
What Information from Sources Do You NOT Have to Cite? Never cite: • Opinions you previously held; your ideas, observations, etc. • Common knowledge. Problems with “common knowledge?” • Vague • Can change depending on: • The author (you) • The field/topic • The instructor • The university
What is “Common Knowledge?” Most Common Perspective Cite almost everything: • Don’t cite: very general facts, ideas, and observations that are known by most people (e.g., proverbs, social norms/truisms, very common and undisputed facts/rules, etc.) • Cite: somewhat specific and undisputed facts, statistics, disputed facts, others’ opinions
A Note about Undisputed Facts • Example of an undisputed fact: Alfred Hitchcock directed Notorious in 1946. • Caution: sometimes people assume that encyclopedias will agree on a “fact,” when they actually don’t. • Example: Betsy Ross created the first flag of the United States of America. Very disputed
Remember, you always need to cite… • Exact words from a source • Opinions of others (that you did not hold before reading the source) • Specific information
So What Should You Do? Consider… • Where the information came from (e.g., your own mind, a past lecture, an article, one encyclopedia, 5 encyclopedias etc.) • What your teacher considers “common knowledge,” • How controversial the information is, and • How common the information is. When in doubt, CITE!!
AvoidingPlagiarism Quiz • Do you have to cite each of the following? • Direct quotations Y/N • Paraphrases Y/N • Summaries Y/N • What do you never have to cite? • What do you always have to cite? • How can you avoid plagiarism?
Avoiding Plagiarism Game! • Decidewhether or not the following information from outside sources should be cited. (Hint: There is not always one right answer. Answers will depend on different factors.) • Explain your answers (use the chart and consider the two perspectives). • The first team to answer them all correctly wins!
Each of the following pieces of information was taken from an outside source. For each item, (1) state whether or not it would need to be cited (Y/N) and (2) explain (using the two perspectives and the chart). • “George Washington was the first president of the United States” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Y/N (explain) • “George Washington was born in 1732” (MSN Encarta). Y/N (explain) • The city Kolkata (Calcutta) was founded on August 24, 1690 (Kolkata.org). Y/N (explain) • “A penny saved is a penny earned” (Ben Franklin). Y/N (explain) • Kobe Bryant’s number is 24 (Chicago Tribune). Y/N (explain) • Kobe Bryant scored 1,970 points last season, averaging 27 points per game (Smith 4). Y/N (explain) • The Hornets’ biggest mistake was letting Kobe Bryant leave (Smith). Y/N (explain) • According to Freud, the id, the ego, and the super-ego are the three parts of a person’s psyche (112). Y/N (explain)
