Plagiarism & Common Knowledge 101

1. Plagiarism & Common Knowledge 101

2. What IS plagiarism? • Using someone else’s ideas, language, writing, or other original material without referencing the source • Plagiarism also occurs if the author mimics text rather than paraphrases ideas.

3. Two Main Types in School: • 1. Theft of text • 2. Theft of ideas

4. When should I reference my source? • To avoid plagiarism, you must reference the source whenever you: • use another person’s original idea • use specific facts, statistics, illustrations, or similar content • use quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words • paraphrase another person’s spoken or written words.

5. How do I avoid plagiarism? • Reference – Document your sources in the Works Cited page and with in-text citations. • Quotations – Place text taken directly from a source in quotations and reference the source. • Paraphrase – Compose a passage in your own words that expresses the original author’s idea.

6. What are the most common methods of plagiarism? • Copy and paste – The plagiarizer takes another’s work completely and submits it as his/her own. • Copy and replace – The plagiarizer copies another’s work and replaces some to all of the words. • This is the hardest to recognize. Why do you think that is? THINK-PAIR-SHARE. • Failure to reference – After a legitimate paraphrase, the author neglects to reference the source. • This usually comes in the form of parentheses at the end of a sentence.

7. Comprehension Check: Mix-Freeze-Pair • Round 1: With your partner, come up with a working definition of plagiarism based on what you’ve learned thus far. • Round 2: With your NEW partner, come up with a working definition of paraphrasing. • Round 2: With your NEW partner, discuss whether or not you still need to cite the sourceif you’ve paraphrasedthe text.

8. Practice: Get out your highlighters! • Directions: Highlight all text that is the same in the original and plagiarized examples. • For each example, identify which plagiarism type(s) you think occurred and explain how: • Copy and paste • Copy and replace • Failure to reference • Please note that ALL examples are, indeed, examples of plagiarism.

9. Example 1: Let’s Do It Together • Original: Up, up up, groping through the clouds for what seemed like an eternity . . . No amount of practice could have prepared them for what they encountered. B-24s, glittering like mice, were popping up out of the clouds all over the sky. • Plagiarized: Up, up, up he went, until he got above the clouds. No amount of practice could have prepared the pilot and crew for what they encountered – B-24s, glittering like mice, were popping up out of the clouds over here, over there, everywhere.

10. Example 2: In Pairs • Original: As the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico spreads to nearly 4,000 square miles, we must see this tragedy as a tipping point to push our country toward clean energy. • Plagiarized: As the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico spreads to nearly 4,000 square miles, we must see this tragedy as a tipping point to push our country toward clean energy (Mercury, 2010).

11. Example 3: Independent • Original: Let’s be clear: this wish for politically correct casting goes only one way, the way designed to redress the injuries of centuries. When Pat Carroll, who is a woman, plays Falstaff, who is not, casting is considered a stroke of brilliance. • Plagiarized: Let us be honest. The desire for politically appropriate casting only goes in one direction, the direction intended to make up for the damage done over hundreds of years. When Pat Carroll, a female, is cast as Falstaff, a male, the decision is a brilliant one (Quindlen, 2009).

12. Common Knowledge: When do I need to cite (make a reference) and when is the information common knowledge? • Always reference statistics or numbers that comprise data! • Here’s a little trick: • Ask yourself, ‘Is this information I could find on at least 100 different web site?’ • If YES, then it’s common knowledge. • If NO, then it needs to be cited. • Err on the side of caution!

13. What information can I use without referencing the source? • Common knowledge: facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a large number of people. • Ex: 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.

14. What information do I need to cite? • You must document facts that are not generally known or are ideas that interpret facts. • Ex: 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, or unique knowledge; consequently, you need to cite your source.

15. Common Knowledge Practice • Directions: Decide whether the following information is common knowledge or not. Write CK if the information is common knowledge, and write REF (reference) if it is an interpretation or generally unknown fact. In your groups, discuss the reasons why and be prepared to support your answers.

16. Common Knowledge Practice • Water boils at 212º Fahrenheit, or 100º Celsius. ________ • Both stop signs and traffic lights use the color red to tell drivers to halt. __________ • Research results suggest that consumers should buy Glad plastic bags. __________ • There are 598,707 people living in Denver. __________ • William Shakespeare wrote many plays and poems. __________ • Recently, it was discovered that the croaking of frogs helped babies fall asleep. _________ • Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. _________ • Colorado’s exports rose 5.8% in 1990. _________ • Michael Jackson was a pop singer. _________ • Less than 75% of the population eats breakfast. _________

17. Just to Drive the Point Home… • “Before He Cheats” • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NvA4hCOfjU • “The Dark Side of Plagiarism” • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TqD0oKOT6Q

18. Proper Use of Quotations • Quotation/Quote (define) – something that a person says or writes that is repeated or used by someone else in another piece of writing or speech • DO: • Use quotes to support your own ideas and explanations • Place quotation marks around quotes • DON’T: • Use quotes to present or explain ideas • Use quotes over 35 words long without teacher approval

19. Activity: • Imagine you are a teacher, and you asked students to research and write a one-paragraph biography about Emily Dickinson. Read this student’s work, and then answer the questions on a separate sheet of paper. Emily Dickinson was a famous American poet, but what was she like? Journalist Judith Thurman described her like this: “Dickinson was a spinster of thirty-one, birdlike in habit and appearance, with fine chestnut hair and abnormally wide-set eyes…She lived in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her parents and her sister, Lavinia, next door to her brother, Austin, and his difficult wife, Susan, whom she adored,” (2008). Born in 1830, Dickinson wrote many poems about love and death, and she used unusual rhymes. Overall, Emily Dickinson was a unique poet.

20. Activity Questions: • Highlight the quote. What does the student use this quote to do? • What has the student done correctly? • Do you think the student has used this quote effectively and responsibly? • As a teacher, how well do you think the student has explained Dickinson in this paragraph? • Consider your answer to #4. Support your opinion with an example and an explanation. • Instead of using the journalist’s quote, give the student a suggestion for a better way to include this information

21. Applying Learned Concepts • Directions: Read each scenario and answer the questions using complete sentences. • 1. One task in a book report states, "Research scientist Charles Darwin and write a mini-biography." You copy and paste a short biography from the web, place it in quotations, and document your source. Is this acceptable? Why or why not? How do you know?

22. Cont. • 2. Edgar’s assignment requires that he write a paragraph explaining the slope intercept formula. He has a hard time explaining the process, so he finds someone else's explanation of it and inserts that text into his paragraph word for word, places quotes around it, and then references it. Is this acceptable? Why or why not? • 3. Amala includes a quote in her article comparing theme parks. She places the quote in quotation marks but does nothing else. Is this acceptable? Why or why not? How do you know?

23. Cont. • 4. Madeline is researching local restaurants. She copies another writer's text into her paper and references the source. However, she does not place the text in quotes. Is this acceptable? Why or why not? How do you know?