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How to Avoid Misusing Source Material in Your Written Work

How to Avoid Misusing Source Material in Your Written Work. A Common Misunderstanding. Many students arrive at BU with a flawed understanding of how or when to credit sources in their writing.

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How to Avoid Misusing Source Material in Your Written Work

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  1. How to Avoid Misusing Source Material in Your Written Work

  2. A Common Misunderstanding Many students arrive at BU with a flawed understanding of how or when to credit sources in their writing. They have always misused sources by making small changes to the original language without acknowledging those changes. They also borrow language without properly crediting the source. This PowerPoint aims to help students understand what is expected of them.

  3. Credible and Ethical Use of Source Material I. Direct Quotation II. Summary and Paraphrase

  4. Problems to Avoid 1. plagiarism (kidnapping) of language 2. plagiarism (kidnapping) of ideas 3. intentional misrepresentation of source through omission or alteration of context 4. misrepresentation of a source through error

  5. GOOD DIRECT QUOTATION? ORIGINAL The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) Direct Quotation While I believe that humans should behave in a civilized manner, some people think of us as animals: “We are group animals” (Lessing 49-50).

  6. GOOD DIRECT QUOTATION? ORIGINAL The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another.We are group animalsstill, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) Direct Quotation While I believe that humans should behave in a civilized manner, some people think of us as animals: “We are group animals” (Lessing 49-50). MISREPRESENTATION—Quotation is placed in a new context that changes its meaning.

  7. GOOD DIRECT QUOTATION? ORIGINAL The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) Direct Quotation Doris Lessing says that “[w]e are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with … . not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us” (49-50).

  8. GOOD DIRECT QUOTATION? ORIGINAL The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) Direct Quotation Doris Lessing says that “[w]e are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with … . not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us” (49-50). MISREPRESENTATION—Omitted words change the meaning of the original.

  9. PUNCTUATION ORIGINAL The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) Doris Lessing says that “[w]e are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with … . not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us” (49-50). (Quotation mark tells readers that you will be using language from another source.)

  10. PUNCTUATION ORIGINAL The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) Doris Lessing says that “[w]e are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with … . not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us” (49-50). (Editorial bracket tells readers that you are making some change to the original text.) NOTE: CMS and APA do not require editorial brackets for case (W>w) changes.

  11. PUNCTUATION ORIGINAL The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) Doris Lessing says that “[w]e are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with … . not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us” (49-50). (End quotation mark tells readers that you have finished using language from another source.)

  12. CITATION ORIGINAL The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) Doris Lessing says that “[w]e are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with … . not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us” (49-50). (Parenthetical information refers readers to your References or Works Cited page where they can get detailed information about the original text. Each style system has a different format for both in-text and bibliographic entries.)

  13. IT IS NEVER LEGITIMATE TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO ANOTHER’S LANGUAGE WITHOUT SHOWING YOUR READERS USING [brackets] WHAT CHANGES YOU HAVE MADE.

  14. Summary & Paraphrase—Problems to Avoid 1. plagiarism (kidnapping) of language 2. plagiarism (kidnapping) of ideas 3. intentional misrepresentation of source through omission or alteration of context 4. misrepresentation of a source through error

  15. GOOD SUMMARY? ORIGINAL The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) In “Group Minds” Doris Lessing claims that what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, but not understanding the group laws that govern us (49-50).

  16. GOOD SUMMARY? ORIGINAL The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, orgroups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) In “Group Minds” Doris Lessing claims that what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, but not understanding the group laws that govern us (49-50). PLAGIARIZED--I am giving Lessing credit for the idea, but I’m stealing her language (even though I’m not stealing it word for word).

  17. GOOD PARAPHRASE? ORIGINAL “Readers over the ages have had to learn this game of literacy, how to conform themselves to the projections of the writers they read, or at least how to operate in terms of these projections. They have to know how to play the game of being a member of an audience that ‘really’ doesn’t exist” (Ong 12). MY PARAPHRASE In addition to discussing how successful writers can fictionalize an audience, Ong also discusses how readers have had to learn the game of literacy by conforming themselves to be the imagined audience of the writers they read. They have to know how to play the game of being a member of an audience that doesn’t actually exist (Ong 12).

  18. Misuse (Plagiarism) of Language ORIGINAL “Readers over the ages have had to learn this game of literacy, how to conform themselves to the projections of the writers they read, or at least how to operate in terms of these projections. They have to know how to play the game of being a member of an audience that ‘really’ doesn’t exist” (Ong 12). “MY” PARAPHRASE In addition to discussing how successful writers can fictionalize an audience, Ong also discusses how readers have had to learn the game of literacy by conforming themselves to be the imagined audience of the writers they read. They have to know how to play the game of being a member of an audience that doesn’t actually exist (Ong 12).

  19. What I Actually Wrote ORIGINAL “Readers over the ages have had to learn this game of literacy, how to conform themselves to the projections of the writers they read, or at least how to operate in terms of these projections. They have to know how to play the game of being a member of an audience that ‘really’ doesn’t exist” (Ong 12). “MY” PARAPHRASE In addition to discussing how successful writers can fictionalize an audience, Ong also discusses howreaders have had to learn the game of literacy by conforming themselves to be the imagined audience of the writers they read. They have to know how to play the game of being a member of an audience that doesn’t actually exist (Ong 12).

  20. GOOD PARAPHRASE? The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) I am a firm believer that while it is fine for us to always be in groups, what might be harmful to us is not realizing how we are affected by them.

  21. GOOD PARAPHRASE? The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) I am a firm believer that while it is fine for us to always be in groups, what might be harmful to us is not realizing how we are affected by them. PLAGIARIZED--Now I’m using my own words to steal Lessing’s idea and pass it off as my own.

  22. GOOD PARAPHRASE? The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) In “Group Minds” Doris Lessing claims that it is dangerous to belong to groups, especially if we don’t understand the group’s laws that govern us (49-50).

  23. GOOD PARAPHRASE? The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) In “Group Minds” Doris Lessing claims that it is dangerous to belong to groups, especially if we don’t understand the group’s laws that govern us (49-50). MISREPRESENTATION—Probably through error rather than intention.

  24. SUCCESSFUL PARAPHRASE ORIGINAL (paragraph 4) The fact is that we all live our lives in groups…. Most people … are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for another. We are group animals still, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. (49-50) In “Group Minds” Doris Lessing claims that though we typically live out our lives within groups, and though it is normal to belong to many groups, we might be affected by our inability to recognize the ways those groups might influence our thoughts, beliefs, or actions (49-50).

  25. Paraphrase is Not Editing The idea that to paraphrase is to “change” the original language does not accurately describe what is expected of writers. To paraphrase is to interpret for your self an idea and then represent it in your own language, and to credit the original for the idea.

  26. STRATEGY Read and interpret the idea to yourself. Close the book/laptop/screen. Paraphrase what you understand. Reread the original asking two questions Am I illegitimately borrowing language? Have I adequately captured the idea? If you are satisfied, move on. If not, do it again.

  27. Improve Your Understanding Many students have always misused sources without hearing from teachers or faculty that what they’re doing is wrong. It is your responsibility to understand how to legitimately work with source material. After viewing this presentation, they are often confused. Here are two ways to take the initiative. • Don’t wait to see whether or not your work is right based on feedback; ask your faculty questions before you turn in final drafts. • Come to the University Writing Center with your draft and your source material and ask us to help you understand how to do it legitimately.

  28. Works Cited Lessing, Doris. The Prisons We Choose to Live Inside. Toronto: CBC Enterprises, 1986. Print.

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