Plagiarism

1. Plagiarism Defined: Presenting the ideas or statements of another writer without crediting the original source

2. Examples of Plagiarism • Paraphrasing a source too closely (substituting only a few original words) • Using word-for-word- text from a source without using quotation marks • Summarizing a source without giving due credit • Using any graphs, data or other statistical information from any source as your own • Using visuals that are not your original work • Stating facts as your own that are not widely known.

3. Why acknowledge sources? • Adding sources adds to the texture of your writing as well as strengthens your credibility. • Acknowledging sources adds a polite “thank you” to the person that did the work originally. • Also, acknowledging sources shows the reader that you have done the work to learn as much as you can about your subject and are presenting a knowledgeable product.

4. Misconceptions about Plagiarism

5. What doesn’t need to be acknowledged? • According to the St. Martin’s Handbook, information that is considered “common knowledge” need not be acknowledged because if most people already know a fact, it is unnecessary to cite it. • Facts available in a wide variety of sources like encyclopedias, almanacs, or textbooks need not be cited. • Your own research need not be cited unless a person is interviewed as part of that research. The people interviewed need to be acknowledged as individuals instead of just part of the survey.

6. Other information that does not need to be acknowledged • Your own conclusions from research that draw together and reinforce your paper • Standard terms – terms that are widely used in a particular field such as mouse, floppy disk and download.

7. In a Nutshell, any summary, paraphrase, or quotation you include in your paper must be documented as must statistics and graphics.

8. What if you aren’t sure? • If you are not sure if a piece of information, fact, or data needs to be cited, remember that it is better to be safe than sorry – CITE THE SOURCE!

9. Examples of plagiarism from SMR Essays Homework Students copying homework at lunch or on the bus– same identical answers (even wrong answers) Working together to solve problems that are intended to be solved individually and not acknowledging the collaboration • Two students have the same essay, most words that are the same, information in the same order • An essay submitted to turnitin.com that is found in its archives as an essay from a former student – identical text

10. Examples of Plagiarism Original Unacceptable Handout #1- Plagiarized Notice that although the order of the passage has been altered and that few of the words have been omitted, the passage is basically the same as the original. No quotation marks set off the exact words of the original and no documentation acknowledges the source. • Handout #1

11. Examples of acceptable acknowledgement Original Acceptable Handout #2 – Reworded, Partly Quoted, and Documented - In this acceptably written passage, exact words appear in quotation marks and the reworded portions are acknowledged by documentation at the end of the paragraph. • Handout #2

12. Examples of acceptable acknowledgement Original text Acceptable Handout #3 - Reworded and Documented –Completely reworded, this passage omits exact words from the source; thus no quotation marks are necessary to mark them. Since the passage is a summary, however, credit must be given to the source. • Handout #3

13. To Wrap it Up • Do Not use exact words from a source without putting them inside quotation marks and giving credit to the source. • Do not reword a passage without giving credit to the source. • Do not summarize a passage without giving credit to the source.

14. Avoid plagiarism! It is the intelligent thing to do!