What is PLAGIARISM? How to Avoid It!
The word plagiarize comes from the Latin word plagiarius, meaning kidnapper. - (Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers [New York: The Modern Language Association of America,2003] 66)
PLAGIARISM is more commonly defined as a form of CHEATING - when you take someone else s ideas, information, or expressions and don t give them credit for it, OR when you take someone else s ideas, information, or expressions and claim them as your own.
Most Common Ways of PLAGIARIZING Cutting and pasting on the computer Writing information down word for word Not giving credit to your sources
Most common times PLAGIARISM occurs researching for a paper, report, or project quoting a source paraphrasing and summarizing
How can you avoid plagiarizing? make bibliography cards with information to track your sources take careful notes and mark when someone else s words are used (ex. Q for quotes; P for paraphrasing; SU for summarizing) note when the ideas are taken from a source (S for source) or when they are your own Thoughts (ME for example) give credit -cite your source - bibliography - footnotes - in-text citation
DIRECT QUOTES: select quotes that make the most impact on your paper (don t OVER-quote) mention the person s name either at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the quote (cite the source) put quotation marks ( ) around the text you are quoting. INDIRECT QUOTES: rewrite the main points using different words and sentence structure mention the person s name either at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the quote (cite the source)
begin with a statement giving credit (cite the source) to the resource. rewrite the information you are paraphrasing or summarizing from memory, checking with the original for the content and correctness any part that you can t or do not want to change, put in quotation marks
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO GIVE CREDIT?(DOCUMENTING or CITING the sources) As Shakespeare might say To Give Credit or Not To GIVE CREDIT That is the Question!
Give Credit! when you are using words, diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures, or ideas from: TV programs * Web pages * conversations computer programs * letters * newspapers advertisements * interviews * books songs * emails * movies * magazines
No Credit Needed! when you are using: your own thoughts, experiences, or observations about something your own results of an experiment familiar proverbs You can t judge a book by its cover well-known common quotations We shall overcome common knowledge At a stop sign, drivers must come to a complete stop.
If you have any doubt about whether you are committing plagiarism, cite your source or sources! (Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers [New York:The Modern Language Association of America,2003] 66)
PLAGIARISM CONSEQUENCES: Penalties can range from: failure in the assignment failure in the course expulsion from school and many other things, such as removal or suspension from a sports team, squad, or club! You can even be sued!
BIBLIOGRAPHY Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6 th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America 2003.(pgs. 66-75) Hamilton, Denise. Plagiarism: Librarians Help Provide New Solutions to an Old Problem. Searcher Apr. 2003: v11 n4 p26-28. Rozakis, Laurie E., Ph.D. The Complete Idiot s Guide to Research Methods. New York: Alpha Books, 2004. (pgs. 218-224) Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Avoiding Plagiarism. Collected 23 November 2005. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/ research/r_plagiarism.html>. Research and Report Writing Guide. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (pg. 13)