Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism is:
How Can I Be Sure I’m Not Plagiarizing?
Why Shouldn’t I Plagiarize?
5 Rules for Citing Sources
Rules for Citing | When to Use | When NOT to use | How to Cite |
Direct Quotation – Requires citation no matter how large or small the quotation. Use quotation marks and use in-text citation. |
Use direct quotes when you need to: support your argument; present a phrase you want remembered; provide a specific example; summarize an author’s points; introduce another’s claim or argument. |
Avoid quoting: a lot of details; commonly known information; long sections of text that could by summarized or more selectively quoted; information you could probably state better in your own words. |
Put in-text citation immediately after end quotation marks. |
Paraphrase - Restating another person's thoughts or ideas in your own words. The ideas belong to someone else. You must rewrite the original wording, change the sentence structure, and cite the source. | Use paraphrasing when you want to present an author’s idea but not his words. |
Avoid paraphrasing: to disguise someone else’s ideas as your own; when you can state it more clearly in your own words; when it fits better in the flow of the paper in your own words. |
Put in-text citation at end of sentence or paragraph. |
Summary - Looser form of paraphrasing – condensing and rearranging the ideas - needs to be cited, usually at the end of your paragraph. | Use a summary to shorten the ideas of experts or authorities – then use to support, dispute, or improve your ideas. | Avoid summarizing if it is not relevant to your own ideas or does not add interest or support to your own paper. | Put in-text citation at end of sentence or paragraph. |
Facts, Information, and Data – For most facts, you must acknowledge the source. You do not have to cite a source for a fact that is generally known and accepted eg. George Washington was the first President of the United States. | Use facts & Information to support your arguments. If in doubt as to whether it is “common knowledge”, always cite. | Avoid using facts & information to fill up pages or if you cannot connect them to your own ideas or argument. | If not common knowledge, put in-text citation as close as possible to the information. |
Supplementary Information – Additional information to support an argument, offer a contrasting opinion, or document resources that might be of interest to your readers. | Use as needed. To support, contrast or document. | Put in-text citation as close as possible to the information. |
Information adapted from:
Academic Integrity at Princeton “What is Plagiarism?” Retrieved from https://odoc.princeton.edu/curriculum/academic-integrity
Georgetown Academic Resource Center “Avoiding Plagiarism” Retrieved from https://guides.dml.georgetown.edu/plagiarism/avoiding
“How Not to Plagiarize” by Margaret Procter. Retrieved from Writing at the University of Toronto http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize
The Owl at Purdue “Avoiding Plagiarism” (2008) Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/teacher_and_tutor_resources/preventing_plagiarism/avoiding_plagiarism/index.html
Virtual Salt “Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Research Papers” by R. Harris, 06/14/09. Retrieved from www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm
Avoiding Plagiarism Handout
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