Plagiarism Prevention: A Guide for Students
INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this guide is to provide Delta State students with
information about plagiarism. On this guide, "plagiarism" is
defined, illustrated in examples, and discussed in regard to
prevention.
PLAGIARISM DEFINED:
The Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English
Language Unabridged (3rd Edition) provides the following definition
for the word plagiarize:
"to steal and pass off as one's own (the ideas or words of
another): use (a created production) without crediting the source.
. ."
The above definition is used by permission of
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (www.Merriam-Webster.com). Copyright
1993 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.
There are various types of plagiarism, such as those listed
below:
- Copying someone else's words verbatim without quotation marks
or citations. (Whitley, Jr. and Keith Spiegel 77).
- Quoting an author using quotation marks but providing no
citation (Gibaldi 31-32).
- A paraphrase of the original author's words can also be
plagiarism if no citation is provided (Gibaldi 31-32).
EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM AND PROPER USE OF RESOURCES:
Below is a brief passage from the book William Faulkner: The
Making of a Modernist by Daniel Joseph Singal. This passage is
followed by three examples of plagiarism and one example of a
correct use of Singal's work.
Although Horace Benbow comes across as a far more sympathetic
character than his sister in Sanctuary, he represents a rejected
identity model as well. With his many Prufrock-like attributes,
Horace can best be seen as Faulkner's final settling of accounts
with post-Victorian culture, his sharpest articulation of the
defects of the "poet" persona he had experimented with just a few
years earlier (159).
The above passage is used by permission of the
publisher, the University of North Carolina Press. Copyright 1997 by
the University of North Carolina Press.
Quoting
Example 1: With his many Prufrock-like attributes,
Horace can best be seen as Faulkner's final settling of accounts
with post-Victorian culture.
The sentence above is a direct quote from Singal. No quotation
marks or citation is provided, which is plagiarism.
Example 2: "With his many Prufrock-like attributes,
Horace can best be seen as Faulkner's final settling of accounts
with post-Victorian culture."
The sentence above is a direct quote from Singal, which includes
quotation marks. However, it is also an example of plagiarism, since
no citation is provided.
Example 3: "With his many Prufrock-like attributes, Horace can
best be seen as Faulkner's final settling of accounts with
post-Victorian culture" (Singal 159).
The sentence above is a direct quote from Singal, which includes
quotation marks and a citation. It is an example of proper use of a
resource.
Paraphrasing
Example 4: Horace Benbow, a character in Faulkner's Sanctuary,
may be viewed as Faulkner's last association with the post-Victorian
tradition, having characteristics similar to those of
Prufrock.
The sentence above is a paraphrased version of Singal's words.
However, there is no citation provided with the sentence. This is
plagiarism.
Example 5: Horace Benbow, a character in Faulkner's Sanctuary,
may be viewed as Faulkner's last association with the post-Victorian
tradition, having characteristics similar to those of Prufrock
(Singal 159).
The sentence above is NOT an example of plagiarism, but is a
correct use of Singal's words. It is a paraphrased version of
Singal's words and it includes a citation.
TIPS FOR AVOIDING PLAGIARISM:
- Know what IS plagiarism and what is NOT plagiarism:
According to Laurie Rozakis, author of Schaum's Quick Guide to
Writing Great Research Papers, all information or ideas that you
borrow from someone else "which are not common knowledge" will
need to be cited to avoid plagiarizing. However, some information
"is common knowledge" and does not require citing. Common
knowledge includes general facts and "information people are
expected to know" and is defined as "something that is presented
in several sources." On the other hand, uncommon knowledge
includes more specific facts and information, which is not usually
known by people outside a given field. For example, the following
sentence could be considered common knowledge: George Washington
was the first president of the United States. The following quote
from Rozakis is an example of uncommon knowledge: "By the time the
last cannon thundered across the Shenandoah Valley at Antietam,
the battlefield echoed with the screams of 20,000 Union and
Confederate wounded." Knowing the difference between "common
knowledge" information and information needing to be cited can
help you avoid plagiarizing (Rozakis 117-118).
- Take Notes: When taking notes, summarize the
information in your own words and write down the page numbers
along with your notes (Everhart 92). It is a good idea not to look
at the original author's sentences or paragraphs while
paraphrasing. Afterward, you can check behind yourself to make
sure you did not accidentally copy too much text verbatim
("Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Recognize and Avoid It").
- Make Sure You Give Credit to the Original Authors When
Working on Your Paper: You will need to provide citations
whenever you quote or paraphrase someone else's words, and when
you use someone else's ideas (Gibaldi 33). When you provide
citations for your sources of information, you will need to cite
them in your footnotes or endnotes (whichever is applicable),
citations within your paper, which are referred to as
"parenthetical citations", and on the list of works cited at the
end of your paper (Turabian 74). The Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association states:
Psychologists do not claim the words and ideas of another
as their own; they give credit where credit is due. Quotation
marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another.
Each time you paraphrase another author (i.e., summarize a
passage or rearrange the order of a sentence and change some
of the words), you will need to credit the source in the text.
(349)
The above paragraph is reproduced from the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th
Edition), 2001, page 349. Copyright 2001 by the American
Psychological Association. The above paragraph is reproduced with
permission.
In the Reference Department of Roberts-LaForge Library, we have
the following resources to help you in citing your sources:
- Don't Procrastinate: Do not wait until the paper is
almost due to begin working on it. The pressure caused by the
close deadline will make it very tempting to plagiarize ("Academic
Honesty: Cheating and Plagiarism").
Works Cited
Academic
Honesty: Cheating and Plagiarism. 2004. Committee on
Academic Conduct in the
College of Arts and Sciences, U of Washington. 13 June 2005
<http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm>.
Everhart, Nancy. How to Write a Term Paper. Rev. ed. New
York: Franklin Watts, 1994.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers. 5th ed. 1999.
"Plagiarism." Webster's Third New International Dictionary of
the English Language Unabridged.
3rd ed. 1986.
Plagiarism:
What It Is and How to Recognize and Avoid It. 2004. Writing
Tutorial Services,
Indiana U, Bloomington. 13 June 2005 <http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/
plagiarism.shtml>.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association. 5th ed. Washington DC: American
Psychological
Association, 2001.
Rozakis, Laurie, Ph.D. Schaum's
Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers.
1999. Delta State
University eBook Collection. Comp. NetLibrary. 2003. Delta State
U. 13 June 2005 <http://www.netLibrary.com/ebook_info.asp?product_id=13504>.
Singal, Daniel Joseph.
William Faulkner: the Making of a Modernist. Chapel Hill: U
of North Carolina P,
1997.
Turabian, Kate L. A Manual
for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6th
ed. Chicago: U of
Chicago P, 1996.
Whitley, Jr., Bernard E. and Patricia Keith-Spiegel. Academic
Dishonesty: An Educator's Guide.
2002. Delta State
University eBook Collection. Comp. NetLibrary. 2003. Delta State
U. 13 June 2005 <http://www.netLibrary.com/ebook_info.asp?product_id=66177>.
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