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Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It
What is Plagiarism and Why is it
Important?
In college courses, we are continually engaged with other people's ideas:
we read them in texts, hear them in lecture, discuss them in class, and
incorporate them into our own writing. As a result, it is very important that
we give credit where it is due. Plagiarism is using others' ideas and words
without clearly acknowledging the source of that information.
How Can Students Avoid
Plagiarism?
To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use
- another person's idea, opinion, or theory;
- any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings - any pieces of information - that
are not common knowledge;
- quotations of another person's actual spoken or written words; or
- paraphrase of another person's spoken or written words.
To help you recognize what plagiarism looks like and what strategies
you can use to avoid it, select one of the following links or scroll down to
the appropriate topic.
How to Recognize Unacceptable and
Acceptable Paraphrases
Here's the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case
Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.:
| The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the
population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century
American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature
of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into
industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With
industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River,
Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centers of
production as well as of commerce and trade. |
Here's an UNACCEPTABLE paraphrase that is plagiarism:
| The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the
population were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As
steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the
country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for
the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities
like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centers of
commerce and trade as well as production. |
What makes this passage plagiarism?
The preceding passage is considered plagiarism for two reasons:
- the writer has only changed around a few words and phrases, or
changed the order of the original's sentences.
- the writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts.
If you do either or both of these things, you are plagiarizing.
NOTE: This paragraph is also problematic because it changes the sense of
several sentences (for example, "steam-driven companies" in sentence two
misses the original's emphasis on factories).
Here's an ACCEPTABLE paraphrase:
| Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern
industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Steam-powered production had
shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in
the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result, populations
grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these
manufacturing and commercial centers (Williams 1). |
Why is this passage acceptable?
This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:
- accurately relays the information in the original
uses her own words.
- lets her reader know the source of her information.
Here's an example of quotation and paraphrase used together, which is also
ACCEPTABLE:
| Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern
industrial cities of the nineteenth century. As steam-powered production
shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, the demand for workers
"transformed farm hands into industrial laborers," and created jobs for
immigrants. In turn, growing populations increased the size of urban areas.
Fall River was one of these hubs "which became the centers of production as
well as of commerce and trade" (Williams 1). |
Why is this passage acceptable?
This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:
- records the information in the original passage accurately.
- gives credit for the ideas in this passage.
- indicated which part is taken directly from her source by putting the
passage in quotation marks and citing the page number.
Note that if the writer had used these phrases or sentences in her own paper
without putting quotation marks around them, she would be
PLAGIARIZING. Using another person's phrases or sentences without
putting quotation marks around them is considered plagiarism EVEN IF
THE WRITER CITES IN HER OWN TEXT THE SOURCE OF THE
PHRASES OR SENTENCES SHE HAS QUOTED.
Plagiarism and the World Wide Web
The World Wide Web has become a more popular source of information for
student papers, and many questions have arisen about how to avoid
plagiarizing these sources. In most cases, the same rules apply as to a printed
source: when a writer must refer to ideas or quote from a WWW site, she
must cite that source.
If a writer wants to use visual information from a WWW site, many of the
same rules apply. Copying visual information or graphics from a WWW site
(or from a printed source) is very similar to quoting information, and the
source of the visual information or graphic must be cited. These rules also
apply to other uses of textual or visual information from WWW sites; for
example, if a student is constructing a web page as a class project, and
copies graphics or visual information from other sites, she must also provide
information about the source of this information. In this case, it might be a
good idea to obtain permission from the WWW site's owner before using the
graphics.
Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism
- Put in quotations everything that comes directly from the text especially
when taking notes.
- Paraphrase, but be sure you are not just rearranging or replacing a few
words.
Instead, read over what you want to paraphrase carefully; cover up the text
with your hand, or close the text so you can't see any of it (and so aren't
tempted to use the text as a “guide”). Write out the idea in your own words
without peeking.
- Check your paraphrase against the original text to be sure you have not
accidentally used the same phrases or words, and that the information is
accurate.
Terms You Need to Know
(or What is Common Knowledge?)
Common knowledge: facts that can be found in numerous places and are
likely to be known by a lot of people.
| Example: John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in
1960. |
This is generally known information. You do not need to document this fact.
However, you must document facts that are not generally known and ideas
that interpret facts.
| Example: According the American Family Leave Coalition's new book,
Family Issues and Congress, President Bush's relationship with Congress has
hindered family leave legislation (6). |
The idea that "Bush's relationship with Congress has hindered family leave
legislation" is not a fact but an interpretation; consequently, you need to cite
your source.
Quotation: using someone's words. When you quote, place the passage you
are using in quotation marks, and document the source according to a
standard documentation style.
The following example uses the Modern Language Association's style:
| Example: According to Peter S. Pritchard in USA Today, "Public schools
need reform but they're irreplaceable in teaching all the nation's young" (14). |
Paraphrase: using someone's ideas, but putting them in your own words.
This is probably the skill you will use most when incorporating sources into
your writing. Although you use your own words to paraphrase, you must
still acknowledge the source of the information.
Produced by Writing
Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN and reprinted
here with their express permission.
Additional Resources
Books available from the online LIU catalog:
- Bowman, Vibiana. (2004). The plagiarism plague: a resource guide
and CD-ROM tutorial for educators and librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman
Publishers. Call Number: PN167.P527 2004
- Carey, Suzanne F. & Patricia Arnett Zeck (2003). Combating
plagiarism. Bloomington, Ind.: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.
Call Number: L11 .F37 no. 514
- Cizek, Gregory J. (2003). Detecting and preventing classroom
cheating: promoting integrity in assessment. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
Press. Call Number: LB3609.C48 2003
- Harris, Robert. (2002). Using sources effectively: strengthening your
writing and avoiding plagiarism. Los Angeles: Pyrczak Publishing. Call
Number: LB2369.H37 2000bx
- Lathrop, A. & Foss, K. (2000). Student cheating and plagiarism in the
Internet era: a wake-up call. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. Call
Number: LB3609.L28 2000
- Lipson, Charles. (2004). Doing honest work in college: how to
prepare citations, avoid plagiarism, and achieve real academic success.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Call Number: PN171.F56 L5 2004
- Robin, Ron Theodore. (2004). Scandals and scoundrels [electronic
resource]: seven cases that shook the academy. Berkeley: University of
California Press. Call Number: PN167.R63 2004eb
- Whitley, E.W. & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2002). Academic dishonesty: an
educator's guide. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Call Number:
LB3609.W45 2002
Internet:
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