Avoiding Plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism Give credit whenever you: Use another person’s idea, opinion, or theory Use facts that are not common knowledge Use statistics, graphs, drawings, or pictures Use direct quotes Are paraphrasing someone else’s work

Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism Put quotation marks around direct quotes If you have facts that are common knowledge, paraphrase so that you aren’t using the author’s exact words or style When in doubt, CITE IT!

Common Knowledge Common knowledge are facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a lot of people To cite or not to cite?? John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960.

HOWEVER…(this is where paraphrasing comes in!) John F. Kennedy was an American politician. His nickname was Jack. Kennedy was a democrat and served in the US Senate. He was elected President of the United States in 1960. The Bay of Pigs invasion was the greatest challenge of his presidency. Common knowledge? How would you paraphrase this?

Paraphrased…. John F. Kennedy was an American politician. His nickname was Jack. Kennedy was a democrat and served in the US Senate. He was elected President of the United States in 1960. The Bay of Pigs invasion was the greatest challenge of his presidency. John “Jack” Kennedy was an American politician who served in the US Senate from 1953-1960. He ran on the Democratic ticket and was elected to the presidency in 1960.

To Cite or Not to Cite? According to the American Family Leave Coalition’s new book, Family Issues and Congress, President Bush’s relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation. YES! The idea that “Bush’s relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation” is not a fact but the author’s interpretation.

Parenthetical References “Throughout history metals have been pivotal in shaping human events” (Le Couteur and Burreson 3). OR: According to Le Couteur and Burreson, metals have been pivotal in shaping human events throughout history (3). Works Cited Le Couteur, Penny, and Jay Burreson. Napoleon’s Buttons. New York: Penguin Books, 2003. Print.

Attributive Tags Good writing requires that you acknowledge the credibility of your sources! According to Reza Aslan, a religious scholar with a BA in religious studies and a PhD in sociology, “Islamophobia has become a major problem in this country.”

Ellipses Use ellipses … to indicate an omission in a quote The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech ...” respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or

Magazines and Newspapers Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets County’s Uninsured Patients.” Washington Post 24 May 2007: A1. Print. Junge, Wolfgang, and Nathan Nelson. “Nature’s Rotary Electromotors.” Science Digest 29 April 2005: 642-644. Print.