Plagiarism and Citations Presented by the UTA English Writing Center Updated 2/5/2015 spt

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Presented by: The Writing Center Executive Staff Workshop Leaders Presented by: The Writing Center Executive Staff www.uta.edu/owl

http://www.inquisitr.com/1793317/sam-smith-pays-tom-petty-for-plagiarism-is-lady-gaga-next/

Why to Cite Information Helps readers understand arguments and the sources they are built on. Helps writer/researcher keep track of research. The proper use of citation style shows the credibility of writers; such writers show accountability to their source material. Proper citation of sources can help researchers avoid accusations of plagiarism, which is a serious offense with the potential of extraordinary consequences. www.uta.edu/owl

Plagiarism Broadly defined as using material without giving proper credit or citation to the source. Plagiarism is passing the work of others as your own. Plagiarism is also failing to properly cite the work of others. Mistakes and poor citations can be deemed as plagiarism. Academic culture in the United States of America places a high value on crediting and citing the work of an author. www.uta.edu/owl

Avoid Plagiarism Identify sources clearly each time you use them. Cite all material that does not originate from you for the specific project . . . Do not self-plagiarize! Cite all material that is not common knowledge. Cite all material properly, with the conventions and rules of your field. www.uta.edu/owl

Avoid Plagiarism When in doubt, cite. If you are uncertain about formatting citations, ask instructors, subject librarians, or tutors before submitting a project. “Bottom line, document any words, ideas, or other productions that originate somewhere outside of you” (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2010). www.uta.edu/owl

Common Knowledge Refers to widely understood and recognized ideas and products in culture and academics. “Generally speaking, you can regard something as common knowledge if you find the same information undocumented in at least five credible sources. Additionally, it might be common knowledge if you think the information you’re presenting is something your readers will already know, or something that a person could easily find in general reference sources. But when in doubt, cite; if the citation turns out to be unnecessary, your teacher or editor will tell you” (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2010). www.uta.edu/owl

What Constitutes Academic Dishonesty? Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, and collusion on an examination or an assignment being offered for credit. Each student is accountable for work submitted for credit, including group projects. In this example, the nouns cat, fence, and mouse take an indefinite article, but only when they are introduced for the first time. After they are introduced, we use the definite article in every instance. This pattern, or rule, covers a lot of basic instances of concrete nouns, especially in story telling. This rule can extend over long periods of time and interrupted dialogue so that I can ask you to buy a pen and then several hours later I can ask you if you bought the pen. www.uta.edu/owl

Plagiarism: Obvious and Not-So Obvious Copying material from a source without citation and credit or having someone else write your paper (including buying one online) are two clear examples of plagiarism. However, mirroring the language and sentence structure of the original author or using too many of the author’s original terms are less clear examples of plagiarism. www.uta.edu/owl

Not-So-Obvious: Mirroring Language An example of mirroring language: Original Source Material: “The emphasis on play through recognition of conventional forms signals that one distinction between contemporary American indies and the European art cinema is that a different kind of connoisseurship is cultivated in American audiences” (37) – from Indie: An American Film Culture by Michael Z. Newman Paraphrase in student’s paper: The emphasis on play through recognizing traditional forms shows that one distinction between American independent films and European ones is a different kind of connoisseurship is developed in American viewers (Newman). Notice the problem?

Correct Form of Paraphrasing Original Source Material: “The emphasis on play through recognition of conventional forms signals that one distinction between contemporary American indies and the European art cinema is that a different kind of connoisseurship is cultivated in American audiences” (37) – from Indie: An American Film Culture by Michael Z. Newman Paraphrase in student’s paper: Newman asserts that the prevalence of play with traditional forms in American indie films indicates a significant difference from European ones, mainly that American viewers become “connoisseurs” in different ways than Europeans do (Newman 37). *If your paraphrasing is too similar to the original, or if you mirror the author’s language, this can create an issue in terms of plagiarism.*

Misuse of Sources The Council of Writing Program Administrators (2003) more closely distinguishes between acts of intentional-plagiarism—and acts of “carelessly or inadequately citing ideas and words borrowed from another source.” For the Council of Writing Program Administrators, plagiarism is considered unethical in academic writing in the United States of America. The “misuse of sources” is considered a failure to properly cite sources and poor writing. www.uta.edu/owl

Potential Consequences

Potential Consequences http://www.uta.edu/conduct/index.php Penalties are partly dependent upon the discretion and judgment of the professor/instructor. First-time offenses usually result in specific grade penalties and also probation. Second offenses can result in penalties ranging from failing the course to expulsion from the University. If you are unsure how to use, quote, or cite sources properly, consult your instructor for help before you resort to plagiarism! www.uta.edu/owl

What are Citation Styles? Standardized methods of writing, formatting, and presenting material that provide uniform communication strategies in order to ease the sharing of important and sometimes complex information. Examples: American Psychological Association (APA) Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) Modern Language Association (MLA) http://bogglesworldesl.com/indefinitearticles4.htm www.uta.edu/owl

Why Use a Citation Style? Consistency: Establishes standards for specific fields. Removes distractions; readers can focus on content. Ensures that all information can be verified following a similar pattern. Helps you keep track of your sources as you use them. The author-date system reiterates that we should understand the context and relevance of sources. This exception also applies to ordering (ordinal numbers used as adjectives) where it is presumed that the ordering is unique: the second time, the third example, the fourth person to call. In other words, once you place an order on objects they hold a unique position in that order. This exception applies to named things (which through naming become unique): The Rocky Mountains (a mountain range)The New York Islanders (a sports team)The Amazon River (a river in South America)The Pacific Ocean (an ocean)The Steelworkers Union (an organization)The Great Plains (a geographic locality)The Washington Monument (a statue)The Number Four Bus However, this application is imperfect as some things such as named lakes and islands take no articles (Buttle Lake, Skull Island) except in plural instances (the Great Lakes, the Galapagos islands). www.uta.edu/owl

When to Use a Citation Style As instructed when completing classroom documents Assignment prompt. Subject area. When in doubt: ASK YOUR PROFESSOR! When submitting documents to a journal, publications, or contest. All publications specify one (or more) specific citation styles that they accept. www.uta.edu/owl

General Document Guidelines All citation formats include general format guidelines for the document as a whole: be sure to pay attention to these as well. Be sure to check the format guidelines of the style you are using! For example: APA and CMS generally require that documents have a title page, while MLA generally does not. Unless otherwise specified, most academic papers require your paper to be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5x11 inches) with 1-inch margins on all sides. MLA requires your last name and page number as a right-aligned heading, while APA requires a similarly placed short version of the title and page number. Important www.uta.edu/owl

Sources Used Corporate Author. (2003). “Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices.” Council of Writing Program Administrators, http://wpacouncil.org/positions/WPAplagiarism.pdf (accessed Feb 6, 2012). Newman, Michael Z. Indie: An American Film Culture. New York: Columbia UP, 21011. Print. Picture: http://oliveharveycollegelibraryguides.pbworks.com/w/page/47192856/Plagiarism Purdue Online Writing Lab; http://owl.english.purdue/edu/owl “What Constitutes Scholastic Dishonesty?” Office of Student Conduct, University of Texas Arlington, (accessed Feb 6, 2012).