Avoiding Plagiarism Introduction What is plagiarism? Identifying plagiarism What is “common knowledge”? Talk About It Your Turn

Introduction Have you ever played a game during which someone cheated? How did that make you feel? Plagiarism is a kind of cheating. It involves taking someone else’s work or ideas and using them as your own.

What is plagiarism? Plagiarism carries real consequences—receiving a low grade, failing a class, being expelled from school, even losing a job! Learning how to use other writers’ words and ideas correctly will help you avoid plagiarism.

Identifying plagiarism For a class project, Sean wrote about Habitat for Humanity, an organization dedicated to helping people obtain affordable housing. Here is an excerpt from one of the articles Sean used as a source. ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity International had barely hung out its shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, started its first affiliate in her basement in San Antonio. Since then, more than 1,600 affiliates have sprung up around the country and built or rehabilitated more than 226,000 houses worldwide, demonstrating the power of a grassroots movement. nytimes.com 4

Identifying plagiarism Avoid plagiarism by putting the essence of the original text into your own distinctive language, as Sean has done. ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity International had barely hung out its shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, started its first affiliate in her basement in San Antonio. Since then, more than 1,600 affiliates have sprung up around the country and built or rehabilitated more than 226,000 houses worldwide, demonstrating the power of a grassroots movement. Habitat for Humanity International was created in 1976. Since then, Habitat has built more than 226,000 houses around the world for those unable to own their own home through traditional means. nytimes.com 5

Identifying plagiarism Plagiarism occurs when you copy information from a source word for word. ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity International had barely hung out its shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, started its first affiliate in her basement in San Antonio. Since then, more than 1,600 affiliates have sprung up around the country and built or rehabilitated more than 226,000 houses worldwide, demonstrating the power of a grassroots movement. Habitat for Humanity has grown into a successful international organization since it was founded in 1976. Habitat effectively demonstrates the power of a grassroots movement. nytimes.com 6

Identifying plagiarism If you use an author’s original ideas, credit that author. Otherwise, it’s like claiming you came up with those ideas on your own. President Carter Lends a Hand In 1984 Fuller traveled . . . to nearby Plains to pay a visit to former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. Carter had earlier made donations to Habitat . . . but Fuller solicited Carter to do more. Carter agreed to serve on the organization’s board, lend his celebrity to fundraising efforts, and work on a construction crew. As Fuller had hoped, the event received national media attention. According to Edward A. Hatfield, in 1984 Fuller enlisted former president Jimmy Carter to serve on the organization’s board. His celebrity helped raise Habitat’s profile. Sean’s summary acknowledges the author whose ideas he used.

Identifying plagiarism Another problem is paraphrasing a source too closely. Changing a few words does not make the work your own. ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity International had barely hung out its shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, started its first affiliate in her basement in San Antonio. Since then, more than 1,600 affiliates have sprung up around the country and built or rehabilitated more than 226,000 houses worldwide, demonstrating the power of a grassroots movement. Habitat for Humanity started in 1976. Faith Lytle, a Presbyterian minister’s wife, started the first affiliate in San Antonio. Now 1,600 affiliates have arisen all over the country, and Habitat has built more than 226,000 houses all over the world. This note changes a few words, but it is essentially the same as the original. 9

Identifying plagiarism Is the note on the right an acceptable paraphrase of the information on the left, or is it plagiarism? What does a Habitat house cost? Throughout the world, the cost of houses varies from as little as $800 in some developing countries to an average of nearly $60,000 in the United States. Habitat houses are affordable for low-income families because there is no profit included in the sale price. Mortgage length varies from seven to 30 years. Depending on where Habitat builds, the prices of houses range from $800 to $60,000. Because they are sold without profit, low-income families can afford to buy them. This is a PARAPHRASE. The meaning is the same, but the wording is distinctly different from the source. nytimes.com

Identifying plagiarism Is the note on the right an acceptable paraphrase of the excerpt on the left, or is it plagiarism? …fraying under new leadership that is trying to centralize the organization. Habitat for Humanity International is asking affiliates to sign an agreement that would establish a quality-control checklist, and a new policy gives headquarters a cut of each donation it receives that is earmarked for an affiliate. And the changes are meeting with opposition. New leadership, trying to centralize, is asking affiliates to sign a pact to establish a quality-control list. This is tantamount to a takeover because they have to send headquarters part of each donation earmarked for its own organization. This is PLAGIARISM. Although not exact, the original text is obviously copied. nytimes.com

What is “common knowledge”? Not all information needs to be cited. Ideas that are considered common knowledge are free from this rule. Habitat for Humanity creates homes for those who cannot afford homes by traditional means. Jimmy Carter is the best known advocate. A piece of information found in three separate, independent sources is considered to be common knowledge.

What is “common knowledge”? Which of the following ideas do you think would be common knowledge and which would you have to cite? Common knowledge Lesser-known facts or ideas Sweat equity is the work families put into their homes. By 1964, Millard Fuller was a discontented millionaire. After a stay at Koinonia Farm in rural Sumter, Fuller established the Fund for Humanity with Koinonia’s founder, Clarence Jordan. Sweat equity is the work families put into their homes. By 1964, Millard Fuller was a discontented millionaire. Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the United States. Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the United States. After a stay at Koinonia Farm in rural Sumter, Fuller established the Fund for Humanity with Koinonia’s founder, Clarence Jordan.

Talk About It Discuss these questions with your classmates. Why do you think plagiarism is such a problem in schools, colleges, and even some workplaces? What do you think the appropriate consequences of plagiarism should be for a high school student? a college professor? the author of a history book? What precautions can you take during research so that you don’t plagiarize unintentionally?

Your Turn Use this text about the Japanese samurai to complete the activities on the next slide.

Your Turn Imagine that you are researching samurai warriors. Using the information on the previous slide to do the following: Create a note with information that is paraphrased. Create a note with information that is summarized. Create a note with a direct quotation. Identify a piece of information that is common knowledge.

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