A Magical Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism Adapted from http://www.katehart.net/2012/06/citing-sources-quick-and-graphic-guide.html

Original Source “There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” J.K Rowling in a commencement speech at Harvard entitled “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination” http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/06/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination

“There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” Original Source There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. Voldemort’s Paper

Plagiarized! Exact wording from the original. No quotation marks No reference to Rowling A reader would assume that these are Voldy’s thoughts, ideas, and words. This is clearly not the case, so it’s plagiarized.

“There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” Original Source There is an expiration date on blaming your parents for steering you wrong; the moment you’re old enough to take the wheel, you’re responsible. A Dementor’s Paper

Plagiarized! Some (but not most) words have been changed. No quotation marks No reference to Rowling This is a bad paraphrase. Even if you change a few words around, paraphrasing without credit is the kiss of death.

“There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” Original Source According to J.K. Rowling, you can blame your parents for things until you get your driver’s license. Sirius Black

Questionable! Does credit Rowling Not her exact words Is this really what Rowling meant? It’s not plagiarism, but misrepresenting a source’s meaning is Siriusly dishonest.

“There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” Original Source According to J.K. Rowling, you can’t spend your whole life blaming your parents for things. Ron Weasley

Questionable! Incorrect citation! Does credit Rowling as the originator of the idea Not her exact words (good paraphrase) When and where did Rowling say or write this? Incorrect citation! Ron still needs to provide information on the source.

Don’t be a whiner. Stop blaming your parents. “There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” Original Source Don’t be a whiner. Stop blaming your parents. -Snape

Good! Does not resemble Rowling’s speech Does not imply that Rowling said it. No citation needed.

“There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” Original Source “There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction,” said J.K. Rowling. “The moment you are old enough to take the wheel, the responsibility lies with you.” -Neville Longbottom

Plagiarism! Incorrect citation! Does credit Rowling as the originator of the idea Puts her exact words in quotation marks. When and where did Rowling say or write this? Incorrect citation! Neville, like Ron, still needs to provide information on the source.

“There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” Original Source “There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction,” said J.K. Rowling. “The moment you are old enough to take the wheel, the responsibility lies with you” (“The Fringe Benefits of Failure”). -Hermione Granger

Correct! Ten points to Gryffindor! Does credit Rowling as the originator of the idea Puts her exact words in quotation marks. Gives source information (in-text citation). Ten points to Gryffindor!

Your best defense against plagiarism? Constant vigilance! (and a good handbook, like Easy Writer)