Paraphrasing and Plagiarism 10 th Grade World History Research Paper

Plagiarism Defined:  Any use of someone else’s work or ideas without saying it’s theirs. In other words, copying is plagiarizing!

Actions that could be seen as plagiarism: 1. Buying, stealing or borrowing a paper 2. Hiring someone to write your paper 3. Using a source too closely when paraphrasing 4. Building on someone’s ideas without citation 5. Copying directly from another source without citation (on purpose or by accident)

When you should cite a source: 1. When you are using or referring to somebody else’s words or ideas from a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, website, letter or any other medium. 2. When you use information gained through interviewing another person. 3. When you copy the exact words or a unique phrase from somewhere. 4. When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts or pictures. 5. When you use ideas that others have given you in conversation or over .

Steps to avoid plagiarism: 1. Mark your notes ! 2. Take notes rather than copying and pasting from sources! 3. Save your research materials! 4. Record your documentation info immediately !! 5. Proofread your paper! 6. Rewrite key ideas! 7. Begin paraphrases with statements like “ According to…”! 8. Put any unique words or phrases in quotation marks ! 9. Include in-text citations!

How to Paraphrase- General Advice: 1. When reading a passage, try first to understand it as a whole rather than pausing to write down specific ideas or phrases. 2. Choose and summarize only the material that helps you make a point in your paper. 3. Think of what your own words would be if you were telling someone what the original source said.

Two Methods of Paraphrasing:  Look away before you write Read the text you want to paraphrase several times until you feel that you understand it Look away from the text and rewrite it in your own words  Take notes Take abbreviated notes and set them aside Paraphrase from your notes a day or so later

MLA Parenthetical Citations:  When you paraphrase or quote information from a source, you must provide the author’s last name and the page number.

Examples:  According to Brownell, in everyday driving, one is more likely to be injured in a convertible roadster than in a sport utility vehicle (118).  In everyday driving, one is more likely to be injured in a convertible roadster than in a sport utility vehicle (Brownell 118).  Note… Put the period for the sentence after then parenthetical reference!!