THE WRITING PROCESS: Prewriting & Drafting Plagiarism & Citing Sources The University Writing Center, Texas A&M University “Plagiarism and the Proper Use of Sources” Harvard University

Plagiarism: Defined & Explained When a student uses facts or ideas originating with others, he must make clear what is his/hers and what is not his/hers. Failure to make such a distinction is to be guilty of offering as one’s own what is in fact someone else’s (plagiarism). Source: BCS Handbook

Plagiarism: Types Direct Plagiarism Uncited Paraphrasing A phrase or passage is copied word for word, but not placed within quotation marks Uncited Paraphrasing Rephrasing another person's work without citing the source Incorrect Paraphrasing Only changing a few words Insufficient Acknowledgement The author's work is cited once, but you continue to use his/her words without additional citations

Plagiarism: Consequences Class “B” Offense Examples of Class “B” Offense’s are: cheating, fighting, stealing, vandalism, plagiarism Consequences In-school suspension with possible service hours Mrs. Lee: Grade of zero on Research Paper Source: BCS Handbook

Plagiarism: Consequences Texas A&M University Fail the assignment Fail the course with a grade of XF Indicates failure due to academic dishonesty Dismissal from the University Have a record on your transcript that indicates you committed an act of academic dishonesty Many potential employers will check your college transcripts

Plagiarism: Consequences t.u. F in the course Suspended or permanently expelled A disciplinary record that may impact future jobs Baylor Suspended or expelled

Plagiarism: How to Avoid It CITE ALL SOURCES Parenthetical citations Works Cited Page How??? Direct Quotes Paraphrasing

Direct Quotes: Three Parts Monarchs sheltering in central Mexico provide a memorable spectacle as they “flutter their wings in a synchronistic movement” (Herrera 58). Tag Quote Source

Direct Quotes: Tags Tags: they lend credibility and help prove your point Use strong verbs that guide your reader such as argues, agrees, or illustrates. Example: Lloyd Benson, veteran lead dispatcher for the Dixie National Forests, claims “forest fires can frequently be predicted with careful attention to weather conditions” (Smith 15).

Direct Quotes : No Dumping Dumped quote: a quote placed in your writing without a tag. It just sits there, and the reader doesn’t know why you’ve added it. Many people mistakenly believe that the residents of homeless shelters are lazy and unmotivated. “Most people in homeless shelters are suffering from mental illnesses.” Many people mistakenly believe that the residents of homeless shelters are lazy and unmotivated. According to a recent study by Daniel Moriarty, a Stanford psychologist, “Most people in homeless shelters are suffering from mental illnesses.” 

Direct Quotes : Guided Practice Author: William Wordsworth, British poet from the early 1800s Topic: Romantic poetry Quote: “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Author: William Wordsworth, page 263 Tag Quote Source William Wordsworth, a major 19th century British poet, stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263). Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Paraphrasing Always cite anything you paraphrase!! A good paraphrase doesn’t simply substitute a few words. It rewrites the passage. A successful paraphrase will: Change word order or sentence structure Eliminating jargon or wordiness Simplify the original Use synonyms for key terms

Paraphrasing: Example Quotation from Kennedy’s inauguration “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” Successful Paraphrase In his inaugural address, President Kennedy implored Americans to put aside their personal interests in order to work for the common good of the nation.

Paraphrasing: Guided Practice “Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.” Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47. In research papers, students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

Exception: Common Knowledge Widely known facts generally count as common knowledge and do not need to be cited The molecular structure of water is H2O Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the US

Follow the Writing Process (review) Prewriting Thesis, Brainstorming, Outlining, Gathering Sources Drafting Getting words on the page Don’t worry about grammar and style at first Revising Reorganize, add/delete, check for tone and style Editing Check for grammar, punctuation, MLA formatting Publishing Turnitin.com

THE WRITING PROCESS: Prewriting & Drafting Plagiarism & Citing Sources