W. Torres What is plagiarism?

Definition: Plagiarism is the act of presenting the words, ideas, images, sounds, or the creative expressions of others as your own. Image from: http://library.austincc.edu/gen-info/facplagiarism.htm

Two types of plagiarism: Intentional Ex. Copying a friend’s work Borrowing or buying a paper Cutting and pasting text directly into your paper Unintentional Ex. Poor paraphrasing Poor citation or forgetting to cite Using too many quotes( more than 50% of the paper is just quotes)

Possible school consequences for plagiarizing work: “F” on the assignment Suspension or expulsion from school Dismissal from school or sports activities

How to avoid plagiarism: Cite or credit your source. This is called attribution, which means giving an author credit for their work or ideas. Paraphrase the work: that means writing down the information in your own words.

Do you have to cite everything on a paper? No! Facts that are widely known, or information or judgments considered “common knowledge” Do NOT have to be documented. Ex: George Washington was the first president of the U.S.A.

You also don’t have to cite Your original ideas, reactions or observations Results from your original research or science experiment Ex: When I did my science experiment I found… From my experience, I believe…

If I paraphrase stuff do I have to cite my source? Yes! Even though you are re-writing things in your own words, you are still borrowing someone else’s idea. You are allowed to use other people’s work for papers but you MUST cite the source.

Ways you can use other people’s work in your paper without plagiarizing: Quoting Paraphrasing Summarizing

Quotations Quotations are the exact words of an author, copied directly from a source, word for word. Quotations must be cited! However, you want to limit the amount of direct quotes in your work. Having too many quotes is the same as copy and pasting someone’s work and claiming it as your own.

Paraphrasing Paraphrasing means rephrasing the words of an author, putting his/her thoughts in your own words. Must be cited. Simply changing a few words around is not paraphrasing!

Let’s look at an example of what good paraphrasing is. Click on the link below: http://web.archive.org/web/20090201070323/http://richmond.k12.va.us/schools/jones/Copyright-Kids/text3.htm

Summarizing Involves putting the main ideas of one or more authors in your own words Focuses on the main points Again must be cited.

How do you cite information: There are many formats for citing information. Your teacher will tell you which format to use. Typically, you must include the author’s name, title of work, and year it was published. When you give credit for a web page, it is done as follows: Author. Title of web page. Web page address Copyright year.