How to Paraphrase and Avoid Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism? Using someone else’s WORDS or IDEAS in your work without saying where it came from 

This is considered Cheating!

In American schools… We want to know what YOU think! But we want you to PROVE your OPINIONS with EVIDENCE from experts. Like a lawyer showing evidence in court. Talk about my experience in France

What happens if I plagiarize? If you plagiarize: Zero on the assignment Teacher will call parents Conference with administrator More consequences the second time 

Don’t cut and paste. Don’t Cut and Paste… If you CUT AND PASTE a sentence from a website Even if you change some of the words That’s plagiarism!  Don’t cut and paste.

What should I do instead?

Instead of Plagiarizing, you have 2 choices…

“Use A Direct Quotation”… Use the author’s exact words in “quotation marks” Don’t make ANY changes Give the author’s name (Wilson 5) That tells your teacher, “I did not write this part. These are someone else’s words.” Ellipses can’t change the meaning!

…or Paraphrase Explain the main ideas of something you read Write completely in your own words This shows that you understand the source Cite the source (Wilson 5)

How do I paraphrase? First, READ ACTIVELY & TAKE NOTES When you read, STOP after each paragraph and ask, “What did I just read?” Take notes = Write a list of the main facts. Write ONLY things that relate to your topic. DON’T use full sentences.

Then PARAPHRASE Put the source away Write about what you read in your own words. Pretend you’re explaining to a friend. DON’T put anything in your paper that you don’t understand.

Then CITE YOUR SOURCES! Author and page #: (Martinez 5) For websites, sometimes you don’t have a page number: (Martinez) Sometimes you don’t have an author either! Use the page title: (“Pollution”) …because the IDEA is not yours!

It looks like this: Americans throw away too much trash. For example, we created 245 million tons of trash in 2006 (Parks 7). Our trash includes things like paper and food scraps that could be recycled or composted instead.

What if I need to use a quotation from the book or website? If you do need to use a sentence from a book or website… Put “quotation marks…” around it right away! And put a citation after it like this: “In 2006, about 245 million tons of trash were produced in the United States” (Parks 7).

Introduce & Explain your evidence in your own words! Americans throw away too many things each year. “In 2006, about 245 million tons of trash were produced in the United States” (Parks 7). If we keep producing so many tons of trash each year, we will run out of space in landfills, the places where we dump trash.

Let’s practice on a paragraph about landfills… A place where we dump trash, items that people don’t want anymore

Is this plagiarized or paraphrased? Original: “Landfills are the number one method of garbage disposal. Landfill space will become scarcer, however, if the amount of garbage continues to increase. This could cause problems, because landfills are not popular. They are unpleasant to look at. They produce methane gas that smells bad. They can also contribute to pollution.” (Parks 20). Is this paraphrased or plagiarized? Landfills are the main method of trash disposal. Landfill space will become scarcer if the amount of garbage continues to increase. Landfills cause problems because they are unpleasant to look at, smell bad, and pollute. Plagiarized!

Is this plagiarized or paraphrased? Original: “Landfills are the number one method of garbage disposal. Landfill space will become scarcer, however, if the amount of garbage continues to increase. This could cause problems, because landfills are not popular. They are unpleasant to look at. They produce methane gas that smells bad. They can also contribute to pollution.” (Parks 20). Is this paraphrased or plagiarized? Most of our garbage goes into landfills, but if we keep creating the same amount of trash, there will not be enough space. Most people do not want new landfills in their towns because of the ugly appearance, bad odor, and harmful pollution that landfills create. We need a new solution for our trash. Good! Paraphrased! 

Your Turn! We will practice paraphrasing & citing a paragraph about plastic bags. Pretend you are writing a paper arguing that we should ban plastic bags because they are bad for the environment. You need to put this evidence in your own words to support your argument.

“Stores throughout the world use plastic bags for groceries and other products. As many as 1 trillion bags are used worldwide every year. People often throw the bags in the trash. But because they are lightweight, they can flutter out of trash cans. They also blow off garbage trucks. Countries all over the world struggle with the mess created by the bags. People in China refer to them as “white pollution.” In South Africa, people jokingly call them the “national flower.” But the biggest problem is how the plastic bags harm wildlife. They wash into streams, rivers, and lakes. They end up in the ocean. Environmental groups say that about 100,000 whales, seals, turtles, and other marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year. Because of the problems these bags cause, some countries have banned them” (Parks 15).

What are the main ideas? - 1 trillion bags / year in world -bags are light, do not stay in the trash -100,000 marine animals killed / year -some countries banning the bags