To Cite, or Not to Cite? By Tabbitha Zepeda Plagiarism RWLC Workshop Fall 2010

What is plagiarism? Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or imitation of someone else’s thoughts or ideas and using them as one’s own. Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010

Why is plagiarism important? While taking college courses, students are influenced by class discussion, text, and lecture. Using such influences in one’s own writing is inevitable, but claiming that such ideas are one’s own is dishonest and does not give credit to the source. Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010

What happens if a student is caught plagiarizing? Each college is different, but all take disciplinary measures when approaching cases of plagiarism. At San Joaquin Delta College, faculty members may enter a failing grade for the assignment or exercise in question, enter a failing grade for the entire course, give additional coursework or other exercises, or recommend further action to the Vice President of Student Services, such as suspension from the college. The length of suspension may be from one class up to and including the remainder of the school term to all classes and activities of the community college for one or more terms. Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010

How does a student avoid plagiarizing? To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use: Another person’s idea, opinion, or theory Any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings – any pieces of information – that are not common knowledge Quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words Paraphrase of another person’s spoken or written words Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010

5 Basic Types of Plagiarism Cut and Paste Changing a word or two Changing all of the words Quoting without source’s information Using a quote without showing where it begins and ends Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010

Activity Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Read the essay “Pow-Wow, Why We Dance” by Melinda de Ocampo. Pay particular attention to the second paragraph, which focuses on where pow-wows are usually held, as we will be discussing it later.

Cut and Paste Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 The cut and paste method of plagiarism is the most obvious form, and as such, most people believe it is the definition of plagiarism. When a person takes a section of text and copies it word for word without giving credit to the source, it is like cutting the information from the book (or magazine, website, etc.) and gluing it into the paper. These words are not the words of the paper’s author, but of the source, and therefore are being plagiarized.

Example Based on “Pow-Wow, Why We Dance ” Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as such, the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. Most local pow-wows have them at high schools or at some colleges, while larger pow-wows are always held on Native plains and vary in length from one to three days. For several years, a pow-wow lasting two days was held on the field used for physical education classes at Webster middle school in Stockton. The location was decided upon by Mr. Hodges, a reading teacher and strong member of the Native American community. Because pow- wows take a significant amount of planning, it is common for locations to be found through outlets such as Mr. Hodges.

Change a Word or Two Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Some believe that plagiarism can be avoided by changing a word or phrase within a sentence used from an outside source. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Plagiarism is like Christmas – it’s the thought that counts! Because the concept behind the words is what’s most important, changing part of the sentence doesn’t make the idea original, or the thought your own. Credit still must be given to the source.

Example Based on “Pow-Wow, Why We Dance” Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as such, the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. Most pow-wows are given at high schools or colleges, while larger gatherings are always held on Native plains and vary from one to three days. For several years, a pow-wow lasting two days was held on the field used for physical education classes at Webster middle school in Stockton. The location was decided upon by Mr. Hodges, a reading teacher and strong member of the Native American community. Because pow-wows take a significant amount of planning, it is common for locations to be found through outlets such as Mr. Hodges.

Paraphrasing Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Paraphrasing is when someone takes a piece of text from a source and rewrites the information in his/her own words. Sometimes paraphrasing is necessary, and easier to incorporate into one’s paper than a direct quote. Unfortunately the idea behind the words, no matter how they are arranged or expressed, stays the same, and thus the source’s information is still required. Without giving credit where credit is due, one is still guilty of plagiarism.

Example Based on “Pow-Wow, Why We Dance” Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as such, the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. Many times pow-wows are held on school campuses, especially if they are small in size. Native lands, however, are always the location for larger events that can last up to three days. For several years, a pow-wow lasting two days was held on the field used for physical education classes at Webster middle school in Stockton. The location was decided upon by Mr. Hodges, a reading teacher and strong member of the Native American community. Because pow-wows take a significant amount of planning, it is common for locations to be found through outlets such as Mr. Hodges.

Quoting Without the Source’s Information Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 You’ve recognized that you are using a direct quote, so you put quotation marks around it to avoid plagiarism… but you forgot to name your source! If you don’t tell your reader where your information is coming from, it’s considered plagiarism. You can correct this by giving the original author’s name, or, in the case that there is no author listed, provide the name of the essay/book/website. Remember to always cite when you write!

Example Based on “Pow-Wow, Why We Dance” Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as such, the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. “Most local pow-wows have them at high schools or at some colleges, while larger pow-wows are always held on Native plains and vary in length from one to three days.” For several years, a pow-wow lasting two days was held on the field used for physical education classes at Webster middle school in Stockton. The location was decided upon by Mr. Hodges, a reading teacher and strong member of the Native American community. Because pow-wows take a significant amount of planning, it is common for locations to be found through outlets such as Mr. Hodges.

Using a Quote Without Boundaries Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Quotation marks are used to indicate the use of a direct quote, but they also tell your reader where your quote begins and ends. If you are indeed using your source’s words, you must show the reader that you are doing so. Likewise, you must introduce where paraphrasing begins and ends, by offering some form of indicator. e.g. According to Melinda de Campo, … Melinda de Campo suggests …

Example 1 Based on “Pow-Wow, Why We Dance” Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as such, the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. Most local pow-wows have them at high schools or at some colleges, while larger pow-wows are always held on Native plains and vary in length from one to three days (de Campo). For several years, a pow-wow lasting two days was held on the field used for physical education classes at Webster middle school in Stockton. The location was decided upon by Mr. Hodges, a reading teacher and strong member of the Native American community. Because pow-wows take a significant amount of planning, it is common for locations to be found through outlets such as Mr. Hodges.

Parameters Are Important Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 In this example, the quotation marks are left off, which creates more than one problem. Foremost, the direct quote is not documented, so the reader might think that the information is paraphrased. Second, without the quotation marks, the reader might assume that the first sentence of the paragraph is also included in the quote. Either way, your instructor would count this error as plagiarism, because the author is not being connected to her work properly.

Example 2 Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 According to Melinda de Campo, Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as such, the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. “Most local pow-wows have them at high schools or at some colleges, while larger pow-wows are always held on Native plains and vary in length from one to three days.” For several years, a pow-wow lasting two days was held on the field used for physical education classes at Webster middle school in Stockton. The location was decided upon by Mr. Hodges, a reading teacher and strong member of the Native American community. Because pow-wows take a significant amount of planning, it is common for locations to be found through outlets such as Mr. Hodges.

Example 2 Complications Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Example 2 also has a couple of issues that need to be adjusted for plagiarism. With the introduction of the source at the very beginning, it suggests that the information being used is the whole paragraph, not just the direct quote. Also, without some indicator that the information from the source has ended, the reader has no way to know where the writer’s original thoughts begin.

Something Else to Consider Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 If you need to alter a direct quote in any way for clarity or sentence structure, you must let your reader know that the quote you’re using has been altered. To do this, include brackets around words added or changed, as well as an ellipsis within brackets if omitting a section of the quote.

Omitting Text Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 EXAMPLE: (original quote) As de Ocampo describes, “If a pow-wow has a sponsor such as a tribe, college or organization, many or all members of the committee may come from that group.” (edited quote) As de Ocampo describes, “If a pow-wow has a sponsor […], many or all members of the committee may come from that group.”

In Summary Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 When using outside information, you must include the source (name of author, website, etc.), quotation marks for direct quotes, and a clear indication of where the borrowed text begins and ends. If any of these details are not included, it’s likely that you are plagiarizing.

ACTIVITY Tabbitha Zepeda © 2010 Using the essay “Pow-Wow, Why We Dance,” write a paragraph responding to one aspect of the piece. If you knew nothing about pow-wows, you could write about one of the things you learned. If you have attended a pow-wow in the past, you could compare a part of the essay to your own experience. If your culture also values dance, you might want to write a paragraph comparing them. The purpose of this exercise is to use the essay as a source, and cite the quote or paraphrased section you use appropriately.