PLAGIARISM: STOP IT AT THE SOURCE Up dated 2012 with MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7 th edition).

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?  Using another person’s words or ideas without giving that person credit.  Plagiarism is a form of stealing—taking another person’s words, ideas, and the credit they deserve!

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM  You need to give credit when you use another person’s exact words.  CORRECT: “In the town, the people moved sullenly through the streets” (Steinbeck 44).  INCORRECT: In the town, the people moved sullenly through the streets.

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM  You need to give credit when you use a paraphrase or summary of another person’s ideas or words.  CORRECT: If a writer uses emotion for its own sake, the writer may be using sentimentality (Anderson 280).  INCORRECT: If a writer uses emotion for its own sake, the writer may be using sentimentality.

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM  You need to give credit when you borrow another person’s ideas, charts, graphs, or other material.  CORRECT: (Time 41).  INCORRECT:

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM  You need to give credit when you use specific facts that are not common knowledge.  CORRECT: In 1665, the sound of bells meant a cart with plague victims was drawing near (Applebee 518).  INCORRECT: In 1665, the sound of bells meant a cart with plague victims was drawing near.

WHAT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE?  Facts or common sense observations that can be found in many sources (usually at least five) and that are known by many people.  There is no need to give credit to any one person for common knowledge.

WHAT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE?  CORRECT: The earth is a planet.  INCORRECT: The earth is a planet (Copernicus 82).  CORRECT: James Joyce penned his influential work Ulysses in multiple languages.  INCORRECT: James Joyce penned his influential work Ulysses in multiple languages (Hershey 42).

MAY I PARAPHRASE?  Paraphrase (or summary) is stating another person’s ideas in your own words.  It is perfectly acceptable to paraphrase or summarize passages from another person’s work, as long as you give the person credit.  Of course, you shouldn’t paraphrase for a whole paper. Instead, include other people’s ideas to support your own arguments, or include other people’s ideas so you can dispute these ideas.

WHAT IS A DIRECT QUOTATION?  Using another person’s exact spoken or written words.  These words should be placed inside quotation marks, and you should always give credit to the other person.  CORRECT: “…they talked of things that they longed for” (Steinbeck 78).  INCORRECT: They talked of things that they longed for.

WHAT IS AN INDIRECT QUOTATION?  Paraphrasing or summarizing another person’s words.  You need to be careful that your new words accurately communicate the other person’s words, and you need to give the other person credit.  CORRECT: We know that they talked about things they wanted (Steinbeck 78).  INCORRECT: We know that they talked about things they didn’t like.

WHAT IS A CITATION?  A formal way of giving credit to another person when you use that person’s words, ideas, or other material.  At Maranatha, students will use a format called MLA. You will need to consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7 th edition). (By the way, these letters stand for Modern Language Association).

HOW DO I DO MLA CITATIONS?  Just as you have seen throughout this presentation, you should put parentheses at the end of a sentence in which you have used another person’s words or ideas. In the parentheses, place the person’s last name and the page number. End with a period.  Note that there is no comma between the name and the page number.

HOW DO I DO MLA CITATIONS?  FOR DIRECT QUOTATIONS: “Her golden hair was done up on the top of her head” (Steinbeck 80).  FOR INDIRECT QUOTATIONS: As stated, the girl had her blonde hair put up (Steinbeck 80).

HOW DO I DO MLA CITATIONS?  At the end of your paper, include a Works Cited or Works Consulted page. On this page, include the publishing information for each source you have used. Alphabetize by author’s last name.  EXAMPLE: Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Simon & Schuster, Print. Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Books, Print.