Parenthetical Citations a.k.a. “how to avoid plagiarism”

What is plagiarism? Any manner of copying (in full or part), stealing (without permission), or using ideas, that does not give credit to the original creator. Plagiarism is NOT TOLERATED and will reward your lack of effort with a 0 and a visit with Mr. Gordon, plus a phone call to your parents!

How Do I Avoid Plagiarism? Cite your sources Put quotations around words that are directly from someone else and state who said it—poem title, line numbers, etc. Give citations so others can double check your work and accuracy Think for yourself!

Parenthetical Citations What are they? –A brief method showing where your information came from –A way to show the idea, quote, fact, stat, etc isn’t your idea—i.e. stolen or plagiarized –A way to protect your ideas and opinions!

When do I need Parenthetical Citations? After any quote, stat, fact, etc After any paraphrase of a quote or idea After a specific line from a passage of literature (poetry, in our case)

What is the format? After your specific quote, fact, stat, etc. put a parenthesis, the author’s last name, the page/line number, and the second parenthesis. “While I pondered weak and weary” (Poe 1).

What if I use two poems by the same author/poet? You can substitute the title of the poem for the author/poet, but you still need the line number. “Once upon a midnight dreary…” (“The Raven” 1). -don’t forget to add quotation marks around the title of a poem, even in parentheses!

Is this the only way?!! No! You could include the SAME information within your writing. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” the speaker wonders “while I pondered weak and weary” in line one. -Note the same elements. -HOWEVER, for this essay you must have at least 3 examples of parenthetical citations!!!!

A Note About Quotes Keep them brief—uses ellipses to cut out what you don’t need –“…while I pondered weak and weary.” –“Because I could not stop for death, he kindly…”

Notes on Quotes 2 Embed the quotations as much as possible. (This helps keep them short!) –“embed” means to put them into your sentence, so it reads as one complete idea. Ex. In “The Raven” the speaker is “weak and weary” from being up late at night (Poe 1). -note the short quote and parenthetical citation at the END of the sentence.

More Embedded Quotes Embedded quotes can be anywhere in your sentence but NOT just anywhere in a paragraph. –Must be introduced and analyzed (so not the first or last sentence of a para Another Ex. The speaker personifies death as a “kindly friend” to show that she isn’t forced to go to her death (“Because I Could Not Stop for Death 2).

Take this quote and embed it into a sentence with a parenthetical citation. “Success is counted sweetest, to those who ne’er succeed.” Emily Dickinson, “Success is Counted Sweetest” line 1-2