ACADEMIC DISCOURSE B. Mitsikopoulou PLAGIARISM AND PARAPHRASING

The use of secondary sources Why use secondary sources in your text a) To include in your writing material you have read somewhere (e.g. in a book) b) To support your own ideas and the points you make in a text c) To avoid plagiarism

What is plagiarism?

WHY DOCUMENT TO AVOID PLAGIARISM Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of another writer without giving proper credit. The plagiarist usually intends to pass off his paper as being an original creation when it is not.

Plagiarism as stealing Plagiarism is a form of stealing. If you copy a sentence, a phrase or an idea and use it in your paper without acknowledging its owner (the author), you are stealing from the author of the source. Please notice: Plagiarism refers to borrowing both words and ideas

Forms of Plagiarism Plagiarism takes many forms 1. Word-for-word copying without using quotation marks or crediting the writer’s source. 2. Using another student’s work but turning it in under your own name. 3. Using a catchy or clever phrase or comment without giving credit. 4. Taking material from a variety of sources and tying it together to make it look original.

DOCUMENTATION Documentation gives the reader the source of the information you use in your paper. It says to the reader: “Here is where I found this information in case you are interesting in finding out more about this topic”.

WAYS TO AVOID PLAGIARISM 1. PARAPHRASE 2. SUMMARIZE 3. QUOTE

PARAPHRASE WHYa) Restate an idea using your own words b) Avoid having many different writing styles in your paper WHATa)Important idea not well stated b)Material you would like to incorporate in your text but you cannot quote WHENIncorporate material you have read into your paper HOWBy changing a) vocabulary and b) sentence structure + reference to the source

SUMMARY WHYCondense a paragraph, a text etc WHATa) The gist of a text in one-two sentences (one-sentence summary) b) The main ideas of a text (global summary) c) An aspect of a text you have read (selective summary) WHEN Recall an idea in a text HOWBy identifying the topic sentence and the main points of a text or an aspect of a text + reference to the source

QUOTE WHYTransfer the exact words of a text and support a point you make in your paper WHATSomething brief and well stated (remember: quotations in a text can be up to 10-15% of the total number of words) WHENEmphasize a point HOWBy using quotation marks and transferring the exact words of the original text + reference to the source

PARAPHRASE

What is a paraphrase?

DEFINING PARAPHRASING To paraphrase is to read and understand a piece of source material (which can be of any length) and then to rewrite it in your own words. How can you rewrite a text in your own words? (a) using different vocabulary words, and (b) using different sentence structure

The most important aspect of paraphrase The ability to relate the borrowed idea to the writer’s purpose

IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF PARAPHRASING Meaning The paraphrase must have the same meaning as the source: it should also have the same relationships between main ideas and supporting details. Length The length should not vary much from the length of the original. Style It should be your own and not an imitation of the source.

HOW TO PARAPHRASE …words Use different words when possible, usually more common synonyms, expressions and simpler phrases. Keep specialized vocabulary which has no synonyms (e.g. calcium, plastic, theory), numbers and formulae.

By changing the vocabulary (verbs/nouns) e.g. She examined the difficulties that… =She investigated the problems that…. Activity: Rewrite the following Smith and Jones (1991) found that the circumstances had…

CHANGING VOCABULARY ITEMS Character words Character words are like a writer’s signature, because they carry the style of the original author. Therefore, they must be changed when paraphrasing. How to identify character words: They are almost always words of substance – such as nouns, verbs, special adjectives, and unusual adverbs. A character word is one the reader is likely to notice and remember: it is not a common class word such as building or plant but a specific word such as high-rise or philodendron.

RECOGNIZING CHARACTER WORDS In each of the following set of words, identify one is unusual or one that is noticed and remembered. 1. one, tick, was, and, man 2. beautiful, cumbersome, interesting, important 3. car, automobile, vehicle, conveyance 4. flower, daisy, blossom 5. walk, run, amble, move 6. dig, uncover, excavate, work 7. parched, dry, thirsty 8. late, delayed, tardy

Changing vocabulary items The words you have selected to be changed from an original text can be changed in two general ways: a) Through a synonym to substitute original word b) Through circumlocution (a phrase to describe the meaning of the word) e.g. The basic tenet of the religion is monotheism. = A basic dogma of the religion is belief in a single Deity.

HOW TO PARAPHRASE …grammatical structures The grammatical structure should be changed if this can be done without changing meaning. Different things you can do: 1. break up long sentences 2. combine short sentences 3. expand phrases for clarity 4. shorten sentences for conciseness

By changing the verb form (e.g. from active to passive) e.g. Johns (2010) analysed the students’ difficulties and … = The students’ difficulties were analysed by Johns (2010) Activity: Rewrite the following Brown and While (2009) observed the problems caused my seminars.

By changing the word class (from verb to noun phrase) e.g. The reports were completed in April…. =The completion of the reports in April ensured that…. Activity: Rewrite the following James and Harris (2004) concluded that there was a need for note-taking practice.

STEPS IN PARAPHRASING 1. Read the source 2. Understand the source 3. Put away the source 4. Make a simple list of the main points you remember from the source 5. Reread the source quickly to make sure you have included all the important points 6. Put away the source again 7. Join the points into appropriate sentence structure 8. Reread your paraphrase, checking the grammar and organization if necessary

A GOOD PARAPHRASE IS Accurate the ideas in the paraphrase are the same as in the source Original the language used is different from the source Grammatical

Paraphrase the direct quotation below Text 1 “Terseness of note taking rather than mere quantity seems to be an essential ingredient of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

Activity on notetaking Paraphrase 1 As Dunkel affirmed in 1988 conciseness is the key to a successful notetaking. As Dunkel (1998) affirmed, “Terseness of note taking rather than mere quantity seems to be an essential ingredient of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

Activity on notetaking Paraphrase 2 Dunkel (1988) argues that an important factor of successful notetaking is not being simple but being brief and concise. “Terseness of note taking rather than mere quantity seems to be an essential ingredient of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

Activity on notetaking Paraphrase 3 As Dunkel points out, the briefer one’s notes are the better result is achieved. “Terseness of note taking rather than mere quantity seems to be an essential ingredient of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

Activity on notetaking Paraphrase 4 According to Dunkel (1988) notetaking can only prove useful when it is characterized by accuracy and not quantity. “Terseness of note taking rather than mere quantity seems to be an essential ingredient of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

Activity on notetaking Paraphrase 5 As Dunkel states writing briefly is the most functional way of taking notes. “Terseness of note taking rather than mere quantity seems to be an essential ingredient of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

Paraphrase the direct quotation below on notetaking Text 2 “Several other researchers have found similar positive relationships between “terseness” of notes and test performance” (Chaudron, Loschky and Cook, 1994)

Now put the two paraphrases together in a brief report. Use a linking expression to connect the two sentences. “Terseness of note taking rather than mere quantity seems to be an essential ingredient of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988) “Several other researchers have found similar positive relationships between “terseness” of notes and test performance” (Chaudron, Loschky and Cook, 1994)

Paraphrase the two direct quotations relating to the same topic (teaching of academic discourse) “In the past, composition and argumentation played a key role in higher education, as the teaching of scientific discourse consisted largely of teaching students about how to compose ideas in writing” (Jones, 1990). “The process of students moving from school to university studies is currently associated with the acquisition of an increased expertise in the discourse and culture of academia rather than an increased ability to argue in writing” (Brown & Mitchell, 1998).