Transcript Paraphrasing and Plagiarism

Paraphrasing and
Plagiarism
What is plagiarism?
• Download and read the document “Plagiarism Information”
from the wiki.
• In your notes, write down your understanding of what
plagiarism is.
What is paraphrasing?
• Paraphrasing is taking an idea from a source and including it in
your paper but writing the information in your own words.
• Paraphrasing is more than simply writing synonyms for all of
the words in a passage. The syntax and diction need to be
your own.
• Refer to the section “How do I paraphrase” in the “Plagiarism
Information” document. There are some fantastic ways to
approach effective paraphrasing listed there.
Let’s look at a source
• Here is an original source. It is taken from Dennis Baron’s
article “English in a Multicultural Society,” which appeared in
the spring 1991 issue of Social Policy, pages 5-14:
• The notion of a national language sometimes wears the disguise
of inclusion: we must all speak English to participate meaningfully
in the democratic process. Sometimes it argues unity: we must
speak one language to understand one another and share both
culture and country. Those who insist on English often equate
bilingualism with lack of patriotism. Their intention to legislate
official English often masks racism and certainly fails to
appreciate cultural difference: it is a thinly veiled measure to
disenfranchise anyone not like “us.”
Plagiarized Use
• Supporters of U.S. English argue we must all speak one
language to understand one another and share both culture
and country. But Dennis Baron argues that “their intention to
legislate official English often masks racism and certainly fails
to appreciate cultural differences” (1991, p. 8). English-only
legislation really intends to exclude anyone who is not like “us.”
• The potion in bold is taken directly from the source, word for
word, but is not in quotation marks, nor is it cited.
• The portion in italics is a paraphrase of the source, but it is not
cited.
Plagiarized Use
• Calls for a national language sometimes wear the disguise of
inclusion, according to linguist Dennis Baron (1991, p. 5). When U.S.
English argues that we must all speak English to participate
meaningfully in the democratic process, or that we must speak one
language to understand one another and share both culture and
country, Baron says they are masking racism and failing to
appreciate cultural difference (1991, p. 6).
• The words in bold are taken directly from the source, but since there
are no “ “ around them, the writer implies that they are his own
words. This is not the case.
• The words in italics are taken directly from the source with some
very minor changes. The author should copy the quotation word for
word and place it in “ “.
• Note that even though the information in this example is cited, it is
plagiarized because the author is implying that he used his own
language when he is, in reality, using somebody else’s.
Acceptable Use
• Linguist Dennis Baron argues that supporters of official English
legislation use the reasons of inclusion, unity, and patriotism
to justify these laws, but that their efforts may hide racist and
culturally intolerant positions. Baron says that sometimes,
English–only laws are “thinly-veiled measure[s] to
disenfranchise anyone not like ‘us’” (1991, p. 8).
• The author’s name is mentioned in a signal phrase, and the
parenthetical citation provides the rest of the necessary
information.
• Quotation marks clearly show the language that comes directly
from the source.
Practice and Review
• Download the handout “Plagiarism and Citing Practice” and
complete it to see how well you understand the concepts that
we have talked about.
Sue’s Paper
• There is no lead in/signal phrase. The quotation needs to be
part of Sue’s own sentence.
• The citation is incorrect; it should read (Cohen, 2011, p. 27)
• There should be a period after the citation, not after the word
“health.’
• A corrected version of this example might look like this:
• One writer who supports gun control claims, “The very existence
of guns in our society is dangerous to our health” (Cohen, 2011,
p. 27).
Annie’s Paper
• There is no citation for the information even though it came
from a source.
• The paraphrase in the first sentence is too close to the original
language; it is not Annie’s own language.
• Changing “food additives contributed to headaches” to “food
additives can cause headaches” is too similar to the original
language.
• A corrected version of this example might look like this:
• Many studies have suggested that “food additives contributed to
headaches” (“Certain,” 2012, p. 25). Some foods like aged cheese
can make a headache even worse (“Certain,” 2012, p. 25).
John and Mike’s Papers
• Compare your corrections to those of your table mates.
• Can you identify all of the problems in each example?
• Can you come to agreement on the best way to fix each problem?