Transcript Plagiarism – What it is and how to avoid it

Plagiarism – What it is and how
to avoid it
WAUBONSEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism:
presenting another person’s words or ideas as your own,
whether
1.
intentionally through outright cheating or
2.
unintentionally through inaccurate or incomplete documentation.
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Plagiarism is lying
Plagiarism is more than the “borrowing” of mere words: plagiarism involves
using ideas, theories, insights, work products, projects and images created by
others, but claiming that they come from you.
If an idea comes from another author or organization, the audience of your
writing deserves to know the truth.
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Plagiarism is theft
Plagiarism involves claiming someone else’s intellectual property as
your own. The original creators lose their chance to be recognized as
contributors to an idea and the plagiarist attempts to appear credible
and intelligent through an act of theft.
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Plagiarism in non-college
writing
Other kinds of writing borrow ideas and phrases liberally from outside
sources without credit.
Blogs
Organizational websites
Commercial information
Newspaper editorials
But that’s why those sources are often less credible
An article that doesn’t cite its sources doesn’t allow its readers to check
where its information comes from
An organizational or commercial piece of writing, by the Susan G. Komen
organization or by the British Petroleum company may make unsupported
assertions that they can’t provide credible evidence for.
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Plagiarism in college writing
Academic writers base their credibility on their knowledge about their
discipline
Knowledge about the discipline comes from reading current, credible, wellargued sources
Therefore, your credibility in college writing depends on what sources you
have read and how you present those sources in your writing.
Your readers can tell that you have thought about your sources and really
figured out which ideas are right and know why they are right, when you
tell your readers what information in your own paper comes from those
sources.
If you don’t tell readers where your information comes from, your college
readers are less likely to believe your assertions and your basis for making
those assertions.
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Critical thinking
In many college classes, students don’t just read something and repeat
it to other readers in a sort of “report”.
Instead, students are asked to process information from their readings,
compare one idea to other things they’ve read and seen, connect ideas
to one another in new ways, or interpret information with appropriate
lenses.
These kinds of writing activities are called “analysis” or “argument” or
“evaluations” or “proposals” or something like that.
Writers must cite and interact with sources in these kinds of papers so
that readers can see the ideas that the writers are processing,
comparing, connecting and interpreting.
Without such citations, writers compromise their credibility and appear
to be non-critical thinkers.
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Examples of plagiarism include:
Handing in a paper or assignment (in part or in
whole) written by someone else
Incorporating information from a book, article, web
site, or any other source without documenting the
source
Inaccurate or incomplete documentation of the
source of any information
Combining some cited and some non-cited
information in a paper.
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What is not plagiarism?
The learning process often calls upon students to
work collaboratively or seek outside assistance –
such work does not fall within the bounds of
plagiarism.
Be sure to check with your teacher about what is
expected of you in collaborative assignments.
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Examples of work that is not
plagiarism include:
Working on a group project
Seeking assistance from the Writing Assistance
Center
Asking another student to read over your work and
offer his or her opinion
Consulting with an instructor on a paper or
assignment
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Why is plagiarism such a concern?
When a student takes a shortcut to completing an
assignment or hands in someone else’s work, he or she
has missed the opportunity to learn.
Failing to cite sources indicates a lack of respect for the
educational project being undertaken in the class.
Students who cheat may find later that they may have to
use the very skills and abilities the assignment was
designed for them to learn, namely critical thinking and
source analysis.
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Why is plagiarism such a concern?
Plagiarism also harms everyone else.
Your education is meaningful if the world believes that
students do their own work. If the world believes that
students don’t do their own work, a college degree
becomes less valuable.
If employers or other colleges start to think that
Waubonsee allows cheating to take place, then
everyone’s degrees and classes here are suspect.
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How can you avoid plagiarism?
There are several ways you can avoid plagiarism.
Many are common sense, but others require that
you learn the conventions and procedures of
standard citation and documentation.
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How can you avoid plagiarism?
As you prepare a paper or assignment:
1. Keep careful records of the sources you consult. If
you record this information as you work, you will
avoid needless searching later on.
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How can you avoid plagiarism?
2.
As you prepare a paper or assignment:
Familiarize yourself with the instructor’s and the
discipline’s preferred method of citation and
documentation. In English 101 and 102, you will
learn about MLA and APA documentation formats.
Ask your other instructors what methods they
think are appropriate for their assignments. If you
need additional assistance, Waubonsee offers
workshops on research writing and the services of
tutors in the Writing Assistance Center.
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How can you avoid plagiarism?
As you prepare a paper or assignment:
3. Learn what falls within the limits of common
knowledge. Common knowledge generally
consists of facts and information widely known
and uncontroversial.
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How can you avoid plagiarism?
As you prepare a paper or assignment:
4.
When in doubt, cite it! If you are not sure
whether or not the information would be
considered common knowledge, either ask your
instructor or cite it to be safe.
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How can you avoid plagiarism?
As you prepare a paper or assignment:
5. Place quotation marks around words that are
not your own, even if you’ve documented the
source at the end of the paper or
assignment. Quotation marks indicate that
you are using someone else’s language, and
you need to include exactly where the
information appeared (i.e. page number, web
address, etc.)
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How can you avoid plagiarism?
As you prepare a paper or assignment:
6. Be careful when you paraphrase information.
Paraphrasing refers to including someone
else’s information in your own words. Learn
what makes for an appropriate paraphrase
and remember to cite – even though you
may have changed the language, the author
still owns the ideas behind the language.
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How can you avoid plagiarism?
Before you hand in a paper or assignment:
1. Keep copies of drafts, outlines, and any other planning
documents you used in preparing course assignments. If
any questions arise, you will then have evidence you’ve
done your own work.
2. Double-check your documentation and citation form for
accuracy. Read through the paper or assignment asking
yourself: Did I know this before I began my research?
Would I have expressed this the same way had I not been
exposed to my sources? Does every quotation or
paraphrase clearly indicate the source? Are paraphrases
representative of my own language use?
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How can you avoid plagiarism?
After you hand in a paper or assignment
1. Keep a dated copy for yourself. In case
questions arise, you will have a record of the
completed version.
2. Do not allow others to hand in your work as
their own. Allowing others to misrepresent
their work is also plagiarism and truly
undermines the hard work you have put into
the learning process.
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What are the consequences for
plagiarizing?
The penalty for plagiarizing will be determined by
the instructor. Penalties vary depending on the
severity of the incident, whether it was outright
theft or faulty documentation. However, lack of
knowledge regarding documentation is no excuse
for plagiarism. Penalties may include receiving a
grade of F for the course, receiving an F on the
assignment, or referral to the Student Conduct
Board. The Student Conduct Board may require
plagiarizers to take a class, or the board may
suspend or expel repeat offenders
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Forms of plagiarism:
An example
Original source:
The following text is an excerpt from a book by Michael Lewis
called The Big Short.
The line between gambling and investing is artificial and thin. The soundest
investment has the defining trait of a bet (you losing all of your money in
hopes of making a bit more), and the wildest speculation has the salient
characteristic of an investment (you might get your money back with interest).
Maybe the best definition of “investing” is “gambling with the odds in your
favor.” The people on the short side of the subprime mortgage market had
gambled with the odds in their favor. The people on the other side – the
entire financial system, essentially – had gambled with the odds against them.
Up to this point, the story of the big short could not be simpler. What’s
strange and complicated about it, however, is that pretty much all the
important people on both sides of the gamble left the table rich.
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Forms of plagiarism:
An example
Version 1 (Plagiarism) – This version is direct plagiarism. It
copies the text verbatim and fails to acknowledge the source in
any way.
Investing can be a risky business. The line between gambling and
investing is artificial and thin. The soundest investment has the
defining trait of a bet (you losing all of your money in hopes of
making a bit more), and the wildest speculation has the salient
characteristic of an investment (you might get your money back
with interest). Maybe the best definition of “investing” is
“gambling with the odds in your favor.”
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Forms of plagiarism:
An example
Version 2 (Plagiarism) – This version is another form of
plagiarism, although less direct. It is a paraphrase of the
original version, but the ideas still need to be acknowledged as
coming from an outside source.
Investing can be a risky business. It is actually a lot like gambling.
Even a good investment is a lot like a bet, and the craziest bet
looks a lot like an investment. Good investors have figured out
how to gamble with the odds in their favor.
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Forms of plagiarism:
An example
Version 3 (Plagiarism) – This version quotes verbatim, but
doesn’t use quotation marks to indicate that the material is a
direct quotation. A reader may believe that much of the
information is the student’s; therefore, it is plagiarism. The
parenthetical citation at the end is not sufficient to show the
reader which information is from Lewis.
Investing can be a risky business. It is actually a lot like gambling. The
soundest investment has the defining trait of a bet (you losing all of your
money in hopes of making a bit more), and the wildest speculation has the
salient characteristic of an investment (you might get your money back with
interest). Maybe the best definition of “investing” is “gambling with the odds
in your favor.” Even a good investment is a lot like a bet, and the craziest bet
looks a lot like an investment. Good investors have figured out how to gamble
with the odds in their favor. (Lewis, 256)
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Forms of plagiarism:
An example
Version 4 (Could be better) –This version is paraphrased, and
the source is acknowledged, so it is not exactly plagiarism.
However, a reader will be unclear until the end of this
paragraph that the information comes from an outside source.
And a reader will be unclear which information comes from that
source
Investing can be a risky business. It is actually a lot like gambling.
Even a good investment is a lot like a bet, and the craziest bet
looks a lot like an investment. Good investors have figured out
how to gamble with the odds in their favor. (Lewis, 256)
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Forms of plagiarism:
An example
Version 5 (BEST)– This version makes it clear from the start
where the information comes from and does so in a fluent and
engaging way using a signal phrase to introduce the original
author, and to remind the reader that all of these ideas are
Lewis’s, not the paper writer’s .
Investing can be risky business, as Michael Lewis explains in his
book, The Big Short, “The line between gambling and investing is
artificial and thin” (256). Lewis explains that even good
investments have a chance to lose all of their money, and even
risky bets offer gamblers a chance to increase their money. But in
the end, Lewis claims, “Good investors have figured out how to
gamble with the odds in their favor” (256).
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And of course, the book must be
entered on a works cited page in
MLA style as well
Works Cited
Lewis, Michael. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. New York:
W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.
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