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How to Avoid Plagiarism

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Introduction

What is PLAGIARISM?

My job is to make sure you know

what it is, and how to avoid it…

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Topics of Discussion

So, what is this thing called

plagiarism?

How can I avoid plagiarism within

my research paper and other

work?

Why is academic integrity so

important if I‟m only looking to get

out of school?

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How do we define “PLAGIARISM”?

Tough one… It ranges from failure

to properly cite your sources all the

way through “wholesale cheating”.

American Heritage Dictionary: the

theft and use of another‟s ideas or

writings as one‟s own.”

Plagiarism can be unintentional or

deliberate, but it can be avoided!

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Examples of Plagiarism

Buying a paper from a research

services or term paper mill…$$$$

Turning in another student‟s work

without that student‟s knowledge

Turning in a paper that someone

else wrote for you

Copying from a source without

proper acknowledgement

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Examples of Plagiarism, continued Copying materials from a source using

proper documentation but leaving out

quotation marks

Paraphrasing from a source without

appropriate documentation

AND….thanks to the Internet,

Turning in a paper from a “free term

paper” website…

PUT THE BRAKES ON PLAGIARISM! (http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~janicke/plagiary.htm)

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What are “Paper Mills”? Paper mills are businesses

(usually on-line) that provide

you with a pre-written research

paper.

Does the disclaimer matter?

Cost: $1-10 per page, with

delivery being up to $15

Some require a submitted paper

in order for a “freebie”

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Examples of Paper Mills

Yep, I know „em, as do MANY others!

There are at least 250 sites that

promote these “specials”…

FREE PAPERS

School Sucks.com

Other People‟s Papers

Absolutely Free On-Line Essays

PURCHASED PAPERS Evil House of Cheat

A1 Term Paper

Genius Papers

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What does the purchaser get?

Other than getting in academic

trouble, you would get…

No guarantee of quality or

accuracy

Papers that are dated and not

reflective of current events and

trends

Substandard writing and research (www.coastal.edu/library/papermil.htm)

CAVEAT EMPTOR!

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How to Avoid Plagiarism

Why should I be concerned?

How can I prevent plagiarism in my

work?

What are the guidelines I should

follow to avoid plagiarizing

someone else‟s work?

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Why should I be concerned about plagiarism?

If you do it, you‟re cheating

yourself- what are YOU learning

from this?

It‟s dishonest because it

misrepresents you and your work.

It can get you in LOTS of trouble!

It devalues the original work.

It‟s WRONG; it‟s THEFT.

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How can I avoid plagiarism within my work? The most important way to avoid

plagiarizing is…

GIVE CREDIT TO YOUR

SOURCES!

Whenever you use…

another person‟s idea, opinion, or

theory

any facts, statistics, graphs,

drawings,etc.-- any pieces of info.--

that are not common knowledge

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Avoiding Plagiarism

AND whenever you use...

quotations of another person‟s

actual written or spoken words

a paraphrase of another person‟s

written or spoken words

IF YOU DON‟T KNOW,

ASK, ASK, ASK!!!

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Remember... Plagiarism can be unintentional (“I

didn‟t know”) to planned and deliberate (“I‟m NOT doing my own work, I‟ll just „borrow‟ this person‟s…”).

Either way, it‟s still THEFT. And you WILL get in trouble!

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Paraphrasing

This is when you use your own words and ideas to describe what you‟ve seen and/or read…

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Okay, read this passage, then put it in your

own words….IN WRITING!!!

The rise of industry, the growth of cities,

and the expansion of the population were

the three great developments of the

nineteenth century American history. As

new, larger, steam-powered factories

became a feature of the American

landscape in the East, they transferred farm

hands into industrial laborers, and provided

jobs for a rising tide of immigrants.

Williams, Joyce. Lizzie Borden: A Case Book

of Family and Crime in the 1890s. Indiana

University Press, Bloomington: 1980.

This is MLA

Style

bibliography!

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NOW…

We’ll discuss in class what you’ve done, and

how to keep on doing what you’re doing, or

stop before you go any further…

And remember:

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The key is to know what plagiarism is…

Intentional plagiarism: deliberate copying or use of another's work without credit.

Unintentional plagiarism: results from not knowing citation standards ("I thought the Internet was free!"), from sloppy research and poor note-taking, or from careless "cutting and pasting” of electronic sources. (UC Davis Website)

IGNORANCE IS NO EXCUSE!

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Guidelines for avoiding plagiarism

Use your own thoughts and ideas; choose

with care…

Give credit for copied, adapted, or

paraphrased material

Use quotations if you repeat another‟s

exact words

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Guidelines, cont.

Avoid using others‟ works with minor

changes

i.e., “Less” instead of “fewer”,

reversing the order of sentence, etc.

Common knowledge: If MOST people

would know this info, then you‟re okay…

WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE!

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Examples to AVOID…

The Original Source:

" In research writing, sources are cited for

two reasons: to alert readers to the

sources of your information and to give

credit to the writers from whom you

have borrowed words and ideas." Another

MLA

Bibliography!

Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. St.

Martin's Press, New York: 1995.

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Plagiarism (same words, no quotation marks):

In research writing, sources are cited to alert

readers to the sources of your information and

to give credit to the writers from whom you have

borrowed words and ideas.

The student has used the author's exact words, leaving out

only a phrase, without quotation marks or a citation.

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Also Plagiarism (incorrect paraphrase):

In research writing, we cite sources for a couple

reasons: to notify readers of our information

sources and give credit to those from whom we

have borrowed. (Hacker).

The student has made only slight changes, substituting

words such as "a couple" for "two", "notify" for "alert", and

"our"/"we" for "your"/"you," leaving out a few words, and

giving an incomplete citation.

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A Solution (appropriate paraphrase):

A researcher cites her sources to ensure

her audience knows where she got her

information, and to recognize and

credit the original work (Hacker, 260).

This student has paraphrased in her own

words, while accurately reflecting and citing

the author's ideas.

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A Different Solution (quotation with cite):

In her book A Writer's Reference, Diana Hacker

notes, "In research writing, sources are cited for

two reasons: to alert readers to the sources of your

information and to give credit to the writers from

whom you have borrowed words and ideas" (260).

By introducing his source, the student signals that the

following material is from that source. All verbatim words are

in quotation marks, and the source of the quote is cited with

a page number.

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What is “integrity”, and what does it matter to me? According to the American

Heritage Dictionary, integrity

is: “Strict personal honesty

and independence.”

What does that mean?

The key is consistency!

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IT’S ALL ABOUT TRUST!

Trust is essential in any relationship

(personal or professional)- DUH!

Who can trust someone who is

dishonest or unfair?

INTEGRITY= A VERY IMPORTANT

GOAL

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Why is integrity so important in academia?

Risky Business- is it worth it?

“But Everybody Does It”- we all

have excuses, BUT would you feel

proud if your actions were

publicized?

Evaluate Risks- What are the

consequences, both now and in

the future?

Cheating Hurts Others- It‟s like a

disease…

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So, why does integrity matter?

If cheating becomes the norm, we‟re in

BIG trouble…

Honesty and good faith are a necessity

We all have a common stake in our

school, our community, and our society;

do you want…

Our actions do matter! It is essential that

we act with integrity in order to build the

kind of world in which we want to live…

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Graphics/Audio and Information gathered from:

www.epcc.edu/ftp/Homes/ elcon/031402t0.htm

www.moviewavs.com

faculty.delhi.edu/vanbruap/

plagiarism_assignment.htm

www.funwavs.com

http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~janicke/plagiary.htm

http://sja.ucdavis.edu/integ1.htm

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