Plagiarism and Paraphrasing

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarize: to steal or pass

off (the ideas or words of

another) as one’s own: use

(another’s production)

without crediting the source(Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th ed).

It’s not a black & white issue.Plagiarism can get a bit muddy….

Purdue University Online Writing Lab, http://owl.English.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html

We want to know

what

YOUthink

YOUknow

YOUlearn

So WHEN do you have to give credit to someone else? (cite your source)

words

ideas

graphics

http://flickr.com/photos/paws_and_toes/539491001/

http://flickr.com/photos/paws_and_toes/539491001/

What are the two

times you don’t need to

cite your source?

Your Own Information

Common Knowledge

Which of these do you need to cite?

How I feel about Sept. 11, 2001.

NO. It’s my words and ideas.

Information I learned about whales on a National Geographic television program

YES! Someone else’s words and ideas even though it isn’t on paper.

A quote from Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech

YES—if it’s in quotes then you must cite it.

That the United States declared independence from England on July 4, 1776.

NO—this is “common knowledge”

Quote

How to Quote? Hit the nail directly on the head with a hammer!

Must match your source exactly word-for-word

Must be just a small part of the original (maximum of 2 sentences per paragraph)

Paraphrase

It sounds simple, but it can be tricky.

The rule is: USE YOUR OWN WORDS

So How Do We Do It?

o Read the passage carefully

o Decide the main ideas of the passage

o Highlight important words or phrases

o Put the main points in your own words

PARAPHRASE ME!

Example 1

Passage from Book

• Ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris, a good and wise king, was the first pharaoh. He spread knowledge to other parts of the world, while his wife, Isis, ruled Egypt in his place.

Good Paraphrase

• King Osiris was the first pharaoh and spread knowledge. Queen Isis ruled Egypt when he was gone.

Poor Paraphrasing

• King Osiris was an ancient Egyptian King and the first pharaoh. He was good and wise because he spread knowledge to other parts of the world. His wife Isis ruled Egypt in his place.

Example 2

Passage from Booko Upon returning home,

Osiris was murdered by his evil brother Set, who cut Osiris’s body into pieces and dumped it in the Nile River. Isis found the body and put it back together by winding linen bandages around it.

Good Paraphrase

• Osiris’s brother Set killed Osiris by cutting his body into pieces, and Isis put the body back together.

Poor Paraphrase

• Osiris was murdered and Isis found the body

• Some employees have to work long hours in hot, overcrowded conditions for low pay.

• Some workers are exploited.

• Computers can process information quicker and with less mistakes than people.

• Computers are more efficient than people.

Summarize

• Include only the main points

• Read the source first, make notes, then, write a summary without looking at the source