DOCUMENTATIONor

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARIZING

What’s on in Unit 4:• Reading:

– Unit introduction– The Kaplan Guide to Successful Writing, chs. 11-12; – Ceil Pillsbury article– Interactive tutorials on plagiarism, citation, paraphrasing

• Invention Lab: Find a credible research article related to your big idea, write an APA citation for that source, and paraphrase a key point from the article.

• Seminar: Review of APA citation and paraphrasing, discussion of Ceil Pillsbury article

• Project: Pre-interview worksheet & comparison/contrast of 2-3 sources related to your topic.

More about the project: Consists of two parts: 1.Pre-interview worksheet:

– helps you to think about who to interview– what questions to ask– and why

2.Comparison/contrast of 2-3 sources related to your topic:

– read, summarize 3 sources– compare and contrast them: what info? how helpful?

•Present the whole project in a single Word document, with title page and list of references. •Project should be in APA format.

Plagiarism

• What is it? • How do you avoid it?• What is documentation?• What is APA formatting? • and how come it’s not the scary boogeyman

you always thought it was?

What is plagiarism?1. Attempting to pass someone else’s work

off as one’s own; stealing from another person’s work on purpose.

• This is the kind of plagiarism that people usually think of when they hear the word. However, it really is the least common kind of plagiarism.

• What’s far more common is the second kind:

What is plagiarism?2. Accidentally “borrowing” another writer’s

words and/or ideas without citing them. This kind of plagiarism arises when writers

(a) forget to cite the source of their information, (b) or paraphrase carelessly, so that the original writer’s style and/or wording are still present.

What is plagiarism?

• Writers are often unaware when they commit this second kind of plagiarism.

• But both are equally serious transgressions. They can even land the writer in legal trouble.

How to avoid problems?• Paraphrase: Use your own choice of words

and phrasing, not the source’s.• Quote: using quotation marks when the

original wording must be retained. • Document thoroughly: every piece of

information and idea taken from elsewhere should be cited.

• When in doubt, CITE!

Are there any other reasons you can think of for thorough and careful citation?

Paraphrasing and Quotation

Key Strategies for avoidingplagiarism

Antarctic exploration of the early twentieth century was unlike exploration of anywhere else on earth. No dangerous beasts or savage natives barred the pioneering explorer’s way. Here, with windspeeds up to nearly 200 miles an hour and temperatures as extreme as -100 degrees Fahrenheit, the essential competitions were pure and uncomplicated, being between man and the unfettered force of raw Nature, and man and the limits of his own endurance.

Alexander, C. (1999). The Endurance: Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Use #1:Antarctic exploration

of the early twentieth century was unlike exploration of anywhere else on earth. The essential competitions were pure and uncomplicated, being between man and raw Nature, and man and the limits of his own endurance.

Antarctic exploration of the early twentieth century was unlike exploration of anywhere else on earth. No dangerous beasts or savage natives barred the pioneering explorer’s way. Here, with windspeeds up to nearly 200 miles an hour and temperatures as extreme as -100 degrees Fahrenheit, the essential competitions were pure and uncomplicated, being between man and the unfettered force of raw Nature, and man and the limits of his own endurance.

Alexander, C. (1999). The Endurance: Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Use #2: Early twentieth

century exploration of the Antarctic was pure and uncomplicated. It consisted, at the heart, of competitions between man and unfettered Nature, and man and the limits of his own endurance (Alexander, 1999).

Antarctic exploration of the early twentieth century was unlike exploration of anywhere else on earth. No dangerous beasts or savage natives barred the pioneering explorer’s way. Here, with windspeeds up to nearly 200 miles an hour and temperatures as extreme as -100 degrees Fahrenheit, the essential competitions were pure and uncomplicated, being between man and the unfettered force of raw Nature, and man and the limits of his own endurance.

Alexander, C. (1999). The Endurance: Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Use #3:According to

Alexander (1999), early twentieth century exploration of the Antarctic was much simpler than the exploration of other eras. There was no competition with wildlife or indigenous peoples; instead, there was a struggle between the explorer and the natural environment, between the explorer and his own physical limitations.

Antarctic exploration of the early twentieth century was unlike exploration of anywhere else on earth. No dangerous beasts or savage natives barred the pioneering explorer’s way. Here, with windspeeds up to nearly 200 miles an hour and temperatures as extreme as -100 degrees Fahrenheit, the essential competitions were pure and uncomplicated, being between man and the unfettered force of raw Nature, and man and the limits of his own endurance.

Alexander, C. (1999). The Endurance: Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Use #4: According to

Alexander, early twentieth century exploration of the Antarctic was “unlike exploration of anywhere else on earth. . . . [T]he essential competitions were pure and uncomplicated, being between man and the unfettered force of raw Nature, and man and the limits of his own endurance” (1999, p. 4).

Try paraphrasing the following quotation. Don’t forget the citation!

This direct quote comes from Michael Devries in 2001:

Quote: “Violent movies don‘t create criminals: criminals are drawn to violent movies.”Paraphrase?

Here’s one way to do it:

This direct quote comes from Michael Devries in 2001:

Quote: “Violent movies don‘t create criminals: criminals are drawn to violent movies.”Paraphrase: According to Devries (2001), criminals are attracted to cinematic violence, but they are not created by it. According to Devries (2001), criminals are attracted to cinematic violence, but they are not created by it.

Try this one:Alex Hall wrote this in 1999: Quote: “The Mercator projection, while the most common way to draw a map of the world, distorts many of its features. For example, it makes Africa and Greenland appear to be the same size, but Africa is actually fourteen times larger.”Paraphrase: ?

Par

Try this one:Alex Hall wrote this in 1999: Quote: “The Mercator projection, while the most common way to draw a map of the world, distorts many of its features. For example, it makes Africa and Greenland appear to be the same size, but Africa is actually fourteen times larger.”Paraphrase: The Mercator projection is commonly used but misleading; for instance, Africa is fourteen times the size of Greenland, but the Mercator makes them appear the same size (Hall, 1999).

Par

Using APA

• Documentation is NOT difficult. • It does take practice. • Lots of resources are available to help. • Start practicing now: every project

from here out will require APA.

Style guides include:• APA Quick Reference: on course website• KU Writing Center: Campus page > My

Studies > Academic Support Center > WC• KU Handbook for Writers, Ch. 12• KU Guide for Successful Writers, ch. 12• Web resources (see the Webliography)• Your instructor.

Does “using APA” just mean “listing my sources”? Not exactly: •Documentation just means to tell the reader where your information comes from. •APA is a specific system for documentation•Goal of documentation: avoid plagiarism•Goals of APA style:

– Consistent appearance– Neat presentation

Are there other styles? There are many styles, including:•APA (American Psychological Association)•MLA (Modern Language Association)•CBE (Council of Biology Editors)

We use APA at Kaplan, but we could just as easily use one of the others. •The key is to be consistent.

What does APA help you with?APA style guides show you: •what information to include in your references and citations•how to punctuate it•which words should be capitalized•and which should be in italics

Nothing scary there, right?

Example book entry: Is this entry for a book properly formatted?

– Does it have the information it needs?– Is it properly punctuated?– Are the right words in italics? – How would you know?

Milton, David, 2005, “The Truth about Home Schooling,” © Puffin Books

The solution: check your guides!

• Your guide will show you if it’s right or not. • For instance, the APA Quick Reference

shows us how to format a book entry. • The QR example looks like this: Levine, R. V. (2003). The power of persuasion:

How we’re bought and sold. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

1. Compare your own work to the examples in your guide.

2. If they’re formatted identically, you’re in good shape!

Compare (a) and (b):

(a) The attempt has several problems: Milton, David, 2005, “The Truth about Home

Schooling,” © Puffin Books

(b) Model from APA Quick Reference: Levine, R. V. (2003). The power of

persuasion: How we’re bought and sold. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

What (a) should look like: (a) Problems fixed! Milton, D. (2005). The truth about home

schooling. New York: Puffin.

(b) Model from APA Quick Reference: Levine, R. V. (2003). The power of

persuasion: How we’re bought and sold. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Example prof. journal article:

Properly formatted?

Mary Johnson (1999) "Why Homeschooling Doesn't Work." Higher Education Quarterly.

Example prof. journal article:

Properly formatted?

Mary Johnson (1999) "Why Homeschooling Doesn't Work." Higher Education Quarterly.

Here’s the model:

Wax, M. (1995). Know-ledge and ethics in qualitative social research. The American Sociologist, 26(4), 122-135.

Example prof. journal article:

Fixed!

Johnson, M. (1999). Why home schooling doesn't work. Higher Education Quarterly, 99(1), 12-19.

Here’s the model:

Wax, M. (1995). Know-ledge and ethics in qualitative social research. The American Sociologist, 26(4), 122-135.

Example website:

Properly formatted?

http://www.genericsite.com

Example website:

Properly formatted?

http://www.genericsite.com

Here’s the model:

Smith, K. & Jones, M. (2003). Building a better rifle. Retrieved from http://www.buildingrifles.com

Example website:

Fixed!

Building a better website. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.genericsite.com

Here’s the model:

Smith, K. & Jones, M. (2003). Building a better rifle. Retrieved from http://www.buildingrifles.com

Electronic news article:

Properly formatted?

Bowers, B. (2008). “Rule Change to Help Smaller Companies Raise Funds.” New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2008.

Electronic news article:

Properly formatted?

Bowers, B. (2008). “Rule Change to Help Smaller Companies Raise Funds.” New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2008.

Model from OWL:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Electronic news article:

There!

Bowers, B. (2008, January 30). Rule change to help smaller companies raise funds. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nyt.com

Model from OWL:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

In-text citation:

Citation properly formatted?

blah blah blah. (Johnson, M. 1999)

In-text citation:

Citation properly formatted?

blah blah blah. (Johnson, M. 1999)

Model from APA Quick Reference:

Many college students suffer from sleep deprivation (Anton, 1999).

In-text citation:

Fixed!

blah blah blah (Johnson,1999)

Model from APA Quick Reference:

Many college students suffer from sleep deprivation (Anton, 1999).

That’s the end of this tutorial. Please ask your instructor if you have

questions about this material,especially if you still are not sure how to

avoid plagiarism.