How Not to PlagiarizeCiting Sources 101

October 31, 2013

Quoting Directly• You can take a direct quote and put it in your paper!

However, make sure you make the quote part of a larger sentence. You should include the source of the information in a PARENTHETICAL CITATION. Inside the parenthesis, you would include either the author’s last name (if you know it) or the name of the web page.

• Ex. Robespierre was initially well-liked by the French people, but one of his missteps was when he “advocated a new state religion,” which many felt was an abuse of his power (History Guide).

Quoting Directly 2

• Another way to include a direct quote, without using a parenthetical citation is to include the author’s name or website title in the sentence itself.

• Ex. Robespierre was initially well-liked by the French people, but, according to History Guide, one of his missteps was when he “advocated a new state religion,” which many felt was an abuse of his power

You Should Not

• Just stick a random quote in between two complete sentences.

• Include a quote without giving the source credit (either in a parenthetical citation or within the sentence itself).

• Include a quote without the quotation marks around the words from your source.

Paraphrasing• This is when you take someone’s work and rephrase

it in your own words. However, you still need to give credit to the author.

• Ex. Many people question Robespierre’s use of violence. Was he a tyrant, or was it necessary? Paul Halsall writes that terror is essential for control, but that it must be balanced with morality.

• Ex. 2 Many people question Robespierre’s use of violence. Was he a tyrant, or was it necessary? Terror is essential for control, but it must be balanced with morality (Halsall).

Paraphrased Paragraphs

• If a whole paragraph contains paraphrased information from ONE source, you may just put one citation at the end of the paragraph, instead of after each sentence.

• If a paagraph contains paraphrased information from TWO OR MORE sources, you need to specify which information is from which sources by citing.

Works Cited Page• Your works cited page is the last page of your paper.

It does not count for the page limit. • Since you have four source cards, you will have four

sources on your WC page.• These four sources need to be alphabetized by the

first word of the citation. • Each source you put on the WC page must be cited

at least once in your research paper. If you don’t use a source at all, it does not belong on your WC page.