Paraphrasing and Plagiarism

How to conduct honest research

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is using another writer’s words and not giving them credit.

Examples of plagiarismCopying text from a source on the

internet, pasting it in a Word document, and presenting it as your own

Changing the name on a relative or friend’s report and presenting it as your own

Copying or purchasing a report found on the internet

Plagiarism and Consequences

All schools have policies about ethics or academic honesty, and consequences for cheating.

Be aware that teachers work in departments and compare student work.

Be aware that many schools use plagiarism detection services such as Turn It In.

Universities in particular have sophisticated methods of finding plagiarism, and they apply harsh consequences.

Practice conducting honest research NOW so that college is easier for you.

Plagiarism

Some students plagiarize without intending to. It is also considered plagiarism when you try to put another writer’s ideas into your own words, but do not succeed in doing so.

How do I avoid plagiarism?

Take notes properlyCredit the original author when you use

direct quotations Summarize correctlyParaphrase correctly

Remember CHoMP when taking notes

Print or photocopy your source materialCross out grammatical words (a, an, the,

conjunctions, prepositions)Highlight important informationMake notes that are NOT in complete sentencesPut the notes in your own words

Gilmore, Barry. Plagiarism: A How-Not-To Guide for Students. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2009. Print.

CHoMP example

Direct QuotationsIt is acceptable to copy lines from the original

source material IF you credit the source in the text of your report, in a parenthetical citation.

Use quotations sparingly. They may be used when the original material contains unforgettable language, when a paraphrase would be too complicated or awkward, or when you want to emphasize a very important idea.

Example Quotation

There should be plenty of opportunities in the future because “jobs for registered nurses will grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2018.” (Levine.)

Parenthetical Citations

When you cite a source, you name or identify it.

Parenthetical citations appear in parentheses inside the body of a report.

Parenthetical Citations

There should be plenty of opportunities in the future because “jobs for registered nurses will grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2018.” (Levine.)

SummarizingA summary is a shortened, simplified

version of a longer piece of source material. To summarize you must put the original ideas in your own words.

Example Summary

ParaphrasingA paraphrase is a restatement of a

short passage or line of original source material. To paraphrase you must put the original ideas in your own words.

Example ParaphraseORIGINALThe rest of the flight can be fairly easy if the weather is good because planes have computers and other gauges to tell pilots if their trip is going according to plan.

PARAPHRASEWhen there are no storms or strong winds, pilots have easy flights because of all the computers and gauges in modern airplanes.

Putting it in your own words

A true paraphrase only reuses a few key words from the original source.

Your goal should be to only reuse 3-5 words from the original.

Use synonyms to change all the other words.Changing word order may be helpful.Combining ideas from more than one

sentence may be helpful.

Using synonyms

ORIGINALThe rest of the flight can be fairly easy if the weather is good because planes have computers and other gauges to tell pilots if their trip is going according to plan.

weather = conditions, sun, rain, storms, wind

Changing word orderORIGINALThe rest of the flight can be fairly easy if the weather is good because planes have computers and other gauges to tell pilots if their trip is going according to plan.

PARAPHRASEWhen there are no storms or strong winds, pilots have easy flights because of all the computers and gauges in modern airplanes.

Combining ideasORIGINALTakeoff and landing are often challenging and require a great deal of piloting skill. As a result, pilots must be especially careful during those times. The rest of the flight can be fairly easy if the weather is good because planes have computers and other gauges to tell pilots if their trip is going according to plan.

PARAPHRASEWhile takeoff and landing demand a lot of talent, being in the air is less difficult because of the computers in modern planes.

Works Cited This is a listing of the resources you used in your

research, (encyclopedias, magazines or journals, web sites, interviews, etc.)

Information goes in a VERY strict format so that anyone could find your original sources.

Use the first word of your Works Cited entries for your parenthetical citations.

EXAMPLELevine, Chester. BLS Career Information. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://www.bls.gov/k12/>.