M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

Plagiarism: Academic Thievery

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

What is Plagiarism?

The word plagiarism is derived from the Latin plagiarius which means “kidnapper”. According to Alexander Lindey and his book Plagiarism and Originality, plagiarism refers to a type of academic or professional cheating that contains “the false assumption of authorship; the wrongful act of taking the product of another person’s mind and presenting it as one’s own” [1]

[1]This will be cited in a page at the end of the document. I am modeling proper MLA

citations here; however, this document will not follow all of the rules for MLA citations as it is not a formal research paper.

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

Even if you paraphrase someone else’s words, you are still legally obligated to internally document the source and create an entry in a Works Cited page at the end of your essay/paper.

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What types of Plagiarism exist?

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Unintentional

•Occurs when a student is not familiar, or rather, does not find out the necessary information she needs to properly cite a source.

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

•Refers to a student who thinks she is paraphrasing but is actually using language, phrases that are identical to the source, perhaps just in a different order, structure, etc.

•Can be a case of a student forgetting to put a parenthetical citation in the paper or in the Works Cited page.

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

Intentional

•Downloading or buying papers from an online paper mill like, planetpapers.com, pinkmonkey.com, 123papers.com etc.

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•Copying and pasting certain excerpts from other papers or sources like Sparknotes, Wikipedia, or even reputable sources etc.

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•Handing in another student’s paper or parts of one

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•Submitting one’s own paper completed as an assignment in a different class

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Any other forms of plagiarism I can be held accountable for?• “padding the bibliography”- this occurs when a source is listed in the Works Cited but is NOT use in parenthetical citations throughout the paper

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• the opposite of the above- a source is used in parenthetical citations throughout the paper but is NOT listed in the Works Cited page

• failing to paraphrase correctly-

–some students think that if they change a few words or change the order of words, their work is paraphrased.

This is NOT correct.

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

–In order to paraphrase successfully, you should: • read the excerpt or sentence from a source that you want to use in your paper

• then walk away from it, take a piece of paper and write down what you remember about that piece of information, what you think it means.

•Then, you should revise that to sound formal and clear.

•Next, you should double check with the original source to make sure you have not used the same specific language, words or phrases that the original author uses.

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

Let’s Practice!!!• Original Sentence from a source:The task of writing the book of love

wasceded to playwrights, poets, and pulpnovelists

• Incorrect paraphrase in student paper:

The task of writing about love was ceded to

playwrights, pulp novelists, and poets (Gray

948).

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

What’s wrong with this paraphrase?

• Incorrect paraphrase in student paper:

The task of writing about love was ceded to

playwrights, pulp novelists, and poets (Gray

948).

Answer: the student uses exact wording like “ceded” and “playwrights, pulp novelists, and poets” from the source.

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

Other forms of plagiarism con’t

• neglecting to cite a paraphrase- even if you have successfully paraphrased information, you must still cite it! You do not need quotation marks around a paraphrase, but you DO NEED a parenthetical citation. Remember: a you may have used your own words, but the ideas are not your own!

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

What are the consequences of Plagiarism?

– An “F” on a writing assignment– A zero on a writing assignment– A zero for an entire course– Being reported to the principal or Dean

of Students (true at LCCC, true at Villanova)

– A blemish on your academic record– Professionally, legal measures might be

taken

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

How does one avoid Plagiarizing?

• Take thorough and accurate notes during research

• Budget time throughout the research and planning of the paper; take the time to do the work, so that the paper is not thrown together at the last minute. You need to SHOW your process!!!!

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• Keep a running list of sources with all appropriate information

• Be aware of the rules for MLA (or other kinds of documentation format like APA, Chicago, Style etc.)

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

How can one integrate source information into the

text of a paper?

– Summary- a general statement; the overall main idea of an article or other secondary or primary source (i.e. interview); can be one statement highlighting the main idea of an entire passage, chapter, or book.

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–Direct Quotation- the exact words or phrases from a source; a student uses this for exemplary statements or language in a primary or secondary source; a student uses this when paraphrasing information would deflate the emphasis or change the meaning if only slightly.

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–Paraphrase- a more specific summary; a few sentences or lines of a source translated into the student’s own words

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How Do I Cite the Information using MLA?

• The following website is a valuable resource- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, specifically, its MLA Citation page: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/mla.html

• Also refer to the MLA guide in the RIC• Your Student Planner contains

information too!

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Some examples!

• Same Last Name: When using two authors with the same last name, you must indicate the initial of their first name in the parentheses: (B. Smith 170).

Taken from http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/mla.html

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• No Author: If you are given no author at all, choose a word from the title of the source to use in the parentheses and underline or punctuate it appropriately: ("Toward" 170), for an article, for instance.

Taken from http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/mla.html

• Same Author, Multiple Works: When using more than one work by the same author, the author's name must be followed by a comma and accompanied by a word from the title of the source you are referring to: (Smith, "Toward" 170).

Taken from http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/mla.html

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

• Web Sources: If you use electronic sources, you must work with whatever information is provided at the online site. When possible, use this format: (Author page#) or (Title page#).

• If no page numbers are provided, use paragraph, section, or screen numbers instead and include the standard abbreviation, if there is one: (Author, sec. #) or (Title, screen #). Remember to include a comma when using abbreviations in parenthetical citations.

Taken from http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/mla.html

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

What needs to be cited?

• You need to document: • Direct quotes, both entire sentences and

phrases • Paraphrases (rephrased or summarized

material) • Words specific or unique to the author's

research, theories, or ideas • Use of an author's argument or line of

thinking • Historical, statistical, or scientific facts • Articles or studies you refer to within your

textTaken from http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/mla.html

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• You do not need to document: • Proverbs, axioms, and sayings ("A stitch in

time saves nine.") • Well-known quotations ("The personal is

political.") • Common knowledge (Thomas Edison

invented the phonograph, or oxygen has an atomic number of 8, or "The Starry Night" was painted by Vincent Van Gogh.)

Taken from http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/mla.html

M. Abbadessa Fall ‘10

How Can we Prevent Plagiarism in our Classroom?

• Assign unique assignments with specific requirements.

• Let students know that you are aware of plagiarism and the availability of sources on the internet.

• Encourage them to take careful notes during the research process.

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• Require that an in-class, handwritten draft be completed and submitted with the other subsequent drafts and final draft (give them ½ of a block to complete).

• Require that they submit photocopies of all sources.

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• Hold a peer review session in class and provide a specific revision sheet so that all students know what questions to ask about sources etc…

• Alert students of the consequences of plagiarism i.e. failure on the assignment, a zero for the assignment, a failure for the trimester, or the entire class

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• Model our own writing for the students and show them examples of plagiarized work and correctly cited work. (see also annotated sample student paper

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References

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th Edition. New York, New York: MLA, 1999.

“MLA CITATION.” 1998-2007. 12 November 2007 <http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/mla.html>.

Smith, Barbara. "Toward a Black Feminist Criticism." The New Feminist

Criticism:Essays on Women, Literature and Theory. Ed. Elaine Showalter. New York: Pantheon Books, 1985. 168-185.

“Student Writing Models.” Write Source. Houghton Mifflin Co. 2008. 12 November 2007 <http://www.thewritesource.com/models.htm>.

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