Plagiarism

Image source: www.cartoonstock.com.

What is it?• Authors own the words

and ideas that they have written down and published. • If you use someone

else’s words or ideas in your text but fail to show that they come from another source, it is called plagiarism.• Plagiarism is a type of

intellectual theft.

Image source: www.cartoonstock.com

Three kinds of plagiarism1. Word-for-word copying. Original text is copied directly into the paperwithout citation. Solution: use quotation marks around the original author’s words and show the source in the text and in the list of works cited.

2. Patch job. Sentences from the original text are stitched together withlinking words like and or however. Solution: put the original author’s words in quotation marks and show the source in the text and in the list of works cited.

3. Paraphrase. You write in your own words but use the author’s ideaswithout giving credit to him/her.

Solution: name the author in the part of your text where you use his/her ideas. (Anderson suggests that …)

How to avoid plagiarism• Always try to show

the other person’s ideas clearly in your text.

• Use ”markers” to direct your reader back to the original source where you found the idea.

Different methods to cite sources

• To cite means to refer directly to.

• M.L.A format (Modern Languages Association)

• A.P.A. format (American Psychological Association)

In text citation

By using in-text citation you automatically give credit to the author who wrote the material you have used, and your essay gains credibility by referring to experts.

Image source: http://chemistry.berea.edu/lobo2/using/cite/cite2.php

In text citationThe following must be followed when citing sources:

1. Write the author’s last name and the year of publication in brackets immediately after your citation.”This vicious circle can only be broken by government intervention”.(Anderson, 2002) 2. Mention the name of the publication, the year and the author in one sentence.In The Plight of Homelessness (2002), Chris Anderson describes …3. If you cite from a book, include the page number in your reference.(Anderson 2002, p. 56)

Verbatim and paraphrase citationsAn in-text citation can be direct, verbatim – an exact word-for-word copy, shown between quotation marks, or indirect, paraphrased. This means you express the point in your own words, but it was not originally your own point.

Image source: www.cartoonstock.com

Verbatim cont.

If you do this, you need to make it clear where your citation begins and ends, e.g. by naming the original author at the beginning and the publication details at the end.

Example of a verbatim in-text citation:Some writers on the topic make their position very clear, e.g. “It should be entirely clear from these examples that without new legislation there is no hope at all of seeing an improvement in the situation” (Anderson 2002, p 56).Example of a paraphrased in-text citation:Anderson’s view is that this can only be achieved by new legislation (The Plight of Homelessness p. 56).

The List of Works Cited

List of Works Cited

• Books: the last name of the author, first initial, title of the book, place of publication, publisher, and finally year of publication.

Anderson, C. The Plight of Homelessness. Brighton: Phantom Books, 2002.

• Magazines and journals: the last name of the author, first initial, title of article, title of magazine and volume or issue number, year/date of publication in brackets, page numbers.

Anderson, C. ”How Far Can You Go?” Social Issues 26 (May 2001): 12–15

Electronic Sources: a slippery fish…• New forms of

information are appearing on the Internet all the time• There is little

consensus about one clear style that should be used to cite all electronic sources

Some consensus on citing electronic sources• 1. Provide as MUCH information as possible

about WHO WROTE THE SOURCE and WHERE TO FIND IT.

• 2. If you cannot find any specific guideline about how to cite your source according the style you are using (MLA, APA), try to find the print source it most closely matches and follow the rules for that style.

Example of an electronic sourceInternet sources: the last name, first initial, title of document, date of publication or placement on the WWW, exact date of when you retrieved the material, complete Internet address.

Anderson, C. A Writer from under Grand Central. May 2002. Retrieved September 15, 2003, from: http://www.phantomsource.edu

Information to look for when citing an electronic source:• Primary responsibility • Title • Type of medium (e.g. online; CD-ROM) • Subordinate responsibility • Edition • Issue designation (for serials) • Place of publication • Publisher • Date of publication • Date of update/revision • Date of citation • Series • Notes (physical description; accompanying material; system requirements; frequency of

publication; language; other notes) • Availability and access (e.g. URL) • Other availability information • Standard number (e.g. ISBN, ISSN)

Source: International Standards Association. http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=43320

Microsoft Word offers citation help!• How to create references