Avoiding Plagiarism

Quickwrite

• Come up with a clear thesis statement that answers this question, and then begin to answer it in the form of a freewrite.

• What do you think are the most common reasons that some students plagiarize (cheat, steal others’ words or ideas) on their written assignments? What do you think should be done in order to address these reasons and prevent plagiarism from occurring?

Three Basic Rules for Avoiding Plagiarism:

1. Make sure all word-for-word quotes have quote marks showing where they begin and end. Also, make sure to make the difference between your ideas and your sources’ ideas clear when paraphrasing or summarizing.

2. Identify where each quote OR paraphrased idea came from in the body of your paper using in-text citations.

3. Make sure that each source you quote or paraphrase in your paper is correctly listed on your Works Cited page.

To Cite, or Not to Cite

• You do not have to cite facts that are undisputed common knowledge. – Ex: The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863.– Ex: Water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one

oxygen atom. – Ex: Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland.

• However, once you start needing to use ideas about these common, everyday facts that you found in your sources, you must cite the source of the idea.

• When in doubt, cite! And if you have time, ask!

Some Myths about Plagiarism• Myth 1: As long as I have a source on my works cited page, I don’t

have to mention it in the body of my paper. • WRONG! Any time you use ideas or words from a source, you must

include an in-text citation. • Myth 2: As long as I change one or two words in a quote, I don’t have

to put quote marks around it or do a citation. • WRONG! Changing one or two words in a quote and replacing them

with synonyms is STILL PLAGIARISM if you keep the original ideas and/or sentence structure.

• Myth 3: As long as I paraphrase correctly, using my own words and sentence structure to express an idea, I don’t need an in-text citation.

• WRONG! Even if you use your own words, if the idea originally came from somewhere else, you must cite it.

Myths about Plagiarism

• Myth 4: I don’t need to cite exact words, ideas or information I find on the internet.

• WRONG! Treat your internet sources with the same respect you have for your print or online database sources.

• Myth 5: It is appropriate to use an old essay from a friend, buy an essay, or have someone help me write an essay using his or her wording instead of mine.

• WRONG! All of these are called collusion, and they are all plagiarism.

• Myth 6: I won’t get caught if I plagiarize. • WRONG! Plagiarism is quite obvious to most professors, and

many of them use plagiarism detecting software.

Resources to Help you Avoid Plagiarism

• P. 451-456of Rules for Writers for avoiding plagiarism. P. 458-459 for a directory of MLA citation information. P. 479-523 for MLA references. P. 523-532 for example research paper.

• Online plagiarism tutorial and quizzes from Simon Fraser University http://www.lib.sfu.ca/node/10442

• Plagiarism Self Test from Western Carolina University http://www.wcu.edu/12083.asp

• University of Southern Mississippi’s Plagiarism Tutorial http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/plagiarismtutorial.php

How to Use TurnItIn to Check for Plagiarism

• After you have uploaded your essay to turnitin, you will have the ability to check YOURSELF for any plagiarism.

• Your originality score should be less than 25%. This means that no more than 25% of your essay should be identified as word for word from a source, even if sources are quoted correctly.

• Any portions of your essay that turnitin highlights should be enclosed in quotes and given a correct MLA parenthetical citation.

What Happens if TurnItIn Finds Plagiarism?

• If you have time before the due date, you can fix the problem and upload a new, corrected file that will replace the old one.

• This means that it would be a good idea to give yourself time to correct any errors before the due date.

• If you discover accidental plagiarism after the due date, I will give you the opportunity to revise.

What about intentional plagiarism?

• Intentional plagiarism is cheating that is not the result of an accident, a lack of knowledge, or a citation error. For example, uploading an entire essay you bought or copied from a website is not an accident.

• What happens if turnitin identifies intentional plagiarism? – Hope you’ve given yourself enough time to take it down

and upload something you actually wrote before the due date.

– Because if I catch you, I will fail you on the assignment with no hope of revision so fast it’ll make your head spin.