Plagiarism

Plagiarism

What is it, and how do I avoid it???​

By Dr. Carrie Deel

Plagiarism

​The act of using someone else's ideas or words and passing them off as your own

• Direct Plagiarism

• ​Paraphrasing without attribution

• ​Purchasing content online

• Cite any information you find in outside sources that is not common knowledge

  • ​George Washington was born in Pope's Creek, Virginia ("Key Facts About George Washington")

  • Common knowledge does NOT have to be cited.

    • George Washington was the first president of the United States.​

How do I avoid it?

• Citations should be in-text and in a Works Cited page

• When in doubt, CITE IT!​

How do I avoid it?

Into Thin Air is a novel that details Krakauer's experience in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which eight climbers were killed and several others were stranded by a storm.

​Plagiarized Content

It details Krakauer's experience in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which eight climbers were killed and several others were stranded by a storm.

​Original Content

Direct Plagiarism

​Copying another person's work without providing any information acknowledging that the information is not your own.

Direct Plagiarism

Work is also considered plagiarized when only a few words are substituted and the sentence structure remains essentially the same.

Original Content

Gene Forrester is a quiet, intellectual student at the Devon School in New Hampshire.​

​Plagiarized Content

Gene Forrester is a soft-spoken, smart kid at the Devon School in New Hampshire​

​Paraphrasing

Expressing the same ideas found in another source but using your own words and sentence structure.

• Read the information more than once to ensure proper understanding

• Make note of key ideas and concepts

• ​Write your own version of the information WITHOUT looking at the original source

• ​Compare your version and make adjustments for wording/phrasing that is too similar.

Book burning has been a censorship practice that has taken place throughout history. Book burning is usually done in a public setting, as to make a bold statement that ideas and beliefs that constitute "cultural, religious, or political opposition" will not be tolerated ("Book Burning").

​Paraphrased Content

"Book burning refers to the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials. Usually carried out in a public context, the burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question" ("Book Burning").

Original Content

Paraphrasing

Multiple Choice

When you use someone else's work, verbatim, that is plagiarism. What does "verbatim" mean?

• To summarize information from someone else's work

• To replace 2-3 words with synonyms

• To use the exact wording, word-for-word

• To condense information into a shorter format

Multiple Choice

To paraphrase information means to . . .

• put it into your own words

• write verbatim what you've found in outside sources

• to collaborate on ideas

• replacing significant words with synonyms

Multiple Choice

True or False: Paraphrased information MUST be cited to avoid plagiarism.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which of the following would be considered plagiarism?

• Looking up information online and putting it into your own words while citing the source.

• Looking up information online and copying and pasting it into your own work.

• Quoting a line from literature in your answer, using quotation marks and citing the source

• Using a piece of common knowledge in a paper without citing a source

Multiple Choice

Which of the following would NOT need to be cited?

• A quote from a historian about the causes of World War II.

• A statistic about how many people died during the war.

• Scholarly commentary about the United States' involvement in the war.

• A sentence stating that Adolf Hitler was the German leader during WW II.

Multiple Choice

True or False: You only have to cite your source if you use a direct quote.

• True

• False