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Avoiding
Plagiarism & Citing Your Sources
What is Plagiarism?
- A simple explanation of plagiarism is neglecting to give credit to sources from which you gathered information. Plagiarism can range from a simple forgotten citation error to full-blown word-for-word copying. Plagiarism often occurs without the knowledge of the plagiarist in the form of inadvertently forgetting citations, including incorrect citations, and/or using improper forms of paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing.
- Check out St. Kate's Student Code of Conduct Policy. Read the sections entitled Community Expectations and Code of Conduct for information relating to academic honesty and plagiarism.
- Sometimes plagiarism occurs when assignment deadlines are looming and, in order to finish the assignment on time, a student plagiarizes someone else's work. Using the Assignment Calculator is a great way to prevent procrastination and last minute panic on an assignment.
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Tips for Avoiding Accidental
Plagiarism
- Cite every piece of information used that is not your own original
idea. Results from your own research and information considered common
knowledge do not need to be cited.
- Use quotation marks every time you copy or include another person's
work.
- Include in the first sentence in which you intend to quote, paraphrase,
or summarize, information that lets the reader know that the idea originated
with someone else.
Example:
| According to the MLA Handbook... |
Hemingway said... |
- End your sentence with a parenthetical citation (styles vary!) to
credit the original author.
Example:
| According to the MLA Handbook, when composing a
research paper or creating a presentation,
it is extremely important to "remember that you must document
everything that you borrow—not only direct quotations and
paraphrases but also information and ideas" (Gibaldi, 69). |
Be
careful not to commit these two common forms of accidental plagiarism:
- Paraphrases lacking Citation
A paraphrase is your summary of another author's ideas.
Paraphrases should not contain your own opinions or commentary.
Avoid presenting information in the exact same order as the original
author, and avoid using the author's words, writing style, sentence
structure, and most importantly, remember to give credit where credit
is due. Put quotation marks around any unique phrases you'd like to
use.
Example: attempting to paraphrase the sentences
above.
| When one attempts to correctly paraphrase the work
of another author it is important to neutrally present the author's
ideas without copying words verbatim, writing styles, or idea
order (citation). |
- Misplaced Citations
Be sure to place the citation after all of the information
you have paraphrased, quoted, or summarized from another author. If
you cite a quote mid-paragraph and continue on paraphrasing, your reader
will assume the additional ideas are your own.
Good note taking is very
important! Be sure to always mark in your notes when you are quoting
someone (Q), using a source to gather information (S), and what information
is from your own insight.
Example:
| A handy note taking tip mentioned in the MLA Handbook
is to "distinguish among three types of material" including
quotations, your summaries of others' works, and your own ideas.
By placing your citation at the end of the material cited, your
reader will know that all ideas before the citation should be
credited to, in this case, Mr. Gibaldi. (Gibaldi, 70). The reader
can then logically assume that this sentence, since it follows
the citation, was originally created and authored by you, with
no help from Mr. Gibaldi. |
Citing your Sources
- Remember, any time your paraphrase the work of another author or use a direct quotation, you must give credit to the source!
- Find out which citation style your professor prefers. To access citation style guides and instructions, go to St. Kate's Citation Style Guides webpage.
- Also, consider using RefWorks to manage your citations. Go to our RefWorks page for instructions.
- Should you encounter citation issues that no book or webpage can solve, feel free to get assistance at the Reference Desk, or call 615-690-6652.
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