Avoiding Plagiarism, Using Citations and Quotations From Lester & Lester

Plagiarism Defined Using another person’s words or ideas without permission To avoid plagiarism, you must cite direct quotations, paraphrases of someone else’s information, and specific statistics and figures (including charts and graphs).

Another thing to avoid… Do not fabricate material. “Fabricate” means make something up

You can avoid plagiarism by… Using citations Documenting your citations in a reference list or bibliography

You do not have to cite… Local knowledge Shared experience Common facts

Common Knowledge Exceptions Do not document it if a normal intelligent person would know it already. Do not document it if you knew the information without reading it in an article or book Do not document almanac-type information like date, place of birth, occupation Do not document information that should be well-known because it has been frequently reported in different sources.

How to Document Your Sources Let the reader know when you begin to borrow from a source by introducing the quotation or paraphrase with the name of the authority. Enclose all quoted materials within quotation marks (whether short phrases or sentences).

More on documenting Use an indented block for quotations of four lines or more. (single-spaced) Make CERTAIN that paraphrased material is rewritten in your own style and language. You cannot just substitute a few vocabulary words or change the structure slightly.

And finally… Provide a specific in-text citation for each borrowed item (in APA for this class) Provide a bibliography entry for every source that you cite in the paper. The bibliography must be an accurate guide that will help the reader find each source.

If you don’t do all this… IT WILL BE PLAGIARIZED!