Plagiarism Plagiarism What It Is and How to Avoid It

Plagiarism is  “the presentation of someone else’s ideas or words as your own” (Fowler, Aaron, and Okoomian 630).

To avoid plagiarizing, you must  Give credit to the original writer, speaker, or thinker both in the text of your essay and on your works cited page.

Here’s an example of how to give credit within the text of your essay: Literary critic Theodore Ziolkowski writes that societies attracted by the Prometheus myth “see themselves as engaged in a heroic struggle against social and political oppression, whether against feudal lords, East German despots, or modern capitalists” (190). Parenthetical citation Identify your source.

And here’s how we give credit at the end of our work. Works Cited Ziolkowski, Theodore. The Sin of Knowledge: Ancient Themes and Modern Variations. Princeton: Princeton UP, Print. The full bibliographical citation enables readers to find your source.

They work together...  Literary critic Theodore Ziolkowski writes that societies attracted by the Prometheus myth “see themselves as engaged in a heroic struggle against social and political oppression, whether against feudal lords, East German despots, or modern capitalists” (190). Ziolkowski, Theodore. The Sin of Knowledge: Ancient Themes and Modern Variations. Princeton: Princeton UP, Print. The in-text reference must match the works bibliographical reference.

You need both! The in-text citation and the works cited page at the end of your paper work together to provide all the information a reader would need to find that specific idea or quote in its original source.

All you have to do is give credit...  And you may use the ideas and words of other people to prove, support, advance, explain, and embellish your own ideas.

This simple process of citing sources...  Enables scholars to share ideas and build on each other’s ideas to advance knowledge.  Opens learning up to everyone. You don’t have to pay a copyright fee every time you use someone else’s words and ideas.

The general rule:  Cite your source whenever you use another person’s words or ideas.

Here are some specific examples of things you must cite:  Exact words and sentence structure from a source  Exact words and sentence structure from a source  A paraphrase or a summary  An idea you gained from research but put completely in your own words  Words and ideas from your textbook  A phrase from an article the whole class is writing about  A phrase from an article the whole class is writing about  Statistics from a research study  Statistics from a research study  Statistics or information from a government website  Statistics or information from a government website  A picture or chart from the internet  A quote from an internet source that does not identify an author

These mistakes in citing sources are considered plagiarism:  Buying a paper from an Internet site and turning it in as your own work.  Buying a paper from an Internet site and turning it in as your own work.  Turning in a paper that someone else has written.  Turning in a paper that someone else has written.  Copying a paragraph from an internet site.  Copying a paragraph from an internet site.  Using an idea and/or words you got from a speech or television program without citing the source in the text of your paper or including that source on your works cited page.  Using an idea and/or words you got from a speech or television program without citing the source in the text of your paper or including that source on your works cited page.  Combining ideas from a few websites into your own sentences/paragraphs without giving proper, documented credit to the real sources.  Combining ideas from a few websites into your own sentences/paragraphs without giving proper, documented credit to the real sources.  Copying the abstract to an article obtained on NC Live into your annotated bibliography.  Copying the abstract to an article obtained on NC Live into your annotated bibliography.  Using statistics from a government website without citing the source.  Using statistics from a government website without citing the source.  Using ideas from a website without citing the source.  Using ideas from a website without citing the source.  Putting a quote into your own words by changing every third word and then citing the source.  Using a quote in your essay without quotation marks around it, even if you cite it in parentheses and/or include the source on the works cited page.  Using translation software to translate a passage in a foreign language course.

How to avoid plagiarizing  Stay away from websites that sell papers.  Stay away from websites that sell papers.  Document sources found on the World Wide Web as carefully as you would print sources.  Document sources found on the World Wide Web as carefully as you would print sources.  Change the color or font of passages you add electronically to your essay so that you remember to cite them.  Change the color or font of passages you add electronically to your essay so that you remember to cite them.  Ask your instructor or someone who is an expert in the field for help if you are uncertain about whether an idea is common knowledge or not.

Durham Tech’s Academic Honesty Policy Durham Technical Community College demands complete academic integrity from each student. Academic dishonesty is the participation or collaboration in specific prohibited forms of conduct. Participation or collaboration may be active (such as submitting a term paper which includes plagiarized work) or passive (such as receiving a copy of a test before class). Academic dishonesty includes the following:  Registering for a course not approved by a student advisor;  Unauthorized copying, collaboration, or use of notes, books, or other materials on examinations or other academic exercises;  Plagiarism, which is defined as the intentional representation of another person’s work, words, thoughts, or ideas, including material from the internet, as one’s own;  Unauthorized possession of any academic material, such as tests, research papers, assignments, or similar materials; or  Furnishing false information with the intent to deceive members of the college faculty or administration who are acting in the exercise of their official duties.

Consequences of Violation of the Academic Honesty Policy 1.For a first offense, the student will receive a zero on the plagiarized assignment. 2.For a second offense, the will receive an F in the class and will be expelled from the class. 3.For a third offense, the student will receive a grade of F and be expelled from that class. With a written recommendation from the chief instructional officer, the president of the college may suspend the student for a minimum of one year. This suspension will be documented on the student’s transcript.

Works Cited  Fowler, H. Ramsey, Jane E. Aaron, and Janice Okoomian. The Little Brown Handbook. 10 th ed. New York: Pearson-Longman, Print.