Avoiding Plagiarism Dr. Wood Freshman Seminar Fall 2009

What is plagiarism? Official definition in Union and You : “PLAGIARISM shall be defined as the appropriation of previously authored material for presentation as one’s own work without proper acknowledgment of the source of the appropriated material” (23).

What is plagiarism?  THEFT of someone else’s ideas  Intentional –Deliberately presenting another’s paper, paragraph, sentence, or idea as your own  Unintentional –Forgetting quotation marks –Omitting clear identification of source

Sources of information Encyclopedias (both print and online) Books Periodical articles Websites

Take notes Copy accurately, with quotation marks Paraphrase (see Handbook ) Summarize (Handbook ) Record page numbers and complete source information Pic: Cannell Library, Clark College

Example of plagiarism: He was known to his audiences as the "Master of Suspense" and what Hitchcock mastered was not only the art of making films but also the task of taming his own raging imagination. Lopez-Guzman, “Alfred Hitchcock - The Master of Suspense” (1995) He was known to his audiences as the 'Master of Suspense' and what Hitchcock mastered was not only the art of making films but also the task of taming his own raging imagination. “Alfred Hitchcock - Introduction” (1997)

Also too near plagiarism: Alfred Hitchcock was worthy of being honored on a stamp. Known to his audiences as the “Master of Suspense,” Hitchcock mastered not only the art of making movies but also the task of subduing his own raging imagination (Lopez-Guzman). * Sentence structure and word choice too close to original * Citation at end does not make clear what came from the Web site

Correct citation in text: Lopez-Guzman asserts that Hitchcock had to master “the task of taming his own raging imagination.” In Works Cited : Lopez-Guzman, Patricio. Alfred Hitchcock: The Master of Suspense. 26 Mar Nov

Avoiding Plagiarism Original: “The idea of an underworld where men live some kind of grim half-life after death is common to Mesopotamia and Greece.” G. S. Kirk argues that many Greek myths derive from Mesopotamia, including one “of an underworld where men live some kind of grim half-life after death” (206).

Works Cited entry for Kirk: Kirk, G. S. The Nature of Greek Myths. New York: Penguin, See Handbook 310 for basic MLA entry for books. MLA = Modern Language Association

Example of plagiarism Original: The text of a poem should be compared with a modern score of music or perhaps the script of a play, rather than with a novel or poem designed from the start to be read. Plagiarized: When we think about the Odyssey, the text should be compared with a modern musical score or play script, rather than with a novel or poem intended to be read (Perseus Encyclopedia).

Correct use of source Correct: The Perseus Encyclopedia points out that the Odyssey was meant to be heard, so that the nearest modern comparison is a musical score or playscript (“Homer”). Original: The text of a poem should be compared with a modern score of music or perhaps the script of a play, rather than with a novel or poem designed from the start to be read.

Work Cited “Homer.” Perseus Encyclopedia. Tufts University. 8 Sept Site provides -No author -No date of last update

Parts of Works Cited entry for Web source: Author’s name, last name first Title - in quotation marks if it’s a part, in italics if the whole Date posted, or last revised Name of institution or organization sponsoring the site (if given) Date you accessed it The complete URL, in angle brackets

Example of plagiarism Original: Desdemona in iconography reveals more about societal ideology—racial and gender issues in particular —than about accurate interpretation of Shakespeare. Plagiarized: Pictures of Desdemona reveal more about society’s ideology--particularly racial and gender issues--than about accurate Shakespeare interpretation (Hancock). Correct: Hancock contends that the depiction of Desdemona in illustrations reflects the illustrators’ bias, not Shakespeare’s.

Work Cited entry (new MLA): Work Cited Hancock, Nancy Glass. “Picturing Desdemona: Verbal Imagery, Iconography, and Screen.” Shakespeare in an Age of Visual Culture Folger Institute. Web. 8 Sept

More information “Avoiding Plagiarism,” St. Martin’s Handbook, 6 th ed., Ch. 16 “Documenting Sources: MLA Style,” St. Martin’s Handbook, Ch. 18

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