PARAPHRASING PLAGIARIZING Copyright © 2014 by Write Score LLC

WHAT IS PLAGIARIZING? When you plagiarize, you take someone else’s words and pass them off as your own. You directly copy an author’s work. This is NOT OKAY!

WHAT IS PARAPHRASING? When you paraphrase, you restate or clarify using the meaning from the text, but not the exact words. You put the information into your own words. This is GREAT!

Task: Explain the cicada life cycle. Cicadas begin life as a rice-shaped egg. When the cicada egg hatches, the young cicada look like small white ants. The young cicada spends some time feeding on tree sap. Once the young cicada is ready, it crawls from the groove and falls to the ground where it will dig until it finds roots to feed on. While it is underground, the young cicada continues to grow and change. When the cicada finally crawls out from under the ground, it is a nymph. Then the nymphs climb the nearest available tree, and begin to shed their nymph exoskeleton. Once they are free of their old skin, the cicada’s wings will inflate and their new skin will harden. When their new wings and body are ready, they can begin their adult life. Is it paraphrased? NO! Some of this answer is plagiarized! NO! Some of this answer is plagiarized!

Cicadas begin life as a rice-shaped egg. When the cicada egg hatches the young cicada look like small white ants. The young cicada spends some time feeding on tree sap. Once the young cicada is ready, it crawls from the groove and falls to the ground where it will dig until it finds roots to feed on. While it is underground, the young cicada continues to grow and change. When the cicada finally crawls out from under the ground it is a nymph. Then the nymphs climb the nearest available tree, and begin to shed their nymph exoskeleton. Once they are free of their old skin, the cicada’s wings will inflate and their new skin will harden. When their new wings and body are ready, they can begin their adult life. The highlighted parts are plagiarized!

FROM PLAGIARIZED TO PARAPHRASED Cicadas begin life as a rice-shaped egg. There are several stages to the cicada’s life cycle. The life cycle of a cicada begins as an egg. The egg is shaped like a grain of rice. Once the young cicada is ready, it crawls from the groove and falls to the ground where it will dig until it finds roots to feed on. When the cicada is old enough it crawls out from its hiding place in the tree. Then it falls to the ground. The cicada will dig down into the dirt until it finds a root. The cicada will use the root as food …nymphs climb the nearest available tree, and begin to shed their nymph exoskeleton. Once they are free of their old skin, the cicada’s wings will inflate and their new skin will harden. When their new wings and body are ready, they can begin their adult life. When the cicada crawls out from under the ground it is called a nymph. The nymph looks for a nearby tree. After climbing up the tree, the nymph will shed its exoskeleton. Once the nymph is free of its old skin it waits for its new skin to harden. When its skin is hard and its wings are inflated, it can begin its final stage as an adult cicada.

Task: Explain the cicada life cycle. There are several stages to the cicada’s life cycle. The life cycle of a cicada begins as an egg. The egg is shaped like a grain of rice. When the cicada egg hatches, the young cicada look like small white ants. The young cicada spends some time feeding on tree sap. When the cicada is old enough, it crawls out from its hiding place in the tree. Then it falls to the ground. The cicada will dig down into the dirt until it finds a root. The cicada will use the root as food. While it is underground, the young cicada continues to grow and change. When the cicada crawls out from under the ground, it is called a nymph. The nymph looks for a nearby tree. After climbing up the tree, the nymph will shed its exoskeleton. Once the nymph is free of its old skin, it waits for its new skin to harden. When its skin is hard and its wings are inflated, it can begin its final stage as an adult cicada. Now the information is PARAPHRASED!

How do cicadas produce sound? Male cicadas are responsible for the sounds that can be heard during spring and summer. The sound they make can be described as a shrill buzzing sound. They make this sound by vibrating drum-like organs found in their abdomen. The cicada has a hollow abdomen. This empty space helps to make the buzzing sound more intense. Cross out the plagiarized parts.

How do cicadas produce sound? Male cicadas are responsible for the sounds that can be heard during spring and summer. The sound they make can be described as a shrill buzzing sound. They make this sound by vibrating drum-like organs found in their abdomen. The cicada has a hollow abdomen. This empty space helps to make the buzzing sound more intense. Change the plagiarized parts to be paraphrased!

NOW TRY IT ON YOUR OWN Why are cicadas considered an interesting insect? Answer the following question using details and information from the article. Be sure to paraphrase, not plagiarize.