1. The Tools That Are Needed When Writing A Research Paper
Learning How To Avoid Plagiarism
And Correctly Cite Sources…

2. WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
Plagiarism means “using another’s work without giving credit.” (Student Judicial Affairs, University of California, Davis)
Plagiarism has been around for centuries, but in recent years it has become easier and easier for people to commit plagiarism through the use of internet resources. Whether you download, purchase outright, or steal another person’s words or ideas, the bottom line is that it is cheating, and the person you cheat the most is yourself.

3. Paying someone to write your paper
DELIBERATE
PLAGIARISM
UNINTENTIONAL
PLAGIARISM
Paying someone to write your paper
Buying, stealing or borrowing another person’s paper
Copying another person’s words or ideas without citing (on purpose)
Not paraphrasing enough; copying the source too closely
Expanding on someone else’s ideas without citation
Copying another person’s words or ideas without citing (by accident)
Most teachers, professors, and employers don’t distinguish between deliberate and unintentional plagiarism, so don’t think that just because you didn’t mean to do it, there won’t be serious consequences.

4. PLAGIARISM IN THE NEWS…
CASE #1
CNY Principal admits to plagiarism
CASE #2
Former Beatle is found guilty of plagiarizing melody
As illustrated by these two cases, plagiarism isn’t just a “student/school” thing. Case #1: A Cayuga County high school principal lost his job after admitting to plagiarizing the commencement address he gave to the graduating Class of He read the speech “Ten Lessons of the Titanic”, a speech written and given by former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala at a high school graduation in Wisconsin and he passed it off as his own. (Pass around newspaper article about the case)
Case #2: Former Beatle George Harrison was found guilty of “subconsciously” plagiarizing the melody of “He’s So Fine” when he wrote the hit “My Sweet Lord” in This case had been in and out of the courts for decades and in 1981 a Manhattan Federal District Court judge ordered Harrison to pay $587,000 for plagiarizing the melody overturning an earlier1976 ruling of $1.6 million in damages. Controversy continued over this landmark lawsuit until Harrison’s death in (Pass around the 2 articles concerning this case)

5. Borrowing other’s work or ideas adds validity to your own project
Borrowing other’s work or ideas adds validity to your own project. It is OK! Give credit where credit is due.

6. WHEN SHOULD YOU CITE YOUR SOURCES?
You are using or referring to another person’s words or ideas (found in a magazine, book, newspaper, song, T.V. program, movie, Web page, computer program, letter, advertisement or any other source)
You use information received through an interview
You copy someone else’s exact words
You reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures
You use other’s ideas that were obtained through conversations or
Remember, the way to avoid plagiarism, whether it deliberate or accidental, is to ALWAYS give credit where credit is due.

7. HOW CAN YOU AVOID
BEING ACCUSED OF BEING
A PLAGIARIST????

8. BY TAKING CAREFUL NOTES WHEN YOU ARE RESEARCHING YOUR PAPER:
Put a Q or “ “ around any notes that are taken from someone else’s words or thoughts.
Write on the page, next to each set of notes, where you obtained your information from, so you can keep your sources straight.
It is worth the extra time to keep track of your sources as you do your research. By making a notation next to each paragraph, stating where this information came from, you will save yourself time and headaches later when you are pressed for time and scrambling to remember where your information originally came from.

9. INTERNAL CITATION: Tells WHO, WHEN and WHERE you
obtained your ideas and information
from.
MUST be included in your prewriting
and final paper every time you use
someone else’s information or ideas!

10. YOU MUST USE INTERNAL CITATION WHEN YOU…
Directly quote someone
Paraphrase or summarize someone else’s words or ideas
Example of Internal Citation:
“Hello darkness my old friend” (Simon, 2002, para 2).
To directly quote means to borrow someone else’s information word for word and you must use quotation marks to indicate that this is a direct quote.
When you paraphrase, you are putting someone else’s ideas into your own words.
When you summarize, you sum up someone else’s ideas and shorten the amount of written information significantly.
But the fact remains, your words are based on someone else’s words or ideas and therefore you must give credit to the original source.

11. WORKS CITED PAGE This page is placed at the end of your paper.
Every source that you quote, paraphrase or summarize from MUST be included here.
The words Work Cited should be centered at the top of this page. This Wok Cited page, along with the internal citation within the paper itself, is the key to avoiding being accused of plagiarism.

12. WHEN WRITING YOUR WORK CITED PAGE…
Alphabetical Order: Author’s names are inverted (last name first)
Consistency: Remember that underlining and italics are equivalent; which ever one you choose to use, use it consistently throughout.
Double Space: Double space all entries with no skipped spaces between entries.
Reverse Indentation: Make the first line of each entry flush left with the margin. Subsequent lines in each entry should be indented one-half inch. This is called a hanging indent. If you are using Word, this does it for you automatically when you: Highlight the entry, go to Format – Paragraph – Special – toggle down to Hanging.

13. REFRENCE PAGE This page comes at the end of your paper
Includes every source you use to help write you paper.

14. IN SUMMARY… Keep accurate, careful notes including source information
Always cite your source if you quote, paraphrase or summarize another person’s words or ideas
Use the B&S APA style guide as a reference
When in doubt, play it safe and CITE THE SOURCE!

15. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CITING SOURCES…
Go to:
Bryant & Stratton Virtual Library
Click on: Virtual Library
Click on: Student Success
From: Reference Desk
Click on: Citing Sources
Click on: How Do I Cite...?
Duke University Libraries