writing a research paper how to avoid plagiarism and get a good grade

Writing a Research Writing a Research PaperPaper

Writing a Research Writing a Research PaperPaper

How to Avoid Plagiarism and Get How to Avoid Plagiarism and Get a Good Gradea Good Grade

Why is Citation Important?

• Ensures complete documentation. Your reader will be able to find your source easily.

• Sets standards of uniformity. This decreases confusion.

• Gives proper credit to sources. So you won’t appear to be taking credit for someone else’s words or idea.

What is Plagiarism?

• Plagiarism is the act of taking credit for someone else's work. – Plagiarism is a form of cheating that

can have very bad consequences.– In college, plagiarism usually involves

writing. – Here are some examples of

plagiarism and some ways to avoid it.

Stealing a whole article or paper is plagiarism

• Whether it came from one of the many college essay plagiarism websites that buy and sell research papers or from an encyclopedia, or from a friend, it is still plagiarism.

Stealing even part of someone else’s paper is plagiarism

• Even if just a phrase or two comes from another web site, it’s still plagiarism. Someone who copies work from another source is still guilty of cheating.

Make sure you put it in your own words

• Copying material and then changing it slightly in cosmetic ways—for example, by rearranging the order of the words or sentences, or by using synonyms for some of the words—is usually still plagiarism.

• An example of this kind of plagiarism might look like this:

An example of plagiarism (note the text in red):

• Original: The basic idea is that a system has parts that fit together to make a whole; but where it gets complicated -- and interesting -- is how those parts are connected or related to each other.

• Plagiarized: A system has parts that fit together to make a whole, but the important aspect of systems is how those parts are connected or related to each other (Frick 21).

Why was that a problem?• The example on the previous slide was

a problem because I used some of the same phrases as the original without putting them in quotation marks.

• It doesn’t matter that I gave the writer’s name: it’s still plagiarism because I used the original text without changing the words.

When should you cite a source?

• When you use another person's idea, opinion, or theory.

• When you use quotations of another person's actual spoken or written words.

• When you paraphrase another person's words.

• When you use any facts, statistics, graphs, pictures, etc. or any other piece of information that you found from any source.

Another example: • Here’s the ORIGINAL, from page 1 of Lizzie

Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime by Joyce Williams (published in 1981 by T.I.S. Editions in Bloomington, Indiana):

– As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants.

Unacceptable Plagiarism

• As bigger steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants.

Why was that a problem?• The preceding passage is

considered plagiarism for two reasons:– The writer has only changed a few

words and phrases, or changed the order of the original’s sentences.

– The writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts.

Here’s an ACCEPTABLE paraphrase:

• Steam-powered production had shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result, populations grew, and large urban areas arose. (Williams 1).------------------------------------------------• On the Works Cited page:• Williams, Joyce. Lizzie Borden: a casebook of

family and crime in the 1890s. Bloomington: T.I.S. Publications, 1981.

Why is this passage acceptable?

• This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:– uses her own words. – lets her reader know the source of

her information.

Cite graphics or images too

• Copying visual information or graphics from a Website or from a printed source is very similar to quoting information. The source of the visual information or graphic must be cited.

DaVinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa. 1519. The Louvre, Paris. Works of Leonardo. 1 Aug. 2000. 4 Aug. 2008 <http://www.leonardo.com>.

How to make sure you’re okay

• Put quotation marks around everything that comes directly from another text.

• It’s usually a better idea to Paraphrase, but be sure you are not just rearranging or replacing a few words.

• Read over what you want to paraphrase carefully; then cover up the text with your hand so you won’t be tempted to use the text as a “guide”). Then write out the idea of the passage in your own words without peeking.

What don’t I need to cite?

• Common knowledge: facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a lot of people.– Columbus is the capital of Ohio.

• But you must document facts that are not generally known and also ideas that interpret facts.– According the American Family Leave Coalition’s

new book, Family Issues and Congress, President Bush’s relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation (Family Issues 6).

• The idea that “Bush’s relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation” is not a fact but an interpretation. Therefore, you need to cite your source.

But you do need to cite ideas that interpret facts

• Here’s an example:– According the American Family Leave

Coalition’s new book, Family Issues and Congress, President Bush’s relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation (Family Issues 6).

• The idea that “Bush’s relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation” is not a fact but an interpretation. Therefore, you need to cite your source.

MLA: You need to do it twice:

• In-text citation for immediate reference.

• Complete citation in Works Cited page at the end.

• Emphasis on form, detail, exactness.

• Consistency and neatness count.

In-Text CitationsAuthor(s) and page number.See an MLA guide—in paper or online.• In-text citations for electronic sources

are treated similar to print texts. The only real difference occurs because electronic texts do not have page numbers (unless the source is in PDF format or otherwise mimics a print version of the source).

Works Cited Page

• Series of identifying statements– Author (last name, first name)

Availability (city, publisher, URL)– Source (periodical title)– Date (year, sometimes day)– Title (title, edition)

Citation Machines• Landmark Citation Machine

http://citationmachine.net/index.php?reqstyleid=

• Easybib• http://www.easybib.com/• And lots of others

Citation Rules: Not always Easy• Lots of exceptions.• Can’t cover every situation.• Electronic citation standards still

evolving.

Thanks for listening!

• Enjoy your research!

• And see or email me if you have any kind of research questions.

• lhenry@swcollege.net