Plagiarism
To Cite, or Not to Cite?By Tabbitha ZepedaPlagiarismRWLC
Workshop Fall 2010
What is plagiarism?Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or
imitation of someone elses thoughts or ideas and using them as ones
own.
Tabbitha Zepeda 2010
Why is plagiarism important?While taking college courses,
students are influenced by class discussion, text, and lecture.
Using such influences in ones own writing is inevitable, but
claiming that such ideas are ones own is dishonest and does not
give credit to the source.
Tabbitha Zepeda 2010What happens if a student is caught
plagiarizing?Each college is different, but all take disciplinary
measures when approaching cases of plagiarism.At San Joaquin Delta
College, faculty members may enter a failing grade for the
assignment or exercise in question, enter a failing grade for the
entire course, give additional coursework or other exercises, or
recommend further action to the Vice President of Student Services,
such as suspension from the college. The length of suspension may
be from one class up to and including the remainder of the school
term to all classes and activities of the community college for one
or more terms.
Tabbitha Zepeda 2010How does a student avoid plagiarizing?To
avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use:
Another persons idea, opinion, or theoryAny facts, statistics,
graphs, drawings any pieces of information that are not common
knowledgeQuotations of another persons actual spoken or written
wordsParaphrase of another persons spoken or written wordsTabbitha
Zepeda 20105 Basic Types of PlagiarismCut and PasteChanging a word
or twoChanging all of the wordsQuoting without sources
informationUsing a quote without showing where it begins and
ends
Tabbitha Zepeda 2010ActivityTabbitha Zepeda 2010Read the essay
Pow-Wow, Why We Dance by Melinda de Ocampo. Pay particular
attention to the second paragraph, which focuses on where pow-wows
are usually held, as we will be discussing it later.
Cut and PasteTabbitha Zepeda 2010The cut and paste method of
plagiarism is the most obvious form, and as such, most people
believe it is the definition of plagiarism.
When a person takes a section of text and copies it word for
word without giving credit to the source, it is like cutting the
information from the book (or magazine, website, etc.) and gluing
it into the paper. These words are not the words of the papers
author, but of the source, and therefore are being plagiarized.
Example Based on Pow-Wow, Why We DanceTabbitha Zepeda
2010Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as
such, the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. Most local
pow-wows have them at high schools or at some colleges, while
larger pow-wows are always held on Native plains and vary in length
from one to three days. For several years, a pow-wow lasting two
days was held on the field used for physical education classes at
Webster middle school in Stockton. The location was decided upon by
Mr. Hodges, a reading teacher and strong member of the Native
American community. Because pow-wows take a significant amount of
planning, it is common for locations to be found through outlets
such as Mr. Hodges. Change a Word or TwoTabbitha Zepeda 2010Some
believe that plagiarism can be avoided by changing a word or phrase
within a sentence used from an outside source. THIS IS NOT TRUE.
Plagiarism is like Christmas its the thought that counts!
Because the concept behind the words is whats most important,
changing part of the sentence doesnt make the idea original, or the
thought your own. Credit still must be given to the source.
Example Based on Pow-Wow, Why We DanceTabbitha Zepeda
2010Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as
such, the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. Most
pow-wows are given at high schools or colleges, while larger
gatherings are always held on Native plains and vary from one to
three days. For several years, a pow-wow lasting two days was held
on the field used for physical education classes at Webster middle
school in Stockton. The location was decided upon by Mr. Hodges, a
reading teacher and strong member of the Native American community.
Because pow-wows take a significant amount of planning, it is
common for locations to be found through outlets such as Mr.
Hodges. ParaphrasingTabbitha Zepeda 2010Paraphrasing is when
someone takes a piece of text from a source and rewrites the
information in his/her own words.
Sometimes paraphrasing is necessary, and easier to incorporate
into ones paper than a direct quote. Unfortunately the idea behind
the words, no matter how they are arranged or expressed, stays the
same, and thus the sources information is still required. Without
giving credit where credit is due, one is still guilty of
plagiarism.
Example Based on Pow-Wow, Why We DanceTabbitha Zepeda
2010Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as
such, the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. Many times
pow-wows are held on school campuses, especially if they are small
in size. Native lands, however, are always the location for larger
events that can last up to three days. For several years, a pow-wow
lasting two days was held on the field used for physical education
classes at Webster middle school in Stockton. The location was
decided upon by Mr. Hodges, a reading teacher and strong member of
the Native American community. Because pow-wows take a significant
amount of planning, it is common for locations to be found through
outlets such as Mr. Hodges.
Quoting Without the Sources InformationTabbitha Zepeda 2010Youve
recognized that you are using a direct quote, so you put quotation
marks around it to avoid plagiarism but you forgot to name your
source!
If you dont tell your reader where your information is coming
from, its considered plagiarism. You can correct this by giving the
original authors name, or, in the case that there is no author
listed, provide the name of the essay/book/website. Remember to
always cite when you write!Example Based on Pow-Wow, Why We
DanceTabbitha Zepeda 2010Pow-wows are very important to Native
American people, and as such, the location of a pow-wow is
similarly important. Most local pow-wows have them at high schools
or at some colleges, while larger pow-wows are always held on
Native plains and vary in length from one to three days. For
several years, a pow-wow lasting two days was held on the field
used for physical education classes at Webster middle school in
Stockton. The location was decided upon by Mr. Hodges, a reading
teacher and strong member of the Native American community. Because
pow-wows take a significant amount of planning, it is common for
locations to be found through outlets such as Mr. Hodges.
Using a Quote Without Boundaries Tabbitha Zepeda 2010Quotation
marks are used to indicate the use of a direct quote, but they also
tell your reader where your quote begins and ends. If you are
indeed using your sources words, you must show the reader that you
are doing so.
Likewise, you must introduce where paraphrasing begins and ends,
by offering some form of indicator.
e.g. According to Melinda de Campo, Melinda de Campo
suggests
Example 1 Based on Pow-Wow, Why We DanceTabbitha Zepeda
2010Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as
such, the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. Most local
pow-wows have them at high schools or at some colleges, while
larger pow-wows are always held on Native plains and vary in length
from one to three days (de Campo). For several years, a pow-wow
lasting two days was held on the field used for physical education
classes at Webster middle school in Stockton. The location was
decided upon by Mr. Hodges, a reading teacher and strong member of
the Native American community. Because pow-wows take a significant
amount of planning, it is common for locations to be found through
outlets such as Mr. Hodges.Parameters Are Important Tabbitha Zepeda
2010In this example, the quotation marks are left off, which
creates more than one problem.
Foremost, the direct quote is not documented, so the reader
might think that the information is paraphrased.
Second, without the quotation marks, the reader might assume
that the first sentence of the paragraph is also included in the
quote. Either way, your instructor would count this error as
plagiarism, because the author is not being connected to her work
properly.
Example 2Tabbitha Zepeda 2010According to Melinda de Campo,
Pow-wows are very important to Native American people, and as such,
the location of a pow-wow is similarly important. Most local
pow-wows have them at high schools or at some colleges, while
larger pow-wows are always held on Native plains and vary in length
from one to three days. For several years, a pow-wow lasting two
days was held on the field used for physical education classes at
Webster middle school in Stockton. The location was decided upon by
Mr. Hodges, a reading teacher and strong member of the Native
American community. Because pow-wows take a significant amount of
planning, it is common for locations to be found through outlets
such as Mr. Hodges.Example 2 ComplicationsTabbitha Zepeda
2010Example 2 also has a couple of issues that need to be adjusted
for plagiarism.
With the introduction of the source at the very beginning, it
suggests that the information being used is the whole paragraph,
not just the direct quote. Also, without some indicator that the
information from the source has ended, the reader has no way to
know where the writers original thoughts begin.
Something Else to ConsiderTabbitha Zepeda 2010If you need to
alter a direct quote in any way for clarity or sentence structure,
you must let your reader know that the quote youre using has been
altered. To do this, include brackets around words added or
changed, as well as an ellipsis within brackets if omitting a
section of the quote. Omitting TextTabbitha Zepeda 2010EXAMPLE:
(original quote)
As de Ocampo describes, If a pow-wow has a sponsor such as a
tribe, college or organization, many or all members of the
committee may come from that group.
(edited quote)
As de Ocampo describes, If a pow-wow has a sponsor [], many or
all members of the committee may come from that group.
In SummaryTabbitha Zepeda 2010When using outside information,
you must include the source (name of author, website, etc.),
quotation marks for direct quotes, and a clear indication of where
the borrowed text begins and ends.
If any of these details are not included, its likely that you
are plagiarizing.ACTIVITYTabbitha Zepeda 2010Using the essay
Pow-Wow, Why We Dance, write a paragraph responding to one aspect
of the piece. If you knew nothing about pow-wows, you could write
about one of the things you learned. If you have attended a pow-wow
in the past, you could compare a part of the essay to your own
experience. If your culture also values dance, you might want to
write a paragraph comparing them.
The purpose of this exercise is to use the essay as a source,
and cite the quote or paraphrased section you use
appropriately.
