Plagiarism and In-text Citations

Building a Research Paper

What is Plagiarism?

“Plagiarism” is the theft of words, phrases, sentence structures, ideas, or opinions.”

http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/Cartoon%20Plagiarism_183661

When does it occur?

Plagiarism occurs when information is taken from any source or person and--intentionally or unintentionally--presented or "borrowed" without mention of the source.

How to Avoid PlagiarismUse a citation style (like MLA).

Apply it consistently in all your work.

When to cite your source. . .You must acknowledge in your paper the source of

• A direct quotation• A statistic• An idea• Someone else’s opinion• Concrete facts not considered “common knowledge”• Information not commonly known• Information taken from the computer• Illustrations, photographs, or charts – if not yours

Source: Silverman, Jay, Elaine Hughes, and Diana Roberts Weinbroer. Rules of Thumb: A Guide for Writers. New York: McGraw

Hill, 2002.

Paraphrase or Summarize

You must still acknowledge your source if you…

Paraphrase:Put someone else’s ideas into your own words

Summarize:Condense someone else’s words or ideas

The Modern Language Association (MLA)

MLA, like other citations styles, consists of two things:

1. In-text Citations (Also called Parenthetical Citations)

2. Works Cited Page (composed of Bibliographic Entries)

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

Why Use MLA Format?

• Allows readers to cross-reference your sources easily

• Provides consistent format within a discipline

• Gives you credibility as a writer

• Protects yourself from plagiarism

Why Use In-text Citations

Simple!

In-text citations give the reader (your audience) a trail to follow to find where you found the information you’re borrowing.

Sentence with Works Cited Original Source Information

In-text or Parenthetical Citations…a system in which you give your source in parentheses immediately after you give the information.

Basic Formats:• (Author and page number)• (Title and page number)• (Page number)

The first word of your citation matches the corresponding entry on your Works Cited page unless the author and/or title are in the sentence.

Types of In-text CitationsIn-text citations can come in two main forms:

1. Author/Title named within the sentence:

At one point, Cofer writes, “Growing up in a large urban center…I suffered from what I think of as cultural schizophrenia” (175).2. Author/Title not named within the sentence:

On the other side, many Americans expressed surprise at the frequency with which French people spoke about money (Carroll 313).

In-text Citation – Author & Page No.

(Keeling 125)

Notice there is no “p” and no comma.

The struggle for identity is common during

teenage years (Keeling 125).

In-text Citation – Works Cited

The in-text citation must correspond to the entry that begins with Keeling in the Works Cited.

(Keeling 125)

Keeling, Adam. Teenage Years. New York: McMillian Press, 2012. Print.

In-text Citations – Title & Page No.

Her distinctive writing style adds to her mystique (“Women in Writing” 19).

Often, articles, editorials, pamphlets, and other materials have no author listed. Give the first few words of the title followed by page number.

In-text Citations – Page No. Only

• If you have already mentioned the author’s name in the sentence, put a page number only:

Keeling states that Plath’s work stands in

stark contrast to other confessional poets (58).

Signal Phrases in MLAModel Signal Phrases:

“In the words of researchers Long and McKinzie…”

“As Paul Rudnick has noted…”

“Melinda Stuart, mother of a child killed by a drunk driver, points out…”

“…,writes Michelle Moore.”

NOTE: Try not to use “says”

Verbs in Signal Phrases:

acknowledges admitsagrees assertsbelieves claimscomments confirmscontends declaresdenies disputesemphasizes endorsesgrants illustratesImplies notesobserves points outreasons refutessuggests writes

Complete list: Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003. p. 336.

In-text Citation – Organization as Author

Often, an organization serves as the author:

The National Council for Teachers of English statethat students bring insider knowledge of youthculture and a passion for and investment inits texts and practices (5).

ORStudents bring insider knowledge of youth culture (National Council for the Teachers of English 5).

Other Forms of In-text Citations• Two or Three authors:

(Johnson and Rodriguez 221)

• Three authors: (Johnson, Rodriguez, and Smith 34)

• Four or more authors:(York et al. 75) “et al.” means “and others”

Other Forms of In-text Citations

• Citing two books by same authors:(Johnson and Rodriguez, Youth in Conflict 221)

• Citing two articles by same author:(York, “Sameness” 75)

• Citing a multivolume work:(Miller 2: 56 - 62)

Other Forms of In-text Citations• A work with no page numbers (like most

webpages):(Miller)

• Citing Indirect Sources – a source cited in another source:(qtd. in Rapp 21)

• Multiple Citations – same information found in two sources: (Barry 45; Carrey 72)

In-Text Citations – Citing Information from the Same Source

• When several facts in a row within one paragraph all come from the same page of a source, use one citation to cover them all. Place the citation after the last fact.

• The citation MUST be in the same paragraph as the facts!

Using Material from Sources

GENERAL RULE:

• Ideally, no more than 25 percent of your paper should be direct quotations

• Paraphrase as much as you can

• Use direct quotations when citing a statistic or original theory

• Use author's words if they capture a point exactly

Works Cited• List only those sources that you actually

used

• Alphabetize your list by authors’ last names or the first main word in a title

• List the complete title of the article, essay, or book

• Format – Double-space

Hanging Indent Indent second and third lines five spaces.

Now for some practice!

Which of the following examples is a correctly formatted citation for a one author book, where the quoted material comes from page 75?

(Jones, 75) (Jones, p.75)

(Jones page 75)(Jones 75)

Correct!(Jones 75)

In text citations for one author books only contain the author’s last name and the page number. You should not put a comma, “p.” or “page.”

Which of the following examples is a correctly formatted citation for a two author book, where the quoted material starts on page 84 and ends on page 86?

(Garica and Lo, 84-86) (Garica and Lo 84-86)

(Garica & Lo 84 to 86)(Garica & Lo 84-86)

Correct!

In text citations for two author books contain the authors’ last names separated by “and”, and the page number. When there is a range of pages, you put the starting page, a dash, and then the ending page.

(Garica and Lo 84-86)

Which of the following examples is a correctly formatted citation for a 4 author book, where the quoted material is on page 23?

(Smith, Jones, Knapp, and King 23)

(Smith, Jones, Knapp, and King, 23)

(Smith et al 23)(Smith et al. 23)

Correct!

In text citations for four or more author books contain the authors’ last names separated by “et al.”, and the page number. You can also list all of the names; however, this makes for a long in-text citation.

(Smith et al. 23) (Smith, Jones, Knapp, and King 23)

• Which of the following examples is correct for one author that is mentioned in the text of the research paper. The internet article is called “Living in the Age of Mystery.”

No citation (Jones, “Living in the Age of Mystery”)

(“Living in the Age”)

(Living in the Age of Mystery)

Correct!

When you mention the name of the author in the text of the research paper, you do not need to list the name in the in-text citation.

No citation

Which of the following examples is correct for one editor with the information on page 5 of a book titled This is Your Chance. This same editor was used for another book in your paper.

(Conway, This is Your Chance 5) (This is Your Chance 5)

(Conway, ed., This is Your Chance 5)(“This is Your Chance” 5)

Correct!

If you cite more than one work by a particular author, include a shortened title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others. Put short titles of books in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks.

If the author’s name is not mentioned in the sentence, include the author followed by a comma.

(Conway, This is Your Chance 5)

Good Luck!

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