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Summer 2022

Workshop

Avoiding Plagiarism

Image source: http://www.ncsl.org/research.aspx

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What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is:

Representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic course or exercise.

In college courses, we are constantly engaging with other people’s ideas: we read them in texts, hear them in lectures, discuss them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing.

We must give credit to those who came up with those ideas.

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What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism, according to the University of Maryland Code of Academic Integrity, is:

“Representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic course or exercise.”

In college courses, we are constantly engaging with other people’s ideas: we read them in texts, hear them in lectures, discuss them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing.

We must give credit to those who came up with those ideas.

University of Maryland. “University of Maryland Code of Academic Integrity.” University Policies, 10 May 2010, https://policies.umd.edu/academic-affairs/university-of- maryland-code-of-academic-integrity.

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“Cheating in high school appears to be even more widespread than cheating in college. One survey of high-achieving students conducted by Who's Who Among American High School Students found that nearly 90% of the students said cheating was ‘common at their school’; 76% said they had ‘cheated on tests’; 58% said ‘it would be easy to obtain test questions or answers.’”

From: FAQ: Code of Academic Integrity

Plagiarism is a form of cheating.

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Big fish, big pond: The Situation

Academically successful students tend to (un)consciously measure their self-worth by their grades
Just because a student is “smart” doesn’t mean they can’t get bad grades
An identity crisis is very normal
College students are all academically successful high school students

Big fish, small pond → Big fish, big pond

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Big fish, big pond: The Response

(Re)Learn how to study
Talk to your professors
Draw on support systems, even in places you wouldn’t expect
Shift your timeline from short-term to long-term

It’s not about who you are; it’s about the situations you end up in. If you’re desperate, you’ll take desperate actions.

Elizabeth

Point 1: What can we do about this reality?

(multi-ethnic student association, look in weird places, international organizations tend to have a really wide net of support system)

Just because you don’t think you’d plagiarize doesn’t mean you won’t. Set yourself up to be in situations where you won’t feel the need.

If you don’t shift that timeline, the big midterm or final paper will come due–and you might not be prepared. It’ll feel very easy to buy something online, copy someone else’s work, etc.

OR, you’ll be in such a rush that you just don’t have time to get to the details.

This is often where people get into trouble with plagiarism, because they don’t have time to pay attention to their citations–end up forgetting them, ignoring them, etc. THAT’S STILL PLAGIARISM.

(Casey)

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Why do we cite sources?

To avoid plagiarism
To participate in a larger academic discussion about a topic
So that give others can locate and read the arguments or information you’re referencing
To give credit to the authors whose ideas we used to form our own

To avoid cheating yourself out of opportunities to learn

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Citing is like tagging someone in a tweet or linking to their blog.

It’s a way of pointing to the source of your information, which gives it legitimacy, while also acknowledging the hard work of the original author.

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Possible Consequences

“0” on the assignment
Referral to Student Honor Council (and Academic Conduct Sessions)
“XF” on student record indicating failure due to academic dishonesty
Loss of reputation among the school community

⇒ You may be allowed to petition to remove the X after one year, changing the grade to a regular F

“FAQ: Code of Academic Integrity.” Office of Student Conduct, University of Maryland, https://studentconduct.umd.edu/you/faculty-staff/ai-faq. Accessed 11 July 2022.

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Intentional vs Unintentional

Intentional

Copying a friend’s work
Buying or borrowing papers
Cutting and pasting blocks of text from electronic sources without documentation
Media “borrowing”without documentation
Web publishing without permissions of creators
Failure to use your own “voice”

Unintentional

Careless paraphrasing
Poor documentation
Quoting excessively

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Violation or not?

You wrote a paper last year and want to include big sections from it in a paper this year, but you don’t mention it to your professor or cite it.
You borrow one page of information and graphics from the U.N.’s website, but you do not use any quotations or citations.
You know that you need help with your writing so you ask your friend, who is an English major, to revise your paper for you.
You heard a history professor say something on your research topic in a class lecture last year, so you use that in your paper without mentioning the lecture.

Elizabeth

For each:

What is the problem?

Why is it plagiarism?

How can you fix the situation?

1: you’re not citing it or mentioning it to the prof–because you know it’s probably not okay (bc it’s a shortcut!), bc you didn’t ask permission or cite it, talk to the prof and IF THE PROF SAYS IT’S OKAY, cite it

2: you didn’t use quotations or citations, you’re taking someone else’s work & presenting it as your own, use quotations and citations

3: your friend isn’t the one who is supposed to be writing the paper, you’re presenting your friend’s work as your own, revise your own paper! It’s fine to get revision advice or to go to the WC, but you can’t just have someone else do your work for you.

4: you don’t mention the lecture (you can cite lectures!), it COULD be plagiarism because you didn’t come up with the idea, you could fix it by citing the lecture and professor. BUT if the professor mentioned something that would be considered common knowledge, you might not need to cite it

Transition to w/ to cite and w/ not to

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…information or judgments that are “common knowledge”:

…your personal experience:

You don’t need to cite…

John Adams was our second president.
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Bill Gates was the CEO of Microsoft.

Your own experiences, observations, or reactions.
The results of original research (that YOU conducted), from science experiments, etc.

Note: Common knowledge depends on the audience. When in doubt, cite!

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In-text Citation

Purpose of in-text citation:

We can give source information without interrupting the flow of our paper or project.
The academic world values ready access to in-text citation.
Inaccurate documentation is the same as having no documentation at all.
We can provide some brief information in the text that will point our reader toward the full source citation in the Works Cited/References/Bibliography.

When to use in-text citation:

You quote directly from a source.
You use an original idea from one of your sources, whether you quote or paraphrase it.
You summarize original ideas from one of your sources.
You use factual information that is not common knowledge.
You use a date or fact that might be disputed.

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Provide Clear Citation Boundaries

DO

Introduce data, quotations, or paraphrased information with the name of the source.
Provide transition phrases that show where your analysis begins and where the source material ends.
Explain your research method, when appropriate.

Only cite information at the end of an entire paragraph.
Shift from the source to your information without a clear transition word or phrase.

DO NOT

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Quotations are the exact words of an author, copied directly from a source, word for word.

Quotations must be cited!

Quoting

Use quotations when…

You want to add the power of an author’s words to support your argument
You want to disagree with an author’s argument
You want to highlight particularly eloquent or powerful phrases or passages
You are comparing and contrasting specific points of view
You want to note the important research that precedes your own

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A Quotation Should…

A Quotation Should Not…

Be necessary and useful
Fairly represent the author’s discussion
Support your argument directly
Fit smoothly into the text

Make up the bulk of a paragraph
Directly reiterate a point that’s already paraphrased
Begin or end a paragraph (as a general rule)

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Paraphrasing means rephrasing the words of an author, putting his/her thoughts in your own words.

When you paraphrase, you rework the source’s ideas, words, phrases, and sentence structures with your own.

Paraphrasing

Paraphrase when:

You want to avoid overusing quotations
You want to use your own voice to present information
You want to present information more concisely than in the original text

Remember:

Like quotations, paraphrased material must be followed with in-text documentation and cited on your references page.

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Summarizing means putting only the main points of one or several writers into your own words.

Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and provide a broad overview of the source material.

Summarizing

Summarize when:

You want to establish background or offer an overview of a topic
You want to describe knowledge (from several sources) about a topic
You want to determine the main ideas of a single source

Remember:

It is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to their original sources by using in-text citations and citing the source in your references list.

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Have you ever gotten in trouble for quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing without citing? How did your teacher handle it?

Do you think mistakes in these areas should be considered plagiarizing?

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When you’ve cited sources in the past, did you use a citation generator?

Did the generator give you a

correct citation?

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Choosing a Citation Style:

MLA

Humanities Fields
Page # emphasis
Parenthetical Citations: (Author Last Name page #)

APA

Social Sciences
Author-Date style
Parenthetical Citations: (Last Name, Year) or (Last Name, Year, p.#)

Chicago Style

Business, Arts, Communications, Economics, History
Footnote/Endnote Citation OR Author-Date style

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There are two parts to any complete citation.

IN-TEXT: Parenthetical documentation or footnote of the source WITHIN the text of your paper.

MLA example: “Group members should prepare for the meeting by bringing complete drafts, and group members should point out to one another both strengths and weaknesses of these drafts” (Goldman 70–71).

WORKS CITED: The entry for a source in the Works Cited page or Bibliography.

Works Cited MLA example:

Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante.” The Georgia Review,

vol. 64, no. 1, spring 2010, pp. 69-88. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41403188.

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Understanding Citations

It’s important to understand citations because…

You won’t get into trouble for something you don’t have to
You need to know enough about citations to check for mistakes in citations from generators (like EasyBib, Zotero, etc.)
You can ethically participate in scholarly discussions

You should…

Learn the citation style of your field

To help with this, you can bookmark your style’s webpage for easy reference!

Focus on the citations for the types of item that you tend to reference (journal articles, books, chapters in books, webpages, etc.)

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Cultural Differences

Different cultures have different ideas about citation and plagiarism.

Knowledge that benefits everyone might be considered universal—and doesn’t require a citation.
Students might be expected to memorize ideas and repeat them without attribution, because memorizing the ideas of great thinkers is a form of respect.
Some countries have different—or no—copyright laws, meaning that the ideas of an individual don’t have the same protections as in the U.S.

Elizabeth

Let’s take a brief aside to remember…

Knowledge that benefits everyone might be considered universal—and doesn’t require a citation. (common in Asian countries)

Students might be expected to memorize ideas and repeat them without attribution, because memorizing the ideas of great thinkers is a form of respect. (asian countries)

Some countries have different—or no—copyright laws, meaning that the ideas of an individual don’t have the same protections as in the U.S. (any non-U.S. country; Eritrea, Turkmenistan, and San Marino have no copyright laws!)

It’s important to remember this, because if you, as an international student, or a friend/classmate who is an international student, gets into trouble for plagiarism, you don’t need to think less of them. Sometimes, it’s not the student but the system. That’s another big reason why we’re doing this workshop.

Okay, more participation now!

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Have you ever had to use any style other than MLA?

Why do you think professors require you to use specific styles in your papers?

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Journal Article Example Citations

MLA:

Suhr-Sytsma, Mandy, and Shan-Estelle Brown. “Theory In/To Practice: Addressing the Everyday Language of

Oppression in the Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal, vol. 31, no. 2, 2011, 13–49.

APA:

Suhr-Sytsma, M., & Brown, S.-E. (2011). Theory in/to practice: Addressing the everyday language of oppression in

the writing center. The Writing Center Journal, 31(2), 13–49.

Chicago:

Bibliography (Footnotes Style):

Suhr-Sytsma, Mandy, and Shan-Estelle Brown. “Theory In/To Practice: Addressing the Everyday Language of

Oppression in the Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal 31, no. 2 (2011): 13–49.

Bibliography (Author-Date Style):

Suhr-Sytsma, Mandy, and Shan-Estelle Brown. 2011. “Theory In/To Practice: Addressing the Everyday Language of

Oppression in the Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal 31, no. 2 (Spring/Summer): 13–49.

Full Footnote:

Mandy Suhr-Sytsma and Shan-Estelle Brown, “Theory In/To Practice: Addressing the Everyday

Language of Oppression in the Writing Center,” The Writing Center Journal 31, no. 2

(2011): 16.

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In-text citations

Chicago Footnotes/Bibliography:

Full Footnote:

Mandy Suhr-Sytsma and Shan-Estelle Brown, “Theory In/To Practice: Addressing the

Everyday Language of Oppression in the Writing Center,” The Writing Center Journal 31,

no. 2 (2011): 16.

Shortened Footnote:

Suhr-Sytsma, “Theory In/To,” 16.

In-text (Author-Date):

(Suhr-Sytsma and Brown, 2011, 16).

MLA:

(Suhr-Sytsma and Brown 16).

APA:

(Suhr-Sytsma & Brown, 2011).

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What if you can’t find what you need?

Consult style guides and online resources
PURDUE OWL!!
Consider the four “W”s: “WHO created the work, WHAT is the title and type of information, WHEN was it published, and WHERE can one find it?”

— Harvard Business School Citation Guide

Image source: http://www.gallowayresearch.com/online/

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Come to the

Writing Center! :)

When in doubt…

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Any Questions?

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Style Guides

Style Guides:

Purdue Online Writing Lab

For Business Students:

Harvard Business School 2021–2022 Citation Guide

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UMD Writing Center

UMD Math Tutoring

UMD General Tutoring 1

UMD General Tutoring 2

UConn Assignment Timeline Calculator

UMD Research Services

IU Plagiarism Tutorial

Scribbr Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism

Scribbr Self-Plagiarism

Plagiarism Quiz

Resources

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Quiz

If your friend asked you what plagiarism is, what would you tell them?

Could you give an example of information that doesn’t need to be cited?

What are the two components of a full citation?

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Your friend asks you to check if there’s plagiarism in these sentences…

If Sam Abraham wrote “It is very beneficial for college students to formulate good eating habits that lead them to obtaining health and optimal function” in this source…

Abraham, Samuel et al. “College Students’ Eating Habits and Knowledge of Nutritional Requirements.” Journal of Nutrition and Human Health, vol. 2, no. 1, 2018, pp. 13–17. https://doi.org/10.35841/nutrition-human-health.2.1.13-17.

…what might be wrong in these sentences, and how would you fix them?

I agree with others that it would be beneficial if college students formulated good eating habits that could lead them to obtaining good health and optimal function.
Abraham states, “It is very beneficial for college students to formulate good eating habits that lead them to obtaining health and optimal function.”
According to the Journal of Nutrition and Human Health, “It is very beneficial for college students to formulate good eating habits that lead them to obtaining health and optimal function” (14).

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Summer 2022

Workshop

Avoiding Plagiarism

Image source: http://www.ncsl.org/research.aspx

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Your friend asks you to check if there’s plagiarism in these sentences…

Gertrude explores “the limits of astrology” in her article, I Bet You’re a Pisces

-- from Gertrude, page 83

While saying the phrase “God is dead,” he was all-too aware that we’re all still living underneath God’s Shadow.

-- from Nietzsche, page 319

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Summer 2022 Workshop

Avoiding Plagiarism

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CITING SOURCES USING MLA FORMAT

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MLA Style: In-Text Citations

(Author pg #). or Author, “quote” (pg #).

In chapter 23, the Lacks family discovers that “Hopkins had part of Henrietta alive” (Skloot 180).

In chapter 23, Skloot narrates how the Lacks family first discovered that “Hopkins had part of Henrietta alive” (180).

In chapter 23, Skloot narrates how the Lacks family first discovered that “Hopkins had part of Henrietta alive” (180), while Carmen’s biography suggests that the family knew this fact much sooner.

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MLA Style: In-Text Citations

A work by two or three authors:

(Jones and Smith 79)
(Brown, Hernandez, and Vela 102-3)

A work by four or more authors:

(Brown et al. 12)

A work with no author:

(“Beowolf” 68)

Material quoted in a source that is not the original source:

(qtd. in Astrud 45)

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MLA Style: Works Cited List

Book:

Last, First Name. Title. City of Publisher: Publisher, Date.

Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2010.

Article from a scholarly journal:

Last, First Name. “Title.” Journal Title volume#.issue# (date):

page#-page#. Journal Source. Web. Access Date.

Triglio, Tony. “Strange Prophecies Anew: Rethinking the Politics of Matter and Spirit in

Ginsberg’s Kaddish.” American Literature 71.4 (1999): 773-97. JSTOR. Web. 10 Dec. 2009.

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Works Cited Rules for All Styles

Alphabetize it!

2. Indent the second and subsequent lines of each entry

3. Italicize titles of overall works, enclose titles of works-within-works in quotation marks.

Image source: http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/images/works-cited-example.gif

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CITING SOURCES USING APA FORMAT

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A strategy: Plagiarism-Free Note-Taking

As you take notes…

In a lecture:

Identify direct quotes, paraphrases unique phrases, and note the speaker’s name.

From a book:

Include page numbers and source references so you can easily reference the material later.

Remember…

Your notes are your own!

Everyone’s note-taking system is unique.

Come up with an anti-plagiarism system that works for you!

It should be quick and easy to use, and it should be easy to reference later!

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APA Style: In-Text Citation

When you introduce the author of a work for the first time in a paragraph, put the date of that work next to their name

Example: In his study on insects, Boomer (2007) discusses how bugs are awesome.

When you have already introduced the author in the sentence, just use the page number with a “p.”

Example: In his study on insects, Boomer (2007) writes “bugs are awesome” (p. 7).

When you don’t introduce the author in the sentence, use the author’s name, date of work, and page number with commas.

Example: The study argues “bugs are awesome” (Boomer, 2007, p. 7).

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If you’ve included the words and ideas of others in your work that you haven’t cited…
If you’ve had help you wouldn’t want your teacher to know about…

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APA Style: Works Cited List

Book:

Last Name, First Initial. (Date). Title. Location: Publisher.

Skloot, R. (2010). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Paperbacks.

Article from a scholarly journal:

Last Name, First Initial. (Date). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue

number), page#-page#. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy

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Image source: http://raikes.unl.edu/home/computerscience

Citing Electronic Sources in APA Style

For a Peer-review journal from library database:

Cite as you would an article in a print journal, but include the homepage URL for the journal or magazine

Example: Retrieved from http://www.xxxxxxxx

If available, include the DOI (digital object identifier)
In general, it is not necessary to include database information or retrieval dates

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CITING SOURCES USING THE CHICAGO MANUAL

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Chicago: Foot/Endnotes

When using the Chicago Manual Style, you use footnotes or endnotes (depending on teacher preference), NOT in-text citations. To create a foot/endnote, place a superscript (insert > footnote) after end of sentence (and period) within the paper.

Footnotes: appear at bottom of page

Endnotes: appear at end of the whole paper

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Chicago: Footnote vs. Reference List

Foot/Endnote (book):

²First Name Last Name, Title (City of Publication: Publisher, Date Published), Page Numbers.

²Scott Lash and John Urry, Economies of Signs & Space (London: SAGE Publications, 1994), 241-251.

Reference List (book):

Last Name, First Name. Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Date Published.

Lash, Scott and John Urry. Economies of Signs & Space. London: SAGE Publications, 1994.

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Borrowing from outside sources...

To blend source materials with your own, make sure your own voice is heard.

Quoting

Paraphrasing

Summarizing

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Chicago: More Rules

If information comes from a source you just quoted, use “Ibid” in the footnote. If the source is the same but the page number is different, use Ibid., page #
If pages later, you cite the same source, shorten the footnote by listing the author’s last name, an abbreviated title, and the page number:

¹ Mark Skousen, The Making of Modern Economics: The Lives and Ideas of the Great Thinkers (Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2001), 15.

³Skousen, The Making of Modern Economics, 23.

becomes...

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Citing Electronic Sources in Chicago Style

For a Peer-review journal from library database:

Cite as you would an “article in an online journal,” where you give the URL, which indicates the subscription database where you retrieved the source.
Write “,via Database Name,” after journal info and before accessed date information

ex: ² Daniel Howden, "Polio at Mecca Sparks Fear for Muslim Thousands," Independent (London), February 12, 2005, first edition, http://www.lexisnexis.com/, via LexisNexis (accessed February 14, 2005).

Image source: http://raikes.unl.edu/home/computerscience

from “Citing Sources Using the Chicago Style Manual: Notes System,” University Libraries, University of Maryland website, http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/citing_chicnotes.html (accessed January 12, 2010),