When you write, know how to
© Karen Conerly 2013
What is Plagiarism?

“to appropriate and pass off as one’s own
the writing, ideas, etc. of another” (Funk &
Wagnalls).

It is stealing words or ideas from someone
and then lying about the material by
presenting it as your own!
© Karen Conerly 2013
Five Types of Plagiarizing

Computer whiz: Edit/Copy/Paste

Word juggler: replaces only a few words

Scrambler: rearranges words, may add a few

Purchaser: buys it from someone else or online

Incorrect citer: makes it impossible to trace source
© Karen Conerly 2013
Plagiarizing
Getting caught is easy…
Professors know your style and voice
 Web sites can reveal plagiarism
 When asked, you do not understand the
meaning of what you wrote
 Your paper has $50 words – you normally
use 25 cent ones

© Karen Conerly 2013
Consequences of Plagiarizing
Bad grade on the paper
 Fail the class entirely
 Visit the Vice President of the college
 Suspension or expulsion from college
 A lifelong record of academic dishonesty
 Failure to succeed at a university
 Potential loss of a job or career

© Karen Conerly 2013
Four Ways to Avoid Plagiarism

Quotation Marks

Paraphrasing

Summarizing

Correct Citations
© Karen Conerly 2013
Quotation Marks

Opening and closing quotation marks
should enclose the exact words of the
author - - Be accurate

Cite the source of the quote

For misspelling or grammar errors the
author makes, use [sic]
© Karen Conerly 2013
Ways to use quotations

Direct quote with a citation at the end:
“Ask not what your country can do for you,
ask what you can do for your country”
(John F. Kennedy).

According to John F. Kennedy, you should
“Ask not what your country can do for you,
ask what you can do for your country.”
© Karen Conerly 2013
Paraphrasing

Reading, putting your source away, writing
the meaning in your own words

Not just changing a few words in the
author’s sentence

Digesting the material, thinking about it,
writing in your own voice and words

When in doubt, always cite!
© Karen Conerly 2013
Summarizing

Read the material until you understand it
well

Put a condensed version of the source
material into your own words

When in doubt, always cite!
© Karen Conerly 2013
Summarizing vs. Paraphrasing

Summarizing is condensing or reducing
more than one idea or sentence into a
shorter version in your own words.

Paraphrasing can be done on source
material as short as one sentence or one
idea.

Both are better done while you are taking
notes from your source, rather than when
writing the final paper.
© Karen Conerly 2013
Correct Citations

Beyond the scope of this presentation.

According to Johnson (2011) twenty-three
percent of San Joaquin residents used mental
health services in 2010.

In 2010, twenty-three percent of San Joaquin
residents used mental health services
(Johnson, 2011).
© Karen Conerly 2013
Activity 1 - Paraphrasing

Carefully read the sentence(s) on the
handout until you fully understand them.

Pass the handout forward when asked.

Using your understanding, write what
the sentences mean, in your own words.
© Karen Conerly 2013
More Information
Help available at the Reading Writing
Learning Center (RWLC) in Holt 201.
Make an appointment – phone 954-5586
 Samples in Holt 201

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
 Grammarly – free check for plagiarism
 Apasytle.org – for APA format writing
 Research and Documentation online

© Karen Conerly 2013
Activity 2 - Summarizing

Handout: an excerpt from “Letter from a
Birmingham Jail” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).
1. Read the paragraph on the handout until you
understand it. You may take notes if needed.
Do NOT write every word!
2. Put your writing instrument down when notes
are done.
3. I will collect the handouts and ask you to
write a summary from your notes.
© Karen Conerly 2013
Final Activity

Volunteering to share what you wrote.

How did you decide to write it that way?

Were you paraphrasing or summarizing?
© Karen Conerly 2013
Wrapping -up

What did you learn from this workshop?

Do you feel you can use what you learned?

Would you recommend it to a friend?

What can be improved in this workshop?
© Karen Conerly 2013