PLAGIARISM
by
Dr. B. E. Williams, Media Specialist, NBCT
B.E.S.T. Academy Middle School
PLAGIARISM
WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

the act of presenting another person's literary,
artistic, or musical work as one's own. For
example, a student who copies from reference
books has committed plagiarism. A work need
not be identical to the original to be a
plagiarism. But it must be so similar that it has
obviously been copied (“Plagiarism,” World Book Online)
WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

“the uncredited use (both intentional and
unintentional) of somebody else's words or
ideas” (“Avoiding Plagiarism”).
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/
WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

Intentional
 Copying
from a friend
 Buying/borrowing papers
 Copying/pasting from a resource
WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

Unintentional
 Not
citing your sources
 Poor paraphrasing
 Quoting nearly everything
PROBLEMS
Unethical / dishonest
 Illegal
 Punishable by fine or imprisonment
 Can be sued

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE

Jayson Blair
 Investigative
Journalist
 New York Times writer
 He possibly plagiarized more than 1/3 of his
stories in 2002-2003
 He was FORCED TO RESIGN
“New York Times Exposes Fraud of Own Reporter.” ABC News Online. 12
May, 2003.
***
WHAT DO WE DO?
Paraphrase
 Quote
 Cite your work
 Provide Bibliography

PARAPHRASE

your own version of important details,
information and ideas originally created by
someone else, presented in a new form

your own rendition of essential information and
ideas expressed by someone else, presented in
a new form.
http://712educators.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=712educators&cdn=education&tm=128&gps=289_69
5_1020_590&f=00&su=p897.3.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_par
aphr.html
PARAPHRASE – HOW?
Steps to Effective Paraphrasing
 Reread the original passage until you understand its full
meaning.
 Write your paraphrase, using your own voice.
 Check your version with the original to make sure that it
accurately expresses all the important information in a new
form.
 “Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or
phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.”
 Record the source so that you can give credit to it if you
decide to use the material in your paper.
http://712educators.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=712educators&cdn=education&tm=128&gps=28
9_695_1020_590&f=00&su=p897.3.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/resea
rch/r_paraphr.html
PARAPHRASE – PRACTICE
http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/l
esson1062/ParaphrasingPractice.pps#256,1
,Paraphrasing Practice
QUOTE

Quotations must be identical to the original.
They must match the resource word for word
and credit must be given to the original author.
QUOTE

Use quotations
 when
you want to emphasize someone else’s
statements
 when you want to disagree with someone else’s
statements
 when you are comparing statements
PARAPHRASING AND QUOTING
Make sure you document your source within
the text!
 Make sure you include a citation for that
source in your bibliography!

CITE YOUR WORK

Do I have to provide citations for everything?
NO!
 Common
knowledge
 Your own thoughts, ideas
 Things you have observed
CITE YOUR WORK

After a paraphrased entry or quotation, put the
author’s name and page number in
parentheses before the period. Example:
“Reading itself promotes reading. A consistent finding in inschool free reading studies is that children who participate in
these programs are more involved in FVR after the program
ends than those in traditional programs” (Krashen, p. 81).
CITE YOUR WORK

If you are using an internet resource, put the
webpage title in parentheses before the period.
Example:
“Those who read more, know more... There was a
clear relationship between the amount of reported
leisure reading and performance on the literature
test” (“Literacy without walls”).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
List of resources
 Citation Machine
 Bibliography Guidelines
 Ask for help!

WORKS CITED (OR BIBLIOGRAPHY)

"Avoiding Plagiarism - The OWL at Purdue." Welcome to the Purdue University
Online Writing Lab (OWL). 29 Oct. 2008
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/>.

Dunlap, Kent. "Plagiarism." 2008. [Place of access.] 29 Oct. 2008
<http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar433110>.

"Lessons on plagiarism - Grey Day - Plagiarizing and Education." Secondary
School Education - Education and Teaching. 29 Oct. 2008
<http://712educators.about.com/cs/plagiarism/a/plagiarism.htm>.

"Literacy Without Walls." SlideShare is the best place to share powerpoint
presentations. 29 Oct. 2008 <http://www.slideshare.net/dosmith/literacywithout-walls-presentation/>.

"Vaughan Memorial Library : Tutorials : Plagiarism." Vaughan Memorial Library,
Acadia University. 29 Oct. 2008
<http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/>.
Created at www.bibme.org