Handout LA-1
How to Avoid Plagiarism
Plagiarism is when you deliberately use someone else’s work and try to
pass it off as your own without giving credit to the true author. Often,
many instances of plagiarism are unintentional. It is important that you
learn to write in ways that will help you to avoid this pitfall. Here are some
guidelines:
1. In order to avoid plagiarism, ideas and information taken from another
source that you cite must still be presented in your own style, your own
words, and your own order. This involves more than simply rearranging
words in the original author’s sentences. The best tactic is to try to
digest and understand what the author said, then write it down in your
own words without looking at the author’s words again. WARNING: If
you do this sentence by sentence, you will still end up plagiarizing.
2. No more than 10% of your paper (and preferably much less) should
consist of direct quotes. The rest should be in your own words.
3. Sources of all information used in your text should be documented with
in-text citations (as will be explained later by your teacher). All sources
cited in your text should also be cited at the end of your paper. All
sources cited in the text should be included in the works cited list and
all sources included in the works cited list should be cited somewhere
in the text.
Handout LA-2
When to Cite Sources
Remember that citing your sources gives credit to the ideas of others and
adds veracity (truth) to your research and readings.
When to cite
1. If you quote an author, even if you are only borrowing a single key
word, you need to tell your reader the origin of the quotation.
2. You also need to cite a source:
 if you restate an idea, thesis, or opinion stated by an author
 if you restate an expert’s theory or opinion
 if you use facts that are not common knowledge
 if you need to provide an informational or explanatory note
When do you not have to cite a reference?
1. If the information is well and widely known and indisputable,
including mathematical and scientific facts:
The Republicans succeeded in winning the majority in both the
House and Senate in the November elections. AIDS is a disease that
is managed but not cured.
2. Information found in dictionaries:
A Conestoga wagon is a covered wagon with an arched canvas
top and broad wheels used as transportation across the prairies.
3. Statistics and information that can easily be found in several sources
and are not likely to vary from source to source:
The population of the United States is 281 million.
Handout LA-3
Blank Forms and Examples
Citing a Book:
_________________________ . ___________________________ .
Author’s name (last name first)
Title of book (underlined)
_______________________ : ___________________________ .
City of Publication
Publishing company
_______________________ .
Copyright date
Example of book citation:
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper & Row,
1964.
Citing an Encyclopedia Article:
_____________________________ . “_________________.”
Author’s name, if given (last name first) Title of article (in quotation marks)
_______________________ . ___________________________ .
Title of Encyclopedia (underlined) Edition, if stated
_______________________ .
Date published
Example of encyclopedia article citation:
Dundes, Alan. “Myth: Myths of the Beginning and of the End.”
Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed. 1970.
Citing an Internet Web Site:
_____________________________ . “_________________.”
Author’s name, if given (last name first) Full title of item in quotation marks
_______________________ . ___________________________
Date of last revision, if found http address/file name
(_______________________ ).
Date of web site visit in parentheses
Example of web site citation:
Arnett, Bill. “The Nine Planets.” 1998. http://www.seds.org (Jan. 25, 1999).
Handout LA-4
How to Recognize Unacceptable and Acceptable
Paraphrases
Here’s the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime
in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.:
The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the
three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger,
steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they
transformed farm hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of
immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River,
Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centers of production as
well as of commerce and trade.
Here’s an UNACCEPTABLE paraphrase that is plagiarism:
The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were
three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies became
more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory
workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the
growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centers of
commerce and trade as well as production.
What makes this passage plagiarism?
The preceding passage is considered plagiarism for two reasons:


the writer has only changed around a few words and phrases, or changed the
order of the original’s sentences.
the writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts.
If you do either or both of these things, you are plagiarizing.
NOTE: This paragraph is also problematic because it changes the sense of several
sentences (for example, "steam-driven companies" in sentence two misses the original’s
emphasis on factories).
Here’s an ACCEPTABLE paraphrase:
Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern industrial cities of the
nineteenth century. Steam-powered production had shifted labor from agriculture to
manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in the US, they found work in these new
factories. As a result, populations grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one
of these manufacturing and commercial centers (Williams 1).
Handout LA-5
MLA Citing Sources Practice
Using your notes, place the following books in proper MLA format on a
separate piece of paper.
1. Author: Traci Rosario
Title: Teaching for Fun
Copyright Date: 2002
Publishing Company: Pitt Press
City of Publication: Wailuku
2. Author: Kathleen Cullen
Title of encyclopedia: World Books
Title of Article: Armadillos: When Cute Animals go Bad
Edition: 7
Date Published: 1962
3. Author: Hamlet Shakes
Title of Item: Who Wrote Shakespeare?
Date of website visit: November 6, 2005
Date of last revision: January 3, 2004
http address: http://www.shakesandroll.com
4. Author: Gary Coleman
Title: Short People are Fun
Copyright date: 1988
Publishing Company: Different Strokes Books
City of Publication: Chicago
5. Author: Seth Cohen
Title of Item: Summertime
Date of Website visit: November 3, 2005
Date of last revision: November 1, 2005
http address: http://www.theocrocks.com
Websites to Help You Cite
 The following sites include guidelines on how to properly format your
papers:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html
http://www.mla.org/
http://library.osu.edu/sites/guides/mlagd.html
http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/mla.html
 These next two sites will actually help you format your paper properly if
you input the information:
http://citationmachine.net/
http://webapps.calvin.edu/knightcite/index.php
Handout LA-6
MLA Cite Form
Citing a Book:
_________________________ .
Author’s name (last name first)
___________________________ .
Title of book (underlined)
_______________________ :
City of Publication
___________________________ .
Publishing company
_______________________ .
Copyright date
Citing an Encyclopedia Article:
_____________________________ .
“_________________.”
Author’s name, if given (last name first) Title of article (in quotation marks)
_______________________ . ___________________________ .
Title of Encyclopedia (underlined)
Edition, if stated
_______________________ .
Date published
Citing an Internet Web Site:
_____________________________ .
“_________________.”
Author’s name, if given (last name first) Full title of item in quotation marks
_______________________ .
___________________________
Date of last revision, if found
http address/file name
(_______________________ ).
Date of web site visit in parentheses