Don’t Get
Burned By Plagiarism
A Rock Star Story
By Eileen Jones
in cooperation with Marilyn Zimny
Lyons Township High School
Library
You Be the Judge
Did the party in question do anything wrong?
Listen to these clips, and you be the judge.
Queen vs. Vanilla Ice
Burned at the Stake
Vanilla Ice included liner notes to thank MC
Hammer, Ice T, and Sir-Mix-A-Lot for their
inspiration, but gave no credit to Queen (David
Bowie, Queen and Vanilla Ice).
The copyright holder threatened to sue Vanilla Ice,
but it was settled out of court (David Bowie, Queen and
Vanilla Ice).
Vanilla Ice’s fading reputation was ruined for good.
MC Hammer was questioned for similar
allegations. He credited the artist, however,
and no charges were made against him
(David Bowie, Queen and Vanilla Ice).
How Can You
Avoid the Heat?
...and other commonly
asked questions of citation
Isn’t a Bibliography all I need?
No. You have to place citations in the paper at the
point where you use the idea, fact or quote
(Proctor).
You can avoid a parenthetical citation by
mentioning the author in a lead-in to the quote:
Ex:
In his 1961 inaugural address, President
John F. Kennedy said, “…ask not what
your country can do for you-- ask what
you can do for your country.”
Do I still have to use citations even if I
use my own words?
Yes. It is always safer to over-cite.
Citing not only acknowledges the source of the
idea or fact, but also gives credibility to your own
ideas.
Identify the source as you use it—at the end of the
sentence or at the end of the paraphrase (Proctor).
Ex: The popularity of Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of
Wrath, rivaled Gone with the Wind, but in the same
breath it was denounced as vulgar and depraved
(Johnson xi).
Paraphrasing
You’ve learned how to quote. If you cite correctly,
its easy to quote exact words.
Paraphrasing can blend more smoothly into a
paper, but it is tricky to make sure you paraphrase
enough.
Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from
a source into your own words. It’s usually
shorter than the original passage and it needs
to be documented just like a quote.
Tips for Paraphrasing
Make sure you understand the meaning of
the paragraph.
Make notes on the main idea in your own
words—without looking at the passage
Place quotation marks around any original
language taken from the source.
Write down the citation of the source
so you know where the information
came from (Paraphrase).
Now it’s your turn…
On the next slide, quickly scan the original
passage and the following citations:
Which passage is an accurate paraphrase?
Which passage plagiarizes? WHY?
“In the sixties, the public’s hunger for all things Beatle sent music
industry bigwigs both here and abroad scurrying in search of
anything remotely like them. Even Brian Epstein [The Beatles’
manager] recruited a few of his own makeshift Mop Tops to cash in
on the Beatle explosion. When groups couldn’t be found, they were
often manufactured to order”(Stallings 94).
1. Many similar groups were created after the popularity of
The Beatles (Stallings 94).
2. After the success of The Beatles, music managers hustled
to create groups that were similar. The Beatles manager,
Brian Epstein, also joined this movement and created
groups with a similar sound and image (Stallings 94).
3. After The Beatles became really successful, industry
bigwigs went scurrying to find groups remotely like the
band. Even The Beatles manager, Brian Epstein,
recreated similar Mop Top type groups to cash in on the
success (Stallings 94).
“In the sixties, the public’s hunger for all things Beatle sent music industry
bigwigs both here and abroad scurrying in search of anything remotely like
them. Even Brian Epstein [The Beatles’ manager] recruited a few of his
own makeshift Mop Tops to cash in on the Beatle explosion. When groups
couldn’t be found, they were often manufactured to order”(Stallings 94).
2. After the success of The Beatles, music managers hustled to create
groups that were similar. The Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, also joined
this movement and created groups with a similar sound and image
(Stallings 94). This one is accurately paraphrased. The writer
has used her own words and sentence structure to convey the
essence of the passage.
3. After The Beatles became really successful, industry bigwigs went scurrying
to find groups remotely like the band. Even The Beatles manager, Brian
Epstein, recreated similar Mop Top type groups to cash in on the success
(Stallings 94). In spite of citation, this one is still plagiarized in that
it retains too much of the source’s language and sentence
structure.
The Final Debate
Is this following example changed enough
to be a paraphrase, or is plagiarism the
more accurate accusation?:
George Harrison vs. The Chiffon’s
Here is the outcome...
Guilty or Innocent?
The court decided that George Harrison had
violated the copyright of He's So Fine even
though it may have been done unconsciously.
"His subconscious knew it already had worked
in a song his conscious did not remember...
That is, under the law, infringement of
copyright, and is no less so even though
subconsciously accomplished” (George
Harrison and the Chiffons).
Something to think about...
“It's like lip-synching to someone
else's voice and accepting the applause
and rewards for yourself”
(“Writing a Research Paper”)
Pop Stars Milli Vanilli: Grammy Award
Winning Artists were punished for lipsynching their hit songs. They returned
their awards. Fab Morvan attempted
unsuccessful albums, and Rob Pilatus
died of a drug overdose.
(“All or Nothing”)
Put out the fire on
plagiarism...be sure to
cite your work!
Works Cited
“All or Nothing.” CD Universe. 2005. 3 March 2 005
<http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1271112/a/All+Or+Nothing.htm>.
“David Bowie, Queen and Vanilla Ice.” Copyright Website. 2005.
8 March 2005 <http://www.benedict.com/audio/Vanilla/Vanilla.aspx>.
“George Harrison and the Chiffons.” Copyright Website. 2005.
8 March 2005 <http://www.benedict.com/audio/harrison/harrison.aspx>.
Johnson, Claudia Durst. Understanding the Grapes of Wrath. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999.
Kennedy, John F. “Inaugural Address.” Washington, D.C. 20 Jan. 1961.
“Paraphrase: Write it in Your Own Words.” Owl Online Writing Lab. 2004. Purdue University. 30
June 2004 <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_paraphr.html>.
Proctor, Margaret. “How Not to Plagiarize.” 2005. Writing at the University of Toronto. University
of Toronto. 30 June 2004 <http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html>.
Frequently asked questions about plagiarism are answered here. Helpful and informal
resources for students.
“Writing a Research Paper.” Owl Online Writing Lab. 2004. Purdue University. 30 June 2004
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/plag.html>.
This website is a fantastic resource for all kinds of writing techniques. Very authoritative.
Resources
Foss, Kathleen, and Ann Lathrop. Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the Internet Era.
Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, 2000.
This book tackles the complex issues of plagiarism in light of technological developments.
It offers suggestions lessons for teachers to reduce plagiarism in their classrooms.
Moore, Stephanie. Borrowing? Fraud? Plagiarism? Oak Hill School . 30 June 2004
<http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/samplagiarist.html>.
This is a website created by a teacher. There are several plagiarsim/paraphrasing activities
that are informative and interactive
Steps in writing a research paper. Empire State College. 30 June 2004
<http://www.esc.edu/htmlpages/writerold/steps.htm>.
This is a helpful resource for some quick citation tips
Teacher Resources
• Paraphrase Practice: If your students are in a computer lab, this is a
great resource. It is interactive and allows students to decide if a
paraphrase is acceptable. There are additional resources available from
this site.
• Paraphrase Information: This site is from Purdue University’s Owl
Writing Lab. It is a trusted, authoritative source giving information on
paraphrasing and follow up activities.
• Plagiarism 101: You may use all of this presentation, or just the
interactive quiz. It is great resource from the University of Albany on
how to write research papers and avoid plagiarism.
• Plagiarism Quiz: Another interactive quiz. This one determines
plagiarism and explains why a selection is or is not plagiarized.