Writing a Research
Paper
How to Avoid Plagiarism and Get a
Good Grade
Why is Citation Important?
• Ensures complete documentation. Your
reader will be able to find your source
easily.
• Sets standards of uniformity. This
decreases confusion.
• Gives proper credit to sources. So you
won’t appear to be taking credit for
someone else’s words or idea.
What is Plagiarism?
• Plagiarism is the act of taking credit
for someone else's work.
– Plagiarism is a form of cheating that can
have very bad consequences.
– In college, plagiarism usually involves
writing.
– Here are some examples of plagiarism
and some ways to avoid it.
Stealing a whole article or
paper is plagiarism
• Whether it came from one of the
many college essay plagiarism
websites that buy and sell research
papers or from an encyclopedia, or
from a friend, it is still plagiarism.
Stealing even part of someone
else’s paper is plagiarism
• Even if just a phrase or two comes
from another web site, it’s still
plagiarism. Someone who copies work
from another source is still guilty of
cheating.
Make sure you put it in your
own words
• Copying material and then changing it
slightly in cosmetic ways—for example, by
rearranging the order of the words or
sentences, or by using synonyms for some
of the words—is usually still plagiarism.
• An example of this kind of plagiarism
might look like this:
An example of plagiarism (note
the text in red):
• Original: The basic idea is that a system has
parts that fit together to make a whole; but
where it gets complicated -- and interesting -is how those parts are connected or related to
each other.
• Plagiarized: A system has parts that fit
together to make a whole, but the important
aspect of systems is how those parts are
connected or related to each other (Frick 21).
Why was that a problem?
• The example on the previous slide was a
problem because I used some of the same
phrases as the original without putting
them in quotation marks.
• It doesn’t matter that I gave the writer’s
name: it’s still plagiarism because I used
the original text without changing the
words.
When should you cite a source?
• When you use another person's idea,
opinion, or theory.
• When you use quotations of another
person's actual spoken or written words.
• When you paraphrase another person's
words.
• When you use any facts, statistics, graphs,
pictures, etc. or any other piece of
information that you found from any
source.
Another example:
• Here’s the ORIGINAL, from page 1 of Lizzie
Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime by Joyce
Williams (published in 1981 by T.I.S. Editions in
Bloomington, Indiana):
– 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.
Unacceptable Plagiarism
• As bigger 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.
Why was that a problem?
• The preceding passage is considered
plagiarism for two reasons:
– The writer has only changed 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.
Here’s an ACCEPTABLE paraphrase:
• 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. (Williams 1).
-----------------------------------------------• On the Works Cited page:
• Williams, Joyce. Lizzie Borden: a casebook of
family and crime in the 1890s. Bloomington:
T.I.S. Publications, 1981.
Why is this passage acceptable?
• This is acceptable paraphrasing
because the writer:
– uses her own words.
– lets her reader know the source of her
information.
Cite graphics or images too
• Copying visual
information or graphics
from a Website or from
a printed source is very
similar to quoting
information. The source
of the visual information
or graphic must be cited.
DaVinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa. 1519. The Louvre, Paris. Works of
Leonardo. 1 Aug. 2000. 4 Aug. 2008
<http://www.leonardo.com>.
How to make sure you’re okay
• Put quotation marks around everything
that comes directly from another text.
• It’s usually a better idea to Paraphrase,
but be sure you are not just rearranging
or replacing a few words.
• Read over what you want to paraphrase
carefully; then cover up the text with
your hand so you won’t be tempted to use
the text as a “guide”). Then write out
the idea of the passage in your own
words without peeking.
What don’t I need to cite?
• Common knowledge: facts that can be found in
numerous places and are likely to be known by a
lot of people.
– Columbus is the capital of Ohio.
• But you must document facts that are not
generally known and also ideas that interpret
facts.
– According the American Family Leave Coalition’s new
book, Family Issues and Congress, President Bush’s
relationship with Congress has hindered family leave
legislation (Family Issues 6).
• The idea that “Bush’s relationship with Congress
has hindered family leave legislation” is not a
fact but an interpretation. Therefore, you
need to cite your source.
But you do need to cite
ideas that interpret facts
• Here’s an example:
– According the American Family Leave
Coalition’s new book, Family Issues and
Congress, President Bush’s relationship with
Congress has hindered family leave legislation
(Family Issues 6).
• The idea that “Bush’s relationship with
Congress has hindered family leave
legislation” is not a fact but an
interpretation. Therefore, you need to
cite your source.
MLA: You need to do it twice:
• In-text citation for immediate
reference.
• Complete citation in Works Cited
page at the end.
• Emphasis on form, detail, exactness.
• Consistency and neatness count.
In-Text Citations
Author(s) and page number.
See an MLA guide—in paper or online.
• In-text citations for electronic sources
are treated similar to print texts. The only
real difference occurs because electronic
texts do not have page numbers (unless
the source is in PDF format or otherwise
mimics a print version of the source).
Works Cited Page
• Series of identifying statements
– Author (last name, first name)
Availability (city, publisher, URL)
– Source (periodical title)
– Date (year, sometimes day)
– Title (title, edition)
Citation Machines
• Landmark Citation Machine
http://citationmachine.net/index.php
?reqstyleid=
• Easybib
• http://www.easybib.com/
• And lots of others
Citation Rules: Not always Easy
• Lots of exceptions.
• Can’t cover every situation.
• Electronic citation standards still
evolving.
Thanks for listening!
• Enjoy your research!
• And see or email me if you have any kind of
research questions.
• lhenry@swcollege.net