How to Avoid Plagiarism
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Has included some directly quoted material but failed to put it in
quotation marks or cite the source.
Has cited a source and attempted to paraphrase, but has actually copied
much of the material word for word.
Has turned in a paper he found on a “Free Essays” website.
Has turned in a paper his girlfriend wrote last year.
Has included correctly paraphrased material but failed to cite the source.
Has included a quote, in quotation marks, but failed to cite the source.
Order the offenses—which is worst? What do you do in each case?
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Take a few points off
Take a lot of points off
Automatic F (59) on the paper
Automatic zero on the paper
Automatic zero in the class
X grade in the class.
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Failing to enclose borrowed
language in quotation marks
Failing to put summaries and
paraphrases in your own voice
Failing to cite quotes and
borrowed ideas
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If in doubt, cite the source!
If the ideas or words are not your own,
chances are, you have to cite them.
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You use direct quotations
You use arguable information that is not your
opinion
You use information that is not common
knowledge
The opinions and assertions of others
Any information you did not generate
yourself
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According to Joe Smith of The New York
Times, “Lil’ Wayne is a no-talent hack riding
the coattails of more successful rappers” (35).
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Some critics even believe that Justin Beiber is
not a real artist; he is merely a YouTube
sensation taken too far (Johnson 22).
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Apple sold over 450,000 iPads in 2011 alone
(“iPad Mania”).
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According to a recent poll, only 45% of
Americans believe in evolution (“Poll: Majority
Reject Evolution).
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Bill Maher, for example, believes that Tim
Tebow is completely inept as a quarterback.
◦ Note that we have no parenthetical citation here.
This is because we have a signal phrase but no
page number. (The information came from a
video.)
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His critics claim that Tim Tebow is completely
inept as a quarterback (Maher).
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It is information most readers are likely to
know (Common Knowledge)
Information and documents are widely
available
Using well-known quotations
You gathered the material yourself
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Osama bin Laden, the terrorist responsible
for masterminding the 9/11 attacks on the
United States, was killed in 2011.
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The preamble to the Constitution begins with,
“We the people of the United States, in order
to form a more perfect union . . ..”
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When Neil Armstrong first stepped foot on
the moon, he said, “That’s one small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind.”
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Over two-thirds of the people I surveyed
thought that Kim Jong Un was the president
of China. The remaining third thought he
was the kid from Up.
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How do we do it?
Bookends and sandwiches!
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Bookends make sure that
you avoid plagiarism by
giving sources proper credit.
Sandwiches make sure your
quotes fit smoothly with the
rest of your paper.
We’ll talk about bookends
first
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Rules for MLA and APA are similar.
◦ We’ll start with MLA.
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1. Source is introduced with signal phrase that
names author (in-text citations)
2. Cited material is followed by page number in
parentheses
3. Works Cited page at end of paper gives all
information about each source.
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Signal Phrase
Text
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Plus Works Cited Entry
(Citation)
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Legal scholar Jay Kesan points out that the
law holds employers liable for employees’
actions such as violations of copyright
laws, the distribution of offensive or
graphic sexual material, and illegal
disclosure of confidential information
(312).
Plus entry in Works Cited page.
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The signal phrase introduces material
from another source.
It alerts the audience that the upcoming
ideas are not yours, but those of your
source.
A good signal phrase includes:
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Author’s name
Credentials
Often, the source it came from
A good signal verb
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Joe Smith, a popular columnist for The New
York Times, discusses the issue in his recent
article “The Health Care Debate.” Smith
claims…
Author’s Name
Credentials
Source
Signal Verb
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Avoid overusing “says” or “according to.”
Vary your verbs for precision and to avoid
monotony.
Admits; agrees; argues; believes; claims;
compares; contends; declares; denies;
insists; notes; points out; reasons;
reports; suggests; thinks
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Do you have to give all that information
again?
NO!
Simply use his or her last name.
◦ Smith believes…
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DON’T use just his first name
◦ Joe thinks…
◦ He isn’t your friend, so give him the
professional courtesy of referring to him
formally
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Page number goes in there.
◦ In MLA, no “p.” or “pp.”
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Legal scholar Jay Kesan points out that the law
holds employers liable . . . (312).
◦ Note placement of period.
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Why don’t we say “(Kesan 312)”?
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1. Source is introduced with signal phrase that names author
(in-text citations)
2. Cited material is followed by page number in parentheses
3. Works Cited page at end of paper gives all information
about each source.
Kesan, Jay P. “Cyber-Workings or Cyber-Shrinking? A First
Principles Examination of Electronic Privacy in the
Workplace.” Florida Law Review 54.2 (2002): 289-332.
Print.
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Consult your style guide for specifics
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The rules are almost the same.
Add two things:
◦ Year of publication in signal phrase
◦ “p.” in parenthetical citation
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Yanovski and Yanovski (2002) explained
that sibutramine suppresses appetite by
blocking the reuptake of the
neurotransmitters serotonin and
norepinephrine in the brain (p. 594).
◦ Use “pp.” for multiple pages (pp. 8-9)
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APA uses a “References” page that
has a different format than a “Works
Cited” page
Yanovski, S.Z., & Yanovski, J.A.
(2002). Drug therapy: Obesity.
The New England Journal of
Medicine, 346, 591-602.
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Make sure to consult your style guide
to get the right format!
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What about borrowed words?
Martin Luther King Jr. hoped for a land in
which people would not be judged by the
color of their skin but by the content of
their character.
◦ Okay?
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NO! What are we implying here?
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Martin Luther King Jr. hoped for a land in
which people would “not be judged by the
color of their skin but by the content of
their character” (13).
Give credit for IDEAS using bookends.
Give credit for WORDS using bookends and
quotation marks.
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Most students are pretty good at finding
useful quotes for their papers.
Most students, however, have a hard time
using the quote correctly.
We need to know where the quote comes
from, as well as how it relates to your paper.
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Barack Obama was elected President of the
United States on November 3, 2008. “The
election of Barack Obama represents a
breakthrough in the struggle of the African
American in society.” Barack Obama took office
on January 20, 2009.
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Also called a “dropped quote.”
The student hits us with a quote and takes off, with
no explanation of the source or purpose of the quote.
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Barack Obama was elected President of the United
States on November 3, 2008.
◦ Okay so far…
“The election of Barack Obama represents a
breakthrough in the struggle of the African
American in society.”
◦ Good quote, but who said it? Where did it come
from?
Barack Obama took office on January 20, 2009.
◦ Whoa! Moving on already? What did that quote
mean? Why is it in your paper? How does it
contribute to your argument?
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A sandwich has three layers…
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Bread
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Meat
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Bread
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Bread: Introduction of the quote.
◦ Who said it?
◦ What are his credentials?
◦ Where was the information published?
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Meat: The quote itself.
◦ In quotation marks.
◦ Appropriate citation at the end.
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Bread: Explanation.
◦ What the quote means, if it is difficult to
understand.
◦ How the quote relates to your paper and/or how it
supports/refutes your argument.
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Barack Obama was elected President of the United
States on November 3, 2008. James Smith, a
popular political author, comments on the historymaking event in his book The Dawn of the Obama
Era. He claims, “The election of Barack Obama
represents a breakthrough in the struggle of the
African American in society” (14). Smith is right;
when Barack Obama took office on January 20,
2009, he tore down a wall that had long stood
between African Americans and political success.
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Bread:
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Meat:
◦ James Smith, a popular political author, commented
on the history-making event in his book The Dawn
of the Obama Era.
◦ He claims, “The election of Barack Obama
represents a breakthrough in the struggle of the
African American in society” (14).
 Note the introduction (He claims . . .) and the citation.
Quotes need bookends too!
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Bread:
◦ Smith is right; when Barack Obama took office on
January 20, 2009, he tore down a wall that had long
stood between African Americans and political
success.
◦ When language is especially vivid or expressive.
◦ When exact wording is needed for technical
accuracy.
◦ When it is important to let the debaters of an issue
explain their positions in their own words.
◦ When the words of an important authority lend
weight to an argument.
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Sometimes, a quote is not the best way to get
information into your paper.
In these cases, you’ll want to put things in
your own voice through summary and
paraphrase.
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You can control the length and structure of
the information.
You can make complicated information clear
to your audience.
You can tailor the information to fit your
purpose.
Keeps tone and voice consistent.
Don’t want excessive quoting.
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Summary = the expression of others’ ideas in
your own words
◦ For our purposes, we’ll also define a summary as a
condensed version of the original
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So if the original is one hundred words, how
long might your summary be?
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Paraphrase = a restatement of an author’s
ideas in your own voice
So if an original is fifty words long, about how
long will the paraphrase be?
About fifty words!
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Summarize if a concept is important to your
paper, but the specifics of that concept are
not.
Paraphrase if you want to include all of the
information in a passage, but you want to
avoid a long quote and stick with your own
voice.
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Original: In earlier times, surveillance was limited
to the information that a supervisor could observe
and record firsthand and to primitive counting
devices. In the computer age surveillance can be
instantaneous, unblinking, cheap, and, maybe most
importantly, easy.
Paraphrase: Scholars Carl Botan and Mihaela
Vorvoreanu argue that in earlier times monitoring
of employees was restricted to the information that
a supervisor could observe and record firsthand. In
the modern era, monitoring can be instantaneous,
inexpensive, and, most importantly, easy.
Is this okay?
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Original: In earlier times, surveillance was
limited to the information that a supervisor
could observe and record firsthand and to
primitive counting devices. In the computer
age surveillance can be instantaneous,
unblinking, cheap, and, maybe most
importantly, easy.
Paraphrase: Scholars Carl Botan and Mihaela
Vorvoreanu argue that in earlier times
monitoring of employees was restricted to
the information that a supervisor could
observe and record firsthand. In the
modern era, monitoring can be
instantaneous, inexpensive, and, most
importantly, easy (126).
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Original: In earlier times, surveillance was limited
to the information that a supervisor could observe
and record firsthand and to primitive counting
devices. In the computer age surveillance can be
instantaneous, unblinking, cheap, and, maybe most
importantly, easy.
Paraphrase: Scholars Carl Botan and Mihaela
Vorvoreanu claim that the nature of workplace
surveillance has changed over time. Before the
arrival of computers, managers could collect only
small amounts of information about their
employees based on what they saw or heard.
However, because compters are now standard
workplace technology, employers can moniter
employees efficiently (126).
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Read carefully a few times, then write in your
own words without looking at the text.
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If you use a source’s ideas, but your words?
YES!
◦ Paraphrases and summaries, even though in your
own voice, are the ideas of another. You must
give that source credit!
◦ Use Bookends!
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All ideas from other sources must be
credited.
Use bookends for this!
All borrowed words must be in quotes.
Use quote sandwiches to integrate into
your paper!