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Untitled Document
How
to Avoid Plagiarism
Contents
What
is plagiarism?
"How can I avoid plagiarism?"
What does
plagiarism look like?
Copying-and-pasting
How will anyone
know if I plagiarize?
Plagiarism
is the act of stealing and passing off the ideas or words of somebody else as
your own.
| "How
can I avoid plagiarism?" |
- Give credit
to your sources. This is the most important way to avoid plagiarism.
- Put quotes
around exact copies of text. Refer to the source by footnotes or endnotes
and your Works Cited page.
- Footnote
or endnote ideas you have paraphrased from another author.
- Quote your
sources accurately. Copy and paste Internet addresses rather than copying
them by hand.
- Don't rely
too heavily on your sources. Remember that this is your paper; use
other authors' ideas to back up your own argument.
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What
does plagiarism look like?
Take a look at the following example, from a book by David Berlinski called
Newton's Gift.
| Original
version. This is the first paragraph of Berlinski's book,
word for word:
Isaac Newton is the largest figure in the history of western
science, his influence both inescapable and immeasurable.
Newton created the disciplines of rational and celestial mechanics;
he discovered the calculus; he advanced a theory of color;
and he made profound and audacious contributions to pure mathematics,
optics, and astronomy.
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Version
1
Isaac
Newton is the largest figure in the history of western science.
His influence is inescapable and immeasurable. He created the
disciplines of rational and celestial mechanics, discovered the calculus,
advanced a theory of color, and made profound and audacious contributions
to pure mathematics, optics, and astronomy.
Version
1 is plagiarism. No credit is given to the original
author. By changing a few words and punctuation marks, the
author has attempted to pass off the ideas as his or her own.
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| Version
2
David Berlinski argues that Newton is the largest figure in
the history of western science. He adds that he
created the disciplines of rational and celestial mechanics.
He also discovered the calculus, advanced a theory of color, and
made profound contributions to pure mathematics, optics, astronomy.
(3)
Version
2 is also plagiarism, even though the author acknowledges that the
ideas are from the original author. By neglecting to
quote phrases that are stolen word-for-word, the author is still
trying to pass off stolen words and ideas as his or her own.
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| Version
3
David Berlinski argues that Newton is the "largest figure in
the history of western science." He adds that he "created
the disciplines of rational and celestial mechanics....and made
profound contributions to pure mathematics, optics, and astronomy"
(3).
This
is the correct way to refer to your source. The author has
been identified, the words and ideas of the author are quoted properly,
and the referring page number is included. The reader can
then refer to the Works Cited page to find the complete information
about the reference:
Works
Cited
Berlinski,
David. Newton's Gift: How Sir Isaac Newton Unlocked
the System of the World. New
York: The Free Press, 2000.
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Copying
and "pasting" sections of web pages and magazine articles is a great way to
take notes and collect information. But make sure to also make note of
the source of the information each time you copy and paste. That information
includes the author, title, date of publication, date of access (the day you
are viewing it), and the URL, or internet address. This will save you
the guaranteed headache of having to go back later to try to find the information
all over again.
Remember,
everything you copy and paste is a direct quote from the original source.
If you use that information in your paper, you must put quotation marks around
it and make a reference to it!
| "No
one will know if I steal someone else's work" |
This
is not necessarily true! There are many ways that your teacher can find
the source of your information if he or she suspects it is not written by you.
Its not worth the risk.
Example
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