Chapter 3 Avoiding Plagiarism
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is “the act of appropriating the literary composition of another author, or excerpts, ideas, or passages therefrom, and passing the material off as one’s own creation”.
Plagiarism begins where the line between others’ work and one’s own becomes blurred. To avoid plagiarism, you have to avoid the obvious problems of taking a whole paper off the web or taking one from another student. You also will need to know the basics of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, and you are giving necessary credit for other peoples’ words and ideas
The table[1] below describes three different ways of using evidence:
| Quoting | Using the author’s exact words. Always cite it and use “quotation marks.” |
| Paraphrasing | Restating, in your own words, the author’s words or ideas without altering the meaning or providing interpretation. Paraphrases are about the same length as the original. Always cite it. |
| Summarizing | Condensing the author’s words or ideas without altering the meaning or providing interpretation—you use your own words for this. Basically, presenting the original information in a nutshell. Always cite it. |
(adapted, in part, from Culturally Responsive Composition by Andy Gurevich)
