Plagiarism: What is it and why
should I care?
Research Papers 2009-2010
Ms. Emili
Definition:
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Plagiarism is the act of presenting the
words, ideas, images, sounds or the
creative expression of others as your own.
Have you…
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Copied, included,
downloaded the
words of others in
your work without
citing them?
Have had help you
wouldn’t want your
teacher to know
about?
Two types of plagiarism
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Intentional
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Copying a friend’s
work
Cutting and pasting
blocks of text
Media “borrowing”
Web publishing
without permission
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Unintentional
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Careless paraphrasing
Poor documentation
Quoting excessively
Failure to use your
own “voice”
Excuses we’ve heard
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“It’s ok if I don’t get
caught!”
“Everyone does it!”
“I was too busy to
write that paper!”
“My teachers expect
too much!”
Just don’t do: reasons why
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MAJOR
CONSEQUENCES
What are you actually
learning?
If you were an
author…
Gives you authority
Unethical
Possible School Consequences:
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“0” on the assignment
Parents notified
Suspension or
dismissal (activities,
school)
Damaged reputation
Is this important?
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What if…
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An architect
A lawyer
An accountant
NO!

You DO NOT have to
cite:
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Facts that are widely
known
“common knowledge”
Examples of Common Knowledge

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There are 4 seasons in a year
There are 365 days in a year
The U.S. entered WWII after bombing of
Pearl Harbor
John Adams was our second president
How can you tell?
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Majority of people know OR
Can easily find out from many sources
Easily “findable” in an encyclopedia,
almanac, state website, dictionary, etc.
No need to document when:
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You are discussing your own experiences,
observations, or reactions
Compiling the results of original research,
from science experiments, etc.
How do I avoid plagiarism?
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Careful note-taking
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Quoting
Paraphrasing
Summarizing
Cite as you go
Quoting
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Quotations: exact words of an author,
copied word for word. MUST be cited
Use them when:
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Power of the author’s words to support
Disagreeing with an argument
Important research that precedes your own
Highlight eloquent passages
Paraphrasing
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Rephrasing the words of an author, putting
his/her thoughts in your own words
Rework the source’s ideas, words,
phrases, sentence structures with YOUR
OWN
MUST be followed with in-text
documentation and cited in Works Cited
Paraphrase when…
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You plan to use the
info on your note
cards
You want to avoid
overusing quotations
You want to use your
own voice to present
the information
Summarizing
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Putting an
author’s/several
authors’ ideas into
your own words
Significantly shorter
than the original idea
or quotation
Summarize when…
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Establishing background information or
giving an overview of a topic
Giving the main ideas of one source
As you take notes:
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Include page numbers and
source references so you
can go back and check
Use quotation marks for
direct quotes or unique
phrases and author’s name
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Mark quotes with a “Q”
Paraphrase with the author’s
name
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Mark paraphrased segments
with a “P”
In-text MLA documentation
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Purpose: immediate source information
Inaccurate documentation is as serious as
having no documentation
Brief information should match full source
info in Works Cited
Document in-text when:
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You use an original idea
from one of your sources
(quoted OR paraphrased)
You summarize original
ideas
You use factual
information that’s not
common knowledge
You quote directly from a
source
You use a date or fact
that might be disputed
Remember:
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Your teacher knows your
work!
Your teachers discuss
student work with each
other
Your teacher checks
suspicious work against
search engines and other
student papers
We expect honesty from
our students