Avoiding Plagiarism
Introduction
What is plagiarism?
Identifying plagiarism
What is “common knowledge”?
Talk About It
Your Turn
Introduction
Have you ever played a game during which someone
cheated? How did that make you feel?
Plagiarism is a kind of
cheating. It involves
taking someone else’s
work or ideas and using
them as your own.
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism carries real
consequences—receiving
a low grade, failing a
class, being expelled
from school, even losing
a job!
Learning how to use
other writers’ words and
ideas correctly will help
you avoid plagiarism.
Identifying plagiarism
For a class project, Sean wrote about Habitat for
Humanity, an organization dedicated to helping people
obtain affordable housing.
Here is an excerpt from one of the articles Sean used
as a source.
ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity
International had barely hung out its
shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the wife
of a Presbyterian minister, started its first
affiliate in her basement in San Antonio.
Since then, more than 1,600 affiliates have
sprung up around the country and built or
rehabilitated more than 226,000 houses
worldwide, demonstrating the power of a
grassroots movement.
nytimes.com
Identifying plagiarism
Avoid plagiarism by putting the essence of the
original text into your own distinctive language, as
Sean has done.
ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity
International had barely hung out its
shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the wife
of a Presbyterian minister, started its first
affiliate in her basement in San Antonio.
Since then, more than 1,600 affiliates have
sprung up around the country and built or
rehabilitated more than 226,000 houses
worldwide, demonstrating the power of a
grassroots movement.
nytimes.com
Habitat for Humanity
International was
created in 1976. Since
then, Habitat has
built more than
226,000 houses around
the world for those
unable to own their
own home through
traditional means.
Identifying plagiarism
Plagiarism occurs when you copy information from a
source word for word.
ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity
International had barely hung out its
shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the
wife of a Presbyterian minister, started
its first affiliate in her basement in San
Antonio.
Since then, more than 1,600 affiliates
have sprung up around the country and
built or rehabilitated more than 226,000
houses worldwide, demonstrating the
power of a grassroots movement.
nytimes.com
Habitat for Humanity has
grown into a successful
international
organization since it
was founded in 1976.
Habitat effectively
demonstrates the power
of a grassroots
movement.
Identifying plagiarism
If you use an author’s original ideas, credit that author.
Otherwise, it’s like claiming you came up with those
ideas on your own.
President Carter Lends a Hand
In 1984 Fuller traveled . . . to nearby Plains
to pay a visit to former U.S. president
Jimmy Carter. Carter had earlier made
donations to Habitat . . . but Fuller solicited
Carter to do more.
Carter agreed to serve on the organization’s
board, lend his celebrity to fundraising
efforts, and work on a construction crew.
As Fuller had hoped, the event received
national media attention.
According to Edward A.
Hatfield, in 1984 Fuller
enlisted former president
Jimmy Carter to serve on
the organization’s board.
His celebrity helped
raise Habitat’s profile.
Sean’s summary
acknowledges the author
whose ideas he used.
Research Tip
Parenthetical citations
Use parenthetical citations to give credit
when you use an author’s words or ideas.
After a direct quotation, put the author’s name in
parentheses. Add a page number if there is one.
Former president Carter’s involvement with Habitat has
“helped raise Habitat’s profile as an international
philanthropic organization.” (Hatfield)
You can also use the author’s name in your sentence.
According to Hatfield, Carter’s celebrity helped raise
Habitat’s profile.
Identifying plagiarism
Another problem is paraphrasing a source too closely.
Changing a few words does not make the work your own.
ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity
International had barely hung out its
shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the
wife of a Presbyterian minister, started
its first affiliate in her basement in San
Antonio.
Since then, more than 1,600 affiliates
have sprung up around the country and
built or rehabilitated more than 226,000
houses worldwide, demonstrating the
power of a grassroots movement.
Habitat for Humanity started
in 1976. Faith Lytle, a
Presbyterian minister’s
wife, started the first
affiliate in San Antonio.
Now 1,600 affiliates have
arisen all over the country,
and Habitat has built more
than 226,000 houses all over
the world.
This note changes a few
words, but it is essentially the same as the original.
Identifying plagiarism
Is the note on the right an acceptable paraphrase of
the information on the left, or is it plagiarism?
What does a Habitat house cost?
Throughout the world, the cost of houses varies
from as little as $800 in some developing
countries to an average of nearly $60,000 in the
United States.
Habitat houses are affordable for low-income
families because there is no profit included in
the sale price. Mortgage length varies from
seven to 30 years.
Depending on where
Habitat builds, the
prices of houses range
from $800 to $60,000.
Because they are sold
without profit, lowincome families can
afford to buy them.
This is a PARAPHRASE.
The meaning is the same, but the wording is distinctly
different from the source.
nytimes.com
Identifying plagiarism
Is the note on the right an acceptable paraphrase of
the excerpt on the left, or is it plagiarism?
…fraying under new leadership that is
trying to centralize the organization.
Habitat for Humanity International is
asking affiliates to sign an agreement
that would establish a quality-control
checklist, and a new policy gives
headquarters a cut of each donation it
receives that is earmarked for an
affiliate. And the changes are meeting
with opposition.
New leadership, trying to
centralize, is asking
affiliates to sign a pact
to establish a qualitycontrol list. This is
tantamount to a takeover
because they have to send
headquarters part of each
donation earmarked for its
own organization.
This is PLAGIARISM.
Although not exact, the original text is obviously copied.
nytimes.com
What is “common knowledge”?
Not all information needs to be cited. Ideas that are
considered common knowledge are free from this
rule.
Habitat for Humanity creates homes for those who
cannot afford homes by traditional means.
Jimmy Carter is the best known advocate.
A piece of information found in three separate,
independent sources is considered to be common
knowledge.
What is “common knowledge”?
Which of the following ideas do you think would be
common knowledge and which would you have to cite?
Common knowledge
Lesser-known facts or ideas
Sweat equity is the work
By 1964, Millard Fuller
families put into their
was a discontented
homes.
millionaire.
By 1964,
After
Jimmy
Sweat
aequity
Carter
stay
Millard
atis
was
Koinonia
the
Fuller
the
work
was
Farm
39th aPresident
families
in
discontented
rural
put into
Sumter,
ofAfter
their
the a stay at Koinonia
Jimmy Carter was the
millionaire.
Fuller
Unitedestablished
homes.
States. Farm
the in rural Sumter,
39th President of the
Fund for Humanity
withestablished the
Fuller
United States.
Koinonia’s founder,
Fund for Humanity with
Clarence Jordan. Koinonia’s founder,
Clarence Jordan.
Research Tip
To cite or not to cite?
Should you cite that source or not? It’s
better to err on the side of caution. When in doubt, cite.
No one will complain
if you give them too
much credit.
Talk About It
Discuss these questions with your classmates.
1. Why do you think plagiarism is such a problem in
schools, colleges, and even some workplaces?
2. What do you think the appropriate consequences of
plagiarism should be for
• a high school student?
• a college professor?
• the author of a history book?
3. What precautions can you take during research so
that you don’t plagiarize unintentionally?
Your Turn
Use this text about the Japanese samurai to complete
the activities on the next slide.
Your Turn
Imagine that you are researching samurai warriors.
Using the information on the previous slide to do the
following:
1. Create a note with information that is paraphrased.
2. Create a note with information that is summarized.
3. Create a note with a direct quotation.
4. Identify a piece of information that is common
knowledge.
The End