Definitions
• Giving credit to a source for words and ideas
from the source
• “a technical term for the procedure whereby
writers identify the sources of their
information” (Searles 303)
What needs to be documented?
• Exact words (quotations from sources)
• Ideas (paraphrase of source material)
• Statistics
• Visuals
Plagiarism
• Using a source’s words or ideas without giving
the source credit; using those words and ideas
as though they are your own
Penalties for Plagiarism
• In school: failing a project or class; withdrawal
or expulsion
• At work: loss of credibility; loss of position or
job; possible legal action
• Unintentional: possible F on report
• Intentional: possible F in class
Ways to Plagiarize
• Omitting documentation entirely
• Omitting quotation marks from quotations
• Failing to paraphrase thoroughly
Lewis, L. Myths after Lincoln. New
York: Press of the Readers Club.
• Original: However much Abraham Lincoln
believed in democracy, the American masses, in
the half-century following their war-President's
death, did not seem to believe in themselves.
• Paraphrase: No matter how much Abraham
Lincoln believed in democracy, American masses
did not appear to believe in themselves in the
half-century after their war-President's death.
• Paraphrase: The average American in the 50
years after Lincoln died possessed no selfconfidence, despite the fact that Lincoln had a
great deal of faith in democracy.
Documentation Styles
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MLA: Modern Language Association
APA: American Psychological Association
CBE: Council of Biology Editors
ACS: American Chemical Society
AMS: American Mathematical Society
AIP: American Institute of Physics
Components of Documentation
• Bibliography—a list of sources
• Parenthetical Citation (In-text Citation)—
identification of the source of each quotation,
statistic, paraphrase, or visual in the text
Bibliography
•
•
•
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MLA: Works Cited; APA: References
Place as last page of project.
Center title on first line.
Alphabetize list by author’s last name or by first
important word of title.
• Indent all but first line one tab.
• More Info:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747
/01/
Major Differences—MLA and APA
• Names of authors
• Placement of publication date
• Capitalization and punctuation
• Designation of online sources
Books
Baron, Naomi. Alphabet to Email: How
Written English Evolved and Where It’s
Headed. London: Routledge, 2000. Print.
Magazine Articles
Hobson, Katherine. “Injury-Free Workouts.”
U.S. News & World Report 25 June 2007: 6270. Print.
Trade or Academic Journal Articles
Fahey, Richard. “Clean Drinking Water for All.”
Civil Engineering 77.4 (2007): 45-54. Print.
Newspaper Articles
Clark, Nicola. “One Word for Airplane Makers:
Plastics.” New York Times 16 June 2007: C3+.
Print.
Interviews
Britton, William. Personal (or Telephone)
interview. 10 Nov. 2008.
E-mails
Russo, Linda. “Questions about Training
Program.” Message to author. 15 Jan. 2009. Email.
Surveys
Student, John. “Student Survey: Computer Lab
Space.” Illinois Valley Community College,
Oglesby, IL. 15 Oct. 2009. Survey.
Online Sources: Only on Web
American Federation of Labor—Congress of
Industrial Organizations. “Workers’ Rights.”
AFL-CIO: America’s Union Movement. AFL-CIO,
2007. Web. 21 June 2007.
Online Sources: w/Print Publication
Oh, William. “Preventing Damage to Motor
Bearings.” HPAC Engineering 79.4 (2007): 4649. Academic Search Premiere. Web. 10 May
2007.