LIBRARY GUIDE 16
DOCUMENTING SOURCE MATERIALS
Plagiarism involves the presentation of another person's ideas or words as one's own. Deliberate plagiarism
is a form of academic dishonesty, while inadvertent plagiarism is cause for an instructor to lower a paper
grade or refuse to accept the paper. Although there are many kinds of plagiarism, most unintentional
plagiarism occurs when students incorporate materials from sources into their papers without proper
acknowledgment. This guide will discuss examples of common errors and review the basic rules for
providing the required documentation according to MLA style. Users are cautioned that this is not an
exhaustive list of all possible forms of plagiarism. This guide is intended to serve as a quick reference for
students and an aid to instructors in diagnosing and preventing plagiarism problems. More detailed
information can be found in the MLA Handbook.
The following source will be used for all examples below.
Fehrenbacher, Don. "Mixed Feelings on Slavery." Slavery: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed.
William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1992: 284.
. . . the Constitutional convention assembled in the spring of 1787. . . . Among American political
leaders of the time, antislavery sentiment was widespread and evidently sincere, but never intense
enough to become a prime motive force. Proslavery sentiment . . . was more tenacious, being firmly
rooted in economic and social interest. The Convention, as an entity, had mixed feelings about slavery
and did not consider itself charged with any power or duty to settle the destiny of the institution.
AN EXAMPLE OF CORRECTLY USING THE SOURCE
The principles of freedom embodied in the two great documents of early
American history--the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--are
shockingly at odds with the institution of chattel slavery then practiced in
America. What seems surprising then is that the Constitutional convention which
met in Philadelphia in 1787 confirmed the status quo instead of abolishing
slavery and the slave trade. Don Fehrenbacher explains why the Convention took
no decisive action against slavery despite "widespread and evidently sincere"
opposition to it. Because an end to slavery could create both economic hardship
and social problems for the South, the pro-slavery delegates were more
committed to defending it than the anti-slavery delegates were to attacking it
(284). Presumably, the anti-slavery delegates were willing to compromise their
moral principles in order to focus on the business at hand, drafting a
constitution that all the delegates could live with. Their sense was that the
question of slavery was a peripheral and inherently divisive issue that was
best put aside. As Fehrenbacher observes, the Founding Fathers collectively
"did not consider [themselves] charged with any power or duty to settle the
destiny of the institution [of slavery]" (284).
1
Key to the example on the preceding page:
Paper writer's own words and ideas. Paraphrase = writer's words,
source's ideas.
"Quotation=source's ideas and exact words". Acknowledgments and page
numbers.
TYPES OF PLAGIARISM
1.
2.
3.
4.
STEALING WORDS occurs whenever the writer makes use of the source's words without quotation
marks.
STEALING IDEAS occurs whenever the writer makes use of the source's ideas without indicating
their origin, regardless of whether the writer has put the ideas into his or her own words.
INSUFFICIENT DOCUMENTATION occurs whenever the writer does not clearly indicate the point at
which the use of the source's ideas begins and ends, so that the reader may mistake the source's
ideas for the paper writer's.
IMITATION occurs when the writer substitutes synonyms for key words in the source's sentence,
otherwise retaining the style and sentence structure of the original, or makes only minor alterations to
the source's wording rather than using his or her own words.
EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM
In this example, Stealing Words occurs because the writer of the paper uses Fehrenbacher's exact
wording without using quotation marks. The part in bold italics is plagiarized even though the writer
gives credit to Fehrenbacher for the ideas.
The principles of freedom embodied in the two great documents of early
American history--the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--are
shockingly at odds with the institution of chattel slavery then practiced in
America. What seems surprising then is that the Constitutional Convention which
met in Philadelphia in 1787 confirmed the status quo instead of abolishing
slavery and the slave trade. Don Fehrenbacher explains why the Convention took
no decisive action against slavery despite widespread and evidently sincere
opposition to it. Because an end to slavery could create both economic hardship
and social problems for the South, the pro-slavery delegates were more
committed to defending it than the anti-slavery delegates were to attacking it
(284). Presumably, the anti-slavery delegates were willing to compromise their
moral principles in order to focus on the business at hand: drafting a
constitution that all the delegates could live with. Their sense was that the
question of slavery was a peripheral and inherently divisive issue that was
best put aside. The Founding Fathers collectively did not consider themselves
charged with any power or duty to settle the destiny of the institution of
slavery (Fehrenbacher 284).
In this example Stealing Ideas occurs because the writer makes no mention of Fehrenbacher even
though his ideas are used. The part in bold italics is plagiarized even though the writer uses different
words.
The principles of freedom embodied in the two great documents of early
2
American history--the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--are
shockingly at odds with the institution of chattel slavery then practiced in
America. What seems surprising then is that the Constitutional Convention which
met in Philadelphia in 1787 confirmed the status quo instead of abolishing
slavery and the slave trade. The Convention took no decisive action against
slavery even though some members of the convention really opposed it. The
explanation lies in the relative strength of the convictions for and against
slavery. Because an end to slavery could create both economic hardship and
social problems for the South, the pro-slavery delegates were more committed to
defending it than the anti-slavery delegates were to attacking it. Presumably,
the anti-slavery delegates were willing to compromise their moral principles in
order to focus on the business at hand: drafting a constitution that all the
delegates could live with. Their sense was that the question of slavery was a
peripheral and inherently divisive issue that was best put aside. They did not
think they had either the responsibility or the authority to decide the issue
anyway.
In this example, Insufficient Documentation occurs because the writer omits acknowledgements, and
relies only on parenthetical notes, making it impossible to determine the extent of her use of the
source's ideas. Therefore, the part printed in bold italics is plagiarized:
The principles of freedom embodied in the two great documents of early
American history--the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--are
shockingly at odds with the institution of chattel slavery then practiced in
America. What seems surprising then is that the Constitutional Convention which
met in Philadelphia in 1787 confirmed the status quo instead of abolishing
slavery and the slave trade. The Convention took no decisive action against
slavery
despite
"widespread
and
evidently
sincere"
opposition
to
it
(Fehrenbacher 284). Because an end to slavery could create both economic
hardship and social problems for the South, the pro-slavery delegates were more
committed to defending it than the anti-slavery delegates were to attacking it.
Presumably, the anti-slavery delegates were willing to compromise their moral
principles in order to focus on the business at hand: drafting a constitution
that all the delegates could live with. Their sense was that the question of
slavery was a peripheral and inherently divisive issue that was best put aside.
The Founding Fathers collectively "did not consider [themselves] charged with
any power or duty to settle the destiny of the institution [of slavery]"
(Fehrenbacher 284).
In this example, Imitation occurs because the writer echoes the language, style and sentence
structure of the source. Different words or phrases are merely substituted for some of the source's
words in the part printed in bold italics. When one cannot paraphrase an idea without close imitation,
one should quote exactly to avoid plagiarism.
The principles of freedom embodied in the two great documents of early
American history--the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--are
shockingly at odds with the institution of chattel slavery then practiced in
America. What seems surprising then is that the Constitutional convention which
met in Philadelphia in 1787 confirmed the status quo instead of abolishing
slavery and the slave trade. Don Fehrenbacher explains why the Convention took
no decisive action against slavery: among American politicians of the age,
anti-slavery opinions were common and apparently genuine, but never strong
enough to assume primary importance. Proslavery feelings were more forceful,
being solidly grounded in social and economic concerns. The Convention, as a
group, had ambivalent ideas about the institution of slavery and did not think
of itself as invested with any means or obligation to resolve the future of the
practice (284).
3
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR DOCUMENTING SOURCES
IN MLA STYLE
Papers written in both MLA and APA style employ in-text citation rather than footnotes or endnotes. In the
text of the paper the writer indicates borrowings with references to the author and the page number. In APA
style the year of publication precedes the page number. A "Works Cited" page (MLA) or "References" page
(APA), giving complete publication information for all sources used follows the text of the paper. Library
Guide LIBR 4 illustrates the format of the "Works Cited" page. Despite the technical differences in the
presentation of bibliographic information, the rules about plagiarism discussed in this guide apply equally to
papers using APA documentation.
MLA style offers two forms of in-text citation:
1)
One form is to use introductory acknowledgments with terminal parenthetical page numbers.
Lewis Thomas
points out that "the overestimation of the value of an
advance in medicine
can lead to more trouble than anyone can foresee"
(196).
Note: When writing an acknowledgment, use the full name of the author on first reference, and the surname
only in subsequent references. (If two or more sources share a surname, continue to use the full names to
distinguish them.) For an anonymous source, use the name of the publication in place of the author's name
and a shortened version of the title before the page number. You should also use a shortened title before the
page number to distinguish between two or more articles by the same author.
2)
The other form is to place both the author's surname and the page number in parentheses at the
end of the citation.
"The overestimation of the value of an advance in medicine can lead to
more trouble than anyone can foresee" (Thomas 196).
Note: While the first method makes clear the exact boundaries of the citation, the second only marks the
end of the borrowed material. Thus, method two can only be used when it will not create confusion as to
which ideas come from the source and which are the writer's own. Generally, method two can be used when
the citation is only one sentence, or is a direct quote, or is a paraphrase or summary of factual material only
rather than opinion or analysis.
Even in cases where both methods are acceptable, the first method is often more useful because it allows
the paper writer to introduce, comment on and contextualize the quotation. Consider these examples:
Smith's third and most convincing argument is that . . .
Hirono provides an example of how the parental notification law endangers
the health of pregnant teens: . . .
Gagliano makes a fallacious argument when he claims, . . .
4
FOUR BASIC RULES FOR DOCUMENTING
YOUR USE OF SOURCES
1.
When you quote, summarize,
or paraphrase the ideas of your source, use an
acknowledgment to introduce your citation and a page number to signal the end of your
immediate use of the source as you switch to your own contributions or to citing another
source.
Francis, Robert. "There Are Reasons to Control Immigration." Reading and Writing Short Arguments.
Ed. William Westerman. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield 1994. 231-32.
There really are root causes of the Neo-Nazi violence against immigrants, asylum seekers and
people who just look different. . . . First, Germany is having a pretty rough time assimilating even the
former East Germans who are now bound to the reunified country. Unemployment is staggering;
housing is in short supply and chances for growth in the future are grim.
Second, in addition to having to assimilate Germans from the east, the country takes in some
60,000 non-German asylum seekers a month, and ethnic Germans have to wonder why the
newcomers are there at all, much less why they get benefits from the government. (232)
Quote:
According
to
Francis,
reunified
Germany
is
facing
serious
problems.
"Unemployment is staggering; housing is in short supply and chances for growth
in the future are grim" (232).
Paraphrase:
The second reason for German hostility toward immigrants, maintains Francis, is
the resentment generated by the arrival of 60,000 refugees a month, who then
receive government benefits at a time when Germany is struggling to adequately
assist the Germans who had been living under communism before the opening of
the Berlin Wall.
He suggests that Germans are questioning whether the
government should continue to provide benefits to non-Germans or even admit
them at all (232).
Summary:
Francis suggests two
"root causes" for the surge in violence aimed at
foreigners, including refugees and immigrants, that has recently plagued
Germany: Germany is struggling with economic problems due to reunification, and
Germans resent government benefits going to a flood of non-German "asylum
seekers" whose presence exacerbates the housing and employment shortages
attributable to reunification (232).
2.
When you use the words of the source, place them inside quotation marks.
X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Ballantine, 1965: 347.
The single worst mistake of the American black organizations, and their leaders, is that they have failed
to establish direct brotherhood lines of communication between the independent nations of Africa and
the American black people.
5
2a.
Quotation marks are necessary even if you quote less than a full sentence and integrate the
quotation into your own sentence.
"The single worst mistake" that Malcolm X felt was made by the groups
working for the civil rights of Black Americans was that they stayed
exclusively focused on the United States and ignored the possibility of
working with potential allies among "the independent nations of Africa"
(347).
2b.
If you leave out words in the middle of a quotation, use an ellipsis. If you have to alter the
form of a word, or change the tense or a pronoun in order to make the quotation fit your
sentence, use square brackets. Necessary explanatory material should also be added in
square brackets. Words within quotation marks should otherwise be exactly the same as the
source's words.
Malcolm X advocated the "establish[ment of] direct brotherhood lines of
communication between the . . . nations of Africa and the American black
people" (347).
2c.
Put quotation marks around even single words that reflect the unique perspective of the
speaker, but not around isolated words that appear in your source but can hardly be avoided
when discussing the subject.
Correct:
Malcolm X called on black civil rights groups in the United States to
promote "brotherhood" with their fellow blacks in independent African
countries (347).
Incorrect (excessive use of quotation marks):
Malcolm X called on "black" civil rights groups in the United States to
promote "brotherhood" with their fellow "black[s]" in "independent"
"Africa[n]" countries (347).
3.
Document carefully to avoid insufficient documentation.
Klein, Joe. "The End of Affirmative Action." Newsweek 13 Feb. 1995: 36-37.
Affirmative action hasn't been a total failure. The initial impulse certainly was noble. It crystallized a
public desire to break down barriers, to include those who'd been excluded in the past. Over time, it has
become socially impossible to run any large institution in a racially exclusionary manner. But there have
been negative consequences as well, and an inescapable conclusion: discrimination can't be cured by
counterdiscrimination.
3a.
When combining quotes and paraphrase be careful to document both kinds of borrowed
material.
Incorrect: (plagiarized part in italics)
Klein admits that "affirmative action hasn't been a total failure" (36).
Indeed, it was prompted by a the hope of dismantling the walls that
divided blacks and whites and has succeeded in making overt institutional
racism unacceptable. However, Klein concludes that the policy has also
had "negative consequences" and asserts that "discrimination can't be
cured by counterdiscrimination" (36).
Correct:
6
Klein admits that "affirmative action hasn't been a total failure." For
it was prompted by the hope of dismantling the walls that divided blacks
and whites and has succeeded in making overt institutional racism
unacceptable. However, he concludes that the policy has also had
"negative consequences" and asserts that "discrimination can't be cured
by counterdiscrimination" (36).
Also Correct:
Klein admits that "affirmative action hasn't been a total failure" (36).
Indeed, he points out that it was prompted by the hope of dismantling the
walls that divided blacks and whites and has succeeded in making overt
institutional racism unacceptable. However, he concludes that the policy
has also had "negative consequences" and asserts that "discrimination
can't be cured by counterdiscrimination" (36).
3b.
Do not omit the acknowledgment in favor of including the author's name before the page
number if doing so will make unclear how much material has been borrowed.
Incorrect: (plagiarized part in italics)
Despite its honorable intention to make society more inclusive and
despite its success in undermining the practice of racial exclusion,
affirmative action has had some undesirable consequences for American
society. Our experience with it leads to the "inescapable conclusion:
discrimination can't be cured by counterdiscrimination" (Klein 36).
Correct:
According to Klein, despite its honorable intention to make society more
inclusive and despite its success in undermining the practice of racial
exclusion, affirmative action has had some undesirable consequences for
American society. Our experience with it lead to the "inescapable
conclusion: discrimination can't be cured by counterdiscrimination" (36).
4.
When you paraphrase, use your own words and sentence structure.
Incorrect (uses the source's sentence structure, merely substituting synonyms):
Joe Klein observes that the policy of affirmative action has not been a
complete disaster. The original aim obviously was laudable. It realized
the public's wish to topple down boundaries, to incorporate those who'd
been left out in the old days. Over the years, it has socially become
unacceptable to conduct any big organization in a way that is racially
discriminatory.
However there have been bad results also, and an
inevitable realization: racism can't be healed by reverse discrimination
(36).
Incorrect (uses too much of the source's wording--see italicized words):
According to Joe Klein, affirmative action has not totally failed but
despite an initial impulse that was certainly noble, despite breaking
down barriers and including people who had been previously excluded, the
policy has had some negative consequences, which lead society to conclude
inescapably
that
we
cannot
cure
discrimination
by
using
counterdiscrimination (36).
(Note that you cannot correct this example by adding in quotation marks; many of the borrowed
phrases involve transpositions and altered word forms.)
7
Correct:
In Joe Klein's view, despite admirable goals, affirmative action has at
least partially failed. Admitting that the policy has gradually worked
to
"break down barriers" which prevented minorities from participation
in
American society, he nevertheless believes that there is flaw in
trying to remedy discrimination against minorities by giving them
preferential treatment at the expense of the majority (36).
Prepared by: Laurie Leach, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
DLSS0201
University Libraries
6/30/95
8