Plagiarism
is the act of presenting someone else's work as your own. It is the
theft of intellectual property. The following examples should help you
distinguish plagiarism from well documented research.
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ORIGINAL TEXT FROM
McCullough, David. John Adams. New York: Simon & Schuster,
2001. p. 57
His marriage to Abigail Smith was the most important decision of
John Adam's life, as would become apparent with time. She was in all
respects his equal and the part she was to play would be greater than
he could possibly have imagined, for all his love for her and what
appreciation he already had of her beneficial, steadying influence.
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WRITING SAMPLE #1
John Adams' marriage to Abigail
was the most important choice in his life. He was to come to understand
this better with time. In so many ways, she was his equal, and he could
not have imagined the importance of the role she was going to play,
despite his love for her and his appreciation of her good, solid
influence.
UNACCEPTABLE! This
paragraph is the work of someone either deliberately plagiarizing or
someone who doesn't understand what it means to plagiarize. The writer
may have changed a few words and switched the order of words in the
sentences, but the writer has not changed McCullough's sequence of
ideas and has not used the information in a meaningful way. He or she
failed to cite what are really McCullough's original ideas or words.
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WRITING SAMPLE #2
When John Adams was ready to
marry, he sought a woman who was his equal. He found Abigail Smith and
loved her for her steadying influence.
UNACCEPTABLE! Not only
did this student neglect to cite, this paraphrase twists McCullough's
meaning. Though it changes words significantly, it also does a poor job
conveying the original idea accurately.
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WRITING SAMPLE #3
The best decisions of a great
leader may extend beyond the political. In fact, the course of American
history may have been changed by an entirely personal decision. In his
biography of Adams, David McCullough notes that Adams' choice of
Abigail Smith as a wife was the most critical decision of his life.
"She was in all respects his equal and the part she was to play would
be greater than he could possibly have imagined" (McCullough 57).
ACCEPTABLE! This is acceptable because the author uses the
information in a meaningful way, accurately paraphrases the idea
presented in the original source, credits them and weaves in a quote to
emphasize the point. The source is properly quoted and cited using
quotation marks and in-text documentation. Note that in this example
the student created his/her own topic sentence, following an
independent plan and not necessarily following the structure of another
author's material.
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YOU CAN AVOID PLAGIARISM.
- When you are taking notes, make sure that you copy all
original passages in quotation marks.
- Paraphrase by really putting ideas into your own words; go
beyond changing a few words. Recognize that paraphrasing of unique
ideas and facts also requires citation.
- As you write, return to the text and check your paraphrase
against the original source to make sure you haven't unintentionally
copied.
- Use graphic organizers to restructure your facts and ideas.
- Use your own voice to put a new twist on old information.
WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE!
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WHAT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE?
You don't have to cite everything. Facts or ideas referred to as common knowledge do not have to be
cited.
Common knowledge includes
- facts that are found in many sources
- facts that you assume many people know.
A rule of thumb is that if you find a fact in three or more
sources, it may be considered common knowledge.
An example of common knowledge is "John Adams married Abigail Adams".
This information can be widely found and need not be cited.
On the other hand,
- little known facts and
- any ideas that interpret facts
must be documented, even if they are paraphrased. For instance,
even if your don't use McCullough's exact words, you should absolutely
document McCullough's belief that this marriage may have been the most
critical of Adams' life.
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This excerpt is used with permission from Bellingham Public
Schools. This information appears in "Bellingham Public Schools
Publishing Guidelines for Research Papers and Culminating Projects,"
2nd Edition, May 2005. The entire document can be downloaded
"Publishing Guidelines.pdf"
by visiting
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/learning/culminating-project/guide.htm