ENGLISH
Plagiarism and Paraphrasing Handout
Plagiarism: Is It Plagiarism Yet?
There are some actions that can almost unquestionably be labeled plagiarism. Some of these include
buying, stealing, or borrowing a paper (including, of course, copying an entire paper or article from the Web);
hiring someone to write your paper for you; and copying large sections of text from a source without quotation
marks or proper citation.
But then there are actions that are usually in more of a gray area. Some of these include using the words
of a source too closely when paraphrasing (where quotation marks should have been used) or building on
someone's ideas without citing their spoken or written work. Sometimes teachers suspecting students of
plagiarism will consider the students' intent, and whether it appeared the student was deliberately trying to make
ideas of others appear to be his or her own.
However, other teachers and administrators may not distinguish between deliberate and accidental
plagiarism. So let's look at some strategies for avoiding even suspicion of plagiarism in the first place
When Do We Give Credit?
The key to avoiding plagiarism is to make sure you give credit where it is due. This may be credit for something
somebody said, wrote, emailed, drew, or implied. Many professional organizations, including the Modern Language
Association and the American Psychological Association, have lengthy guidelines for citing sources. However, students are
often so busy trying to learn the rules of MLA format and style or APA format and style that they sometimes forget exactly
what needs to be credited. Here, then, is a brief list of what needs to be credited or documented:
Words or ideas presented in a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, Web page, computer program,
letter, advertisement, or any other medium
Information you gain through interviewing or conversing with another person, face to face, over the phone, or in writing
When you copy the exact words or a unique phrase
When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures, or other visual materials
When you reuse or repost any electronically-available media, including images, audio, video, or other media
Bottom line, document any words, ideas, or other productions that originate somewhere outside of you.
There are, of course, certain things that do not need documentation or credit, including:
Writing your own lived experiences, your own observations and insights, your own thoughts, and your own conclusions
about a subject
When you are writing up your own results obtained through lab or field experiments
When you use your own artwork, digital photographs, video, audio, etc.
When you are using "common knowledge," things like folklore, common sense observations, myths, urban legends, and
historical events (but not historical documents)
When you are using generally-accepted facts, e.g., pollution is bad for the environment, including facts that are accepted
within particular discourse communities, e.g., in the field of composition studies, "writing is a process" is a generally-
accepted fact.
, ENGLISH
Plagiarism and Paraphrasing Handout
Deciding if Something is "Common Knowledge"
Generally speaking, you can regard something as common knowledge if you find the same information
undocumented in at least five credible sources. Additionally, it might be common knowledge if you think the information
you're presenting is something your readers will already know, or something that a person could easily find in general
reference sources. But when in doubt, cite; if the citation turns out to be unnecessary, your teacher or editor will tell you.
Plagiarism and Paraphrasing Handout
Plagiarism: Is It Plagiarism Yet?
There are some actions that can almost unquestionably be labeled plagiarism. Some of these include
buying, stealing, or borrowing a paper (including, of course, copying an entire paper or article from the Web);
hiring someone to write your paper for you; and copying large sections of text from a source without quotation
marks or proper citation.
But then there are actions that are usually in more of a gray area. Some of these include using the words
of a source too closely when paraphrasing (where quotation marks should have been used) or building on
someone's ideas without citing their spoken or written work. Sometimes teachers suspecting students of
plagiarism will consider the students' intent, and whether it appeared the student was deliberately trying to make
ideas of others appear to be his or her own.
However, other teachers and administrators may not distinguish between deliberate and accidental
plagiarism. So let's look at some strategies for avoiding even suspicion of plagiarism in the first place
When Do We Give Credit?
The key to avoiding plagiarism is to make sure you give credit where it is due. This may be credit for something
somebody said, wrote, emailed, drew, or implied. Many professional organizations, including the Modern Language
Association and the American Psychological Association, have lengthy guidelines for citing sources. However, students are
often so busy trying to learn the rules of MLA format and style or APA format and style that they sometimes forget exactly
what needs to be credited. Here, then, is a brief list of what needs to be credited or documented:
Words or ideas presented in a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, Web page, computer program,
letter, advertisement, or any other medium
Information you gain through interviewing or conversing with another person, face to face, over the phone, or in writing
When you copy the exact words or a unique phrase
When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures, or other visual materials
When you reuse or repost any electronically-available media, including images, audio, video, or other media
Bottom line, document any words, ideas, or other productions that originate somewhere outside of you.
There are, of course, certain things that do not need documentation or credit, including:
Writing your own lived experiences, your own observations and insights, your own thoughts, and your own conclusions
about a subject
When you are writing up your own results obtained through lab or field experiments
When you use your own artwork, digital photographs, video, audio, etc.
When you are using "common knowledge," things like folklore, common sense observations, myths, urban legends, and
historical events (but not historical documents)
When you are using generally-accepted facts, e.g., pollution is bad for the environment, including facts that are accepted
within particular discourse communities, e.g., in the field of composition studies, "writing is a process" is a generally-
accepted fact.
, ENGLISH
Plagiarism and Paraphrasing Handout
Deciding if Something is "Common Knowledge"
Generally speaking, you can regard something as common knowledge if you find the same information
undocumented in at least five credible sources. Additionally, it might be common knowledge if you think the information
you're presenting is something your readers will already know, or something that a person could easily find in general
reference sources. But when in doubt, cite; if the citation turns out to be unnecessary, your teacher or editor will tell you.
