SLE RISE | Student Training

Plagiarism is using other people's ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. It can be intentional, but you might do it without even realizing it.

There can be serious consequences for plagiarizing, from getting a zero on a paper to a full-blown lawsuit. But, don't worry! We'll help you learn what needs to be cited and how to avoid plagiarism.

To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you:

• Use another person's idea, opinion, or thought.
• Use any information that isn't common knowledge.
• Quote or paraphrase another person's actual spoken or written words.

Quoting is copying the exact words from a source. This is fine as long as you place quotations around the passage you're quoting and properly cite the source.

Be sure to:

• Put quotation marks around everything that comes directly from the text, especially when taking notes.
• Cite the source.

Paraphrasing is restating a passage from a source in your own words. Being able to recognize the differences between acceptable and unacceptable paraphrasing will help you avoid unintentional plagiarism.

Be sure to:

• Not just rearrange or replace a few words.
• Read over what you want to paraphrase carefully. You could cover up the text with your hand or close the text so you can't see any of it. Then, write out the idea in your own words without peeking.
• Compare your paraphrase to the original text to be sure you haven't accidentally used the same phrases or words and confirm that the information is accurate.

The examples below will show you how to paraphrase correctly. They're adapted from Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Recognize and Avoid It by the Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University Bloomington with its gracious permission.

The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centers of production as well as of commerce and trade.

–from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.

The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centers of commerce and trade as well as production.

This example is plagiarism because the writer:

• Only changed a few words and phrases.
• Only changed the order of the original's sentences.
• Didn't cite the source.