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The following material is reproduced, with formatting
changes, with the kind permission of Sharon
Williams at Hamilton College.
Avoiding Plagiarism
by Sharon Williams
Writers sometimes plagiarize ideas from outside sources without realizing that
they are doing so. Put simply, you plagiarize if you present other writers'
words and ideas as your own. You do not plagiarize if you "provide citations
for all direct quotations and paraphrases, for borrowed ideas, and for facts
that do not belong to general knowledge" (Crews and VanSant 407).
Example 1
Sometimes writers do not recognize when their use of other
writers' ideas constitutes plagiarism. Versions of the following source can
help you see the difference between acceptable paraphrasing and plagiarism
(taken from The Bedford Handbook for Writers 508).
| Your Research |
Your Essay |
| Davis writes:
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was
also startling news for animal behaviorists. |
You write: The existence of a signing ape unsettled linguists and startled animal
behaviorists (Davis 26). |
 Instructor's
Comment: Plagiarism.
Even though the writer has cited the source, the writer has
not used quotation marks around the direct quotation "the existence of a
signing ape." In addition, the phrase "unsettled linguists and startled animal
behaviorists" closely resembles the wording of the source. |
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| Your
Research |
Your
Essay |
| Davis writes:
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was
also startling news for animal behaviorists. |
You write:
If the presence of a sign-language-using chimp was disturbing for
scientists studying language, it was also surprising to scientists studying
animal behavior (Davis 26). |
| Instructor's
Comment: Still plagiarism.
Even thought the writer has substituted synonyms and
cited the source, the writer is plagiarizing because the source's sentence
structure is unchanged.
|
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| Your
Research |
Your
Essay |
| Davis writes:
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was
also startling news for animal behaviorists. |
You write:
According to Flora Davis, linguists and animal behaviorists were
unprepared for the news that a chimp could communicate with its trainers
through sign language (Davis 26). |
 Instructor's
Comment: No
plagiarism. This is an appropriate paraphrase of the original
sentence [and the source (Davis 26) is acknowledged]. |
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Example 2
| Your
Research |
Your
Essay |
| |
|
|
Original Source (taken from The Random House Handbook, 4th
edition 405-6)
The joker in the European pack was Italy. For a time, hopes were entertained
of her as a force against Germany, but these disappeared under Mussolini. In
1935 Italy made a belated attempt to participate in the scramble for Africa by
invading Ethiopia. It was clearly a breach of the covenant of the League of
Nations for one of its members to attack another. France and Great Britain,
the Mediterranean powers, and the African powers were bound to take the lead
against Italy at the league. But they did so feebly and half-heartedly because
they did not want to alienate a possible ally against Germany. The result was
the worst possible: the league failed to check aggression, Ethiopia lost her
independence, and Italy was alienated after all ( J. M. Roberts, History of
the World. New York: Knopf, 1976, p. 845).
|
You write: Italy, one might say, was the joker in the European deck. When she invaded
Ethiopia, it was clearly a breach of the covenant of the League of Nations, yet
the efforts of England and France to take the lead against her were feeble and
half-hearted. It appears that those great powers had no wish to alienate a
possible ally against Hitler's rearmed Germany.
Instructor's
Comment: Plagiarism.
The writer has taken entire phrases from the source. The
writer's interweaving of his or her own language does not mean the writer is
innocent of plagiarism. |
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| Your
Research |
Your
Essay |
| |
|
|
Original Source (taken from The Random House Handbook, 4th
edition 405-6)
The joker in the European pack was Italy. For a time, hopes were entertained
of her as a force against Germany, but these disappeared under Mussolini. In
1935 Italy made a belated attempt to participate in the scramble for Africa by
invading Ethiopia. It was clearly a breach of the covenant of the League of
Nations for one of its members to attack another. France and Great Britain,
the Mediterranean powers, and the African powers were bound to take the lead
against Italy at the league. But they did so feebly and half-heartedly because
they did not want to alienate a possible ally against Germany. The result was
the worst possible: the league failed to check aggression, Ethiopia lost her
independence, and Italy was alienated after all ( J. M. Roberts, History of
the World. New York: Knopf, 1976, p. 845).
|
You write: Italy was the joker in the European deck. Under Mussolini in 1935, she made a
belated attempt to participate in the scramble for Africa by invading Ethiopia.
As J.M. Roberts points out, this violated the covenant of the League of Nations
(Roberts 845). But France and Britain, not wanting to alienate a possible ally
against Germany, put up only feeble and half-hearted opposition to the
Ethiopian adventure. The outcome, as Roberts observes, was "the worst
possible: the league failed to check aggression, Ethiopia lost her
independence, and Italy was alientated after all" (Roberts 845).
Instructor's
Comment: Still plagiarism.
Even though the writer has used two correct
citations from the source, the writer has not cited other
phrases.
|
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| Your
Research |
Your
Essay |
| |
|
|
Original Source (taken from The Random House Handbook, 4th
edition 405-6)
The joker in the European pack was Italy. For a time, hopes were entertained
of her as a force against Germany, but these disappeared under Mussolini. In
1935 Italy made a belated attempt to participate in the scramble for Africa by
invading Ethiopia. It was clearly a breach of the covenant of the League of
Nations for one of its members to attack another. France and Great Britain,
the Mediterranean powers, and the African powers were bound to take the lead
against Italy at the league. But they did so feebly and half-heartedly because
they did not want to alienate a possible ally against Germany. The result was
the worst possible: the league failed to check aggression, Ethiopia lost her
independence, and Italy was alienated after all ( J. M. Roberts, History of
the World. New York: Knopf, 1976, p. 845).
|
You write:
Much has been written about German rearmament and militarism in the period
1933-39. But Germany's dominance in Europe was by no means a foregone
conclusion. The fact is that the balance of power might have been tipped
against Hitler if one or two things had turned out differently. Take Italy's
gravitation toward an alliance with Germany, for example. That alliance seemed
so very far from inevitable that Britain and France actually muted their
criticism of the Ethiopian invasion in the hope of remaining friends with
Italy. They opposed the Italians in the League of Nations, as J.M. Roberts
observes, "feebly and half-heartedly because they did not want to alienate a
possible ally against Germany" (Roberts 845). Suppose Italy, France, and
Britain had retained a certain common interest. Would Hitler have been able to
get away with his remarkable bluffing bullying in the later Thirties? Instructor's
Comment: No
plagiarism. The writer properly acknowledges the one use of Roberts'
ideas. (Note that the writer has chosen to use only one idea from the source
and has integrated that idea into his or her own argument.)
|
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General advice for using
sources
The best way to avoid plagiarism is to keep control of your argument. You
should include ideas from other sources only when those ideas add weight to your argument. Keep the following suggestions in mind when you are
using material from other sources:
- Select carefully. Quotations should give weight to your argument. In
general, do not select quotations which only repeat points you have already
made.
- Be sure to integrate all ideas from other sources into your own
discussion. Introduce direct quotations with your own words. After quoting,
explain the significance of quotations.
- Avoid quoting more than is needed. Most of the time, brief quotations
suffice.
- Use direct quotations only when the author's wording is necessary or
particularly effective. In some disciplines, direct quotations are
discouraged. Check with your professor.
- If you are using material cited by an author and you do not have the original
source, introduce the quotation with a phrase such as "as is quoted in...."
- End citation alone is not sufficient for direct quotations; place all
direct quotations within quotation marks. Be sure to copy quotations
exactly as they appear.
- To avoid any unintentional failure to cite
sources, include all citation
information on note cards and in your first draft.
At all times, stay in control of your argument and let your own voice speak for
you.
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A common pitfall: the note
taking stage
Plagiarism often starts with the note taking stage of the research
process. If possible, have a clear question in mind before heading off to the
library so you will not waste time taking extraneous notes. When taking notes,
be sure to distinguish between paraphrases and direct quotations. When you are
copying a direct quotation, be extremely precise. Note all the
information you will need for the citation and copy the quotation exactly as it
appears. Some writers use only direct quotations while note taking so there is
no confusion as to whether a note is a paraphrase or a direct quotation. Other
writers color-code notes: one color for paraphrases, another for quotations.
To ensure that you are not copying wording or sentence structure when
paraphrasing, you might find it helpful to put the source material
aside. In summary, be consistent and conscious of whatever note taking method
you decide on.
A final note
Learning how to use the ideas of others to add weight to your ideas involves
effort and a commitment to academic honesty. It is not always clear exactly
when or how to use sources, and sometimes you will need advice. Since your
professors are most familiar with the expectations of their disciplines, they
are the best people to ask. You can also talk with a tutor at the Writing
Center or refer to one of the many handbooks of English. The Writing Center
has numerous handbooks available for your use.
Works Cited
Crews, Frederick and Ann Jessie VanSant. The Random House Handbook,
4th edition.
New York: Random House, 1984.
Fowler, H. Ramsey and Jane Aaron. The Little, Brown Handbook.
Glenview, Ill.:
Scott, Foresman and Co., 1989.
Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook for Writers. Boston: St. Martin's
Press, 1991.
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