Writing Papers with a Clear Conscience

How to Paraphrase Information

& Avoid Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism?Representing another’s WORDS or IDEAS as your own

What Does Plagiarism Look

Like?

Intentional

Unintentional

Buying a paper

Hiring someone to write your paper

Pasting sentences or paragraphs into your essay from another source online

Failing to properly document a resource

Paraphrasing incorrectly

http://blaugh.com/2006/10/13/the-whole-internet-truth/

Whose Responsibility is it?

Yours! Remember your pledge!Types of academic integrity problems include, but are not

limited to, the following:

Cheating on examinations or quizzes

Plagiarism Falsification of attendance or

reading reports

ConsequencesTypical penalties assigned by faculty for

academic integrity violations include, but are not limited to, the following:

Reducing the letter grade for the work involved

Reducing the letter grade for the course Giving a failing grade for all the work

involved Giving a failing grade for the courseAny student involved in academic

integrity violations is also subject to suspension by the Academic Vice President.

~Check your student handbook!

Prevention Take Careful Notes Use the correct citation style (MLA, APA,

Turabian, Chicago, AMA, etc.) Quote & Document Direct Quotes

– “Writing is an important and personal process of communicating one’s ideas in increasingly sophisticated symbolic terms.” (Bowman, 2004, p.80)

Document all borrowed ideas – It is a delicate balance learning to write with

originality and cite experts in the field (Lipson, 2008, p. 45).

Learn how to properly paraphrase

A Review of Quotations

Quote only when the writer has said something so clearly, so concisely, and/or so eloquently that you can’t say it better. Read: Rarely.

Quote to support the points you wish to make.

Don’t use a quotation to act as your thesis or topic sentences. In fact, never quote to substitute for your own writing.

Don’t begin a paragraph with a quotation.

Write more of your own words than you quote of others’ words. Always.

When You Quote…

Quote a phrase or key word Quote a sentence or two Quote long passages rarely Use signal phrases (According

to Smith, . . . or Smith explains, . . . )

Document with page number (MLA) or page number & date (APA)

Remember the quotation marks!

Examples: Key Phrase

It is important to note that “the novelist always has to create a world and a believable one” (O’Connor 70).

O’Connor points out that “the novelist always has to create a world and a believable one” (70).

Examples: Sentence

According to O’Connor, “The virtues of art, like the virtues of faith, are such that they reach beyond the limitations of the intellect, beyond any mere theory that a writer may entertain” (70).

O’Connor explains, “The virtues of art, like the virtues of faith, are such that they reach beyond the limitations of the intellect, beyond any mere theory that a writer may entertain” (70).

How to Paraphrase Properly

Completely rewrite the original source’s words, syntax (sentence structure), & meaning into your own words and syntax without changing the meaning

Synonyms aren’t enough! May be longer than the

original

Bad Example: Plagiarism of Syntax &

Words Original: The CUWC exists to develop

better writers who will, in turn, write better papers; to make each session fit writers’ individual needs; and to act as peer tutors—not as teachers or proofreaders.

Bad Paraphrase: The CUWC exists for three reasons: To help students become better writers, to make each appointment meet each writer’s needs, and to act as peer tutors rather than as teachers or proofreaders.

Another Bad Example:

Syntax Plagiarism Original: The CUWC exists to develop better writers who will, in turn, write better papers; to make each session fit writers’ individual needs; and to act as peer tutors—not as teachers or proofreaders.

Bad Paraphrase: The writing center’s purpose is to help make better writers who will craft better essays; to fit each session to each student’s needs; and to provide peer tutoring, not proofreading or teaching services.

Good Example: Wording & Syntax

Original: The CUWC exists to develop better writers who will, in turn, write better papers; to make each session fit writers’ individual needs; and to act as peer tutors—not as teachers or proofreaders.

Good Paraphrase: So that students can improve their writing, the writing center aims at addressing both the writers’ immediate concerns with the assignment at hand and the writers’ overall development.

Good Paraphrase with Documentation

Moore explains that the writing center aims at addressing both the writers’ immediate concerns with the assignment at hand and the writers’ overall development so that students, staff, and faculty alike can improve their writing in the long run (12).

Your Turn to Try!

Author: T.S. Eliot Source: “Religion and

Literature” from Religion and Modern Literature: Essays in Theory and Criticism; Eds. G.B. Tennyson & Edward E. Ericson, Jr.

Page #: 26

Eliot’s Quotation

“Wide reading is not valuable as a kind of hoarding, an accumulation of knowledge, or what sometimes is meant by the term ‘a well-stocked mind.’ It is valuable because in the process of being affected by one powerful personality after another, we cease to be dominated by anyone, or by any small number.”

Your Versions

Past Version

The purpose of reading from many sources is not simply to gather information but to ensure that one understands all perspectives and is not solely influenced by one viewpoint (Eliot 26).

Writing Center’s Hours

Afternoons: MWF 1:00-5:00 p.m. & T/TH 12:30-5:00 Evenings: Sundays 7:00-9:00 & M-TH 7:00-11:00 (& Skype at night!) Freshmen in Comp: One 30 minute-

session/day, only twice/week Upper class students in 3000- & 4000-

level courses with papers 8 pp.+: One 60-minute session/day , only once/week