Reference and Research Help
Avoid Plagiarizing
Tips to Avoid Plagiarizing
- Don’t buy a paper, copy paragraphs from friends or classmates,
“borrow” sentences from books or articles or use
Internet sites without identifying them and crediting them.
- Don’t make a list of all your sources. Organize your
information with the resource next to it and cite the author
immediately after the idea.
- Acknowledge the author immediately if you quote directly,
put the idea into your own words or summarize.
- You have to recognize and acknowledge EVERY fact about your
topic (except if it is common knowledge.) Check with your instructor
about “common knowledge.”
- When you start taking notes and doing your research, write
down the author, title and publication information with each
grouping of information so you’ll remember what information
and ideas have come from someone else.
- Take good notes. Don’t cut and paste paragraphs or
sections of information unless you indicate right away where
those passages are taken from – so you don’t forget
to cite them.
- Use italics, a different font or bold the information for
your citation to make it easier to find later.
- Keep all of your notes until you get your graded paper back.
It will help you answer any questions your instructor may have
about your work.
- Try to use your own ideas, observations and opinions as much
as possible.
- When writing a paper:
1st - Think about what you’re reading.
2nd - Form your own opinion and develop an argument to support
your thoughts and conclusions.
3rd - Write in your own words.
4th – Use the words, ideas and opinions of others to provide
support, examples and evidence to your argument.
- Give yourself enough time to write your paper. It’s
easy to make mistakes or try to take shortcuts when you’re
trying to do your work at the last minute or rushing to get
a paper finished.
Information above adapted from:
Why Shouldn’t I Plagiarize?
- Plagiarism is a form of theft. It can have legal consequences.
- Citing shows how much time and effort you put in to research
your topic. It shows what you have learned about a topic and
it helps your reader understand what you have written.
- Doing your own work improves your research skills and helps
you develop skills in analyzing, planning, organizing, time
management and attention to detail.
- Plagiarizing can put your education and career at risk.
- To many people, plagiarism is viewed as morally and ethically
wrong. A person who plagiarizes is often considered to be someone
who can’t be trusted.
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