Writing material very close to the original changing only a few words by using synonyms.

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1 Types of Plagiarism Plagiarism can be accidental or intentional, but the consequences are the same. The student s responsibility is to check each paper carefully to ensure that all direct quotations and ideas that are not original are correctly cited and referenced. As you will see from the following information, some types of plagiarism can be either accidental or intentional. See the Understanding Paraphrase and Summary section for specific examples of plagiarism. Accidental Plagiarism Example 1 Copying a quotation without using quotation marks. Example 2 Eliminating a citation for information that comes from a source. Example 3 Using vague or incorrect citations. Example 4 Paraphrasing information incorrectly. Example 5 Writing material very close to the original changing only a few words by using synonyms. Example 6 Copying and pasting a source from the Internet without using quotation marks or citations. Intentional Plagiarism Example 1 Eliminating a citation for information that comes from another source. Example 2 Using an incorrect citation so that the reader cannot locate the source. Example 3 Using another student s work as your own.

2 Example 4 Purchasing an essay from an Internet website. Example 5 Using an essay from a free Internet website. Example 6 Copying a quotation without using quotation marks. Example 7 Writing material very close to the original changing only a few words by using synonyms. How to Avoid Accidental Plagiarism Plagiarism, either accidental or intentional, usually begins at the note taking stage of the writing process. If information is plagiarized in your notes, it can easily be transferred into plagiarized material in your final paper. You can eliminate accidental plagiarism by taking careful notes and giving credit for other people s words and ideas, statistical information, graphics, or drawings. You can eliminate intentional plagiarism by being ethical and honest and allowing enough time for researching and writing an assignment. Use the following rules to eliminate plagiarism while taking notes and writing papers: Example 1 Take Notes Allow time for research. Write the information from the source in your own words as you take notes. Copy words directly from the source only if you want to quote the passage in the paper. Use quotation marks for anything copied directly from a source. Use wording in your notes that is different from the wording in the source. Include the name of the source and page or paragraph numbers so that you won t need to return to the source later to locate a missing page number, etc. Include all pertinent information from the source to use in the reference list at the end of the paper. Check your notes to be sure quotation marks have been used with all direct quotations. Include page numbers of the quotations in your notes. Include all information to be used in the reference list. Include the page numbers of journal articles in your notes. Include the page numbers of an article in an edited book in your notes.

3 Example 2 Writing Papers Allow time for writing. Create an outline to follow before beginning to write the paper (See the Thesis Generator [for University of Phoenix students]in the Tutorials & Guides for help in creating an outline). Write the paper from your notes rather than from the original source. If you write the paper from the source, be sure to close the source or create a blank screen as you write. Write the information from the source in your own words as paraphrased material. Avoid referring to the source as you write or you will certainly use some of the original writer s words. Use quotation marks in your notes to indicate anything that is a direct quotation from a source. Include citations as you are writing instead of going back to fill them in when the paper is finished. Fill in material from the sources with your own ideas. Check the source to be sure direct quotations have been copied accurately. Check the source to be sure page or paragraph numbers are correct.

4 Understanding Paraphrase and Summary This section defines paraphrase and summary and provides examples of correct and incorrect use of both. Writing either a paraphrase or summary incorrectly can result in plagiarism, a serious offense. Use the following guidelines to write an effective paraphrase or summary: Writing a Paraphrase or Summary Paraphrase 1. Close the source as you write. 2. Write using your own words but do not include any of your own ideas. 3. Use a correct citation immediately after the paraphrase or summary. 4. Use a correct reference at the end of the paper. A paraphrase restates a point or points made by the original author. It indicates the meaning of the text without using the words of the author of the source. Write a paraphrase in your own words. Paraphrasing is used more than summary. Summary A summary condenses the main ideas stated by the author. A summary is also written in your own words. The following chart indicates the differences and similarities between paraphrase and summary. Paraphrase Requires a citation. Used more often than summary. More detailed content. Rewords points contained in text. Contains examples or evidence (facts). Follows the pattern of the original. Summary Requires a citation. Used less often than paraphrase. Condensed version of content. Restates the author s main ideas. Omits examples and evidence. Indicates important elements of meaning without following the pattern of the original. Examples of Plagiarism, Paraphrase, and Summary The following paragraph about writing a persuasive essay provides information about selecting an appropriate topic.

5 The purpose of a persuasive paper is to convince the reader to accept your position on a subject. Therefore, the topic of a persuasive paper must have two clear points of view (an argument). The subject of child abuse would be inappropriate for a persuasive essay because no one supports child abuse. However, banning assault weapons for individual use would be a suitable topic because two clear positions emerge for and against. A persuasive paper can be structured several ways, but the primary purpose must be kept clearly in mind: persuade the reader to accept your position on the subject. Plagiarized Paraphrase The following paragraph is plagiarizing the above material because synonyms have been substituted for some words and other words have been deleted, but most of the words remain basically the same. Remember, changing only a few words from a source is plagiarism. The point of a persuasive paper is to influence the reader to agree with your viewpoint. Therefore, the subject of a persuasive essay must have two clear positions. The topic of child abuse would not be appropriate for a persuasive essay. However, abortion would be an appropriate topic because it has two clear positions for and against. A persuasive paper can be written several ways, but the main purpose is to persuade your reader to agree with your position. The following paragraph indicates words that have been changed from the original in blue, and yellow highlighting indicates information that has been deleted. You can see how close the paragraph is to the original. The purpose point of a persuasive paper is to convince influence the reader to accept agree with your position on a subject viewpoint. Therefore, the subject topic of a persuasive paper essay must have two clear positions points of view (an argument). The topic subject of child abuse would be inappropriate not be appropriate for a persuasive essay because no one supports child abuse. However, banning assault weapons for individual use abortion would be a suitable an appropriate topic because it has two clear positions emerge for and against. A persuasive paper can be structured written several ways, but the primary main purpose is to must be kept clearly in mind: persuade the your reader to accept agree with your position on the subject. This paragraph is plagiarized because: Much of the wording is the same as in the original. Synonyms have been substituted for some words. Some phrasing has been eliminated. No citation is listed for the paraphrased information. Paraphrased Paragraph The following paragraph is correctly paraphrased because the student used the writer s ideas but not the writer's original wording. It is obvious from the paragraph that the student did not refer to the source while writing. In writing a persuasive essay, the most important thing is to select a suitable topic to discuss. Remember, you are trying to persuade an audience to accept your opinion on an issue. Therefore, the subject must have two obvious viewpoints: for the topic or against the topic. Eliminating federal income tax would not be a good subject because no credible sources can be found to support it. However, the subject of assisted

6 suicide could be used because some people support the topic, and some people oppose it (Argument from A-Z, 2006). This paragraph is correctly paraphrased because: The points remain essentially the same as in the original paragraph. New wording is used by the writer. A citation is included with the paraphrased material. Summary The following summary paragraph is a condensed version of the important ideas in the original paragraph. For a persuasive essay, select a topic that has two clear positions. In structuring the essay, use arguments that will convince the reader to accept your point of view (Argument from A-Z, 2006). This paragraph is correctly summarized because The main idea of the source is restated. The main idea is written in a condensed form. The summary uses wording that is different from the original work. A citation is included.

7 Causes of Plagiarism In many cases, plagiarism is a result of students not allowing enough time to complete an assignment. Because of time constraints, students might find it easier to plagiarize than to follow the correct steps to create an effective written assignment. Two of the most common causes of plagiarism are missing citations for information obtained from a source or missing quotation marks for a direct quotation. See the information about both rules listed below: Rule 1 Use a citation for someone else s ideas that are not common knowledge when your words are different from those in the source. Rule 2 Include a citation for ideas that are not your own. Rule 3 Include a citation with a direct quotation. Rule 4 Use quotation marks for words or phrases copied directly from a source. (Include quotation marks if you copy more than two words from a source.) Rule 5 Avoid the mistake of using a citation and copying some of the phrasing directly from a source without including quotation marks.

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