Student Resource Package

Academic writing guide:

how to avoid plagiarism

Qatar Academy Senior School Grades 9-12

Materials for this package have been contributed by Nancy Fawley (VCUQ Librarian); Christine Marzouk (Qatar Leadership Academy); Janet Haigh (Qatar Academy). Additional material has come from IBOs Fine Lines document on plagiarism, as well as from The Open University, United Kingdom. Plagiarism is the use of someone elses ideas, words or other original material without clearly acknowledging the source of that information.

All of the following are considered plagiarism: Turning in someone elses work as your own Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit Failing to put quoted words in quotation marks Rearranging words and changing sentence structure without giving credit Using someones ideas, even if you put them in your own words, without giving them credit Buying, stealing or borrowing someone elses paper Copying and pasting large sections of text from the Internet or electronic resources without using quotation marks or citing the source Inappropriate help from tutors (ie. the tutor has given too much assistance in the production of the assignment) Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not

Why is plagiarism wrong? Plagiarism is stealing another persons words, ideas or other material. Plagiarism is lying that the words/ideas/material you used are your own. Plagiarism is cheating yourself out of an opportunity to learn. Attention! Changing the words of an original source is not sufficient to prevent plagiarism! If you have retained the essential idea
of an original source, and have not cited it, then no matter how drastically you may have altered its context or presentation, you have still plagiarized. Most cases

of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply acknowledge that certain material (words, ideas, charts, photographs, pictures or other visual and audio materials, too) has been borrowed, and provide your audience with the information necessary to find that source. Trying to put the ideas you want to express in your own words, as much as possible, no matter how difficult, is actually how you learn the material on a deeper level.
Please note: if you are found to have committed plagiarism at Qatar Academy, your work will receive a zero, you risk being banned from the Honour Roll that trimester, and you may face other consequences.

Preventing Plagiarism: Student Resources

In a research paper, you have to come up with your own original ideas while at the same time making reference to work that has already been done by others. But how can you tell where their ideas end and your own begin? Whats the proper way to integrate sources in your paper? If you change some of what an author said, do you still have to cite that person? Confusion about the answers to these questions often leads to plagiarism. If you have similar questions, or are concerned about preventing plagiarism, we recommend this checklist: A. Consult with your teacher Ask your teacher if you have ANY questions about how to use outside sources of information or how to give credit and acknowledge the original writers/thinkers of ideas you use. B. Plan your paper Planning your paper well is the first and most important step you can take to avoid plagiarism. If you know you are going to use other sources of information, you need to plan how you are going to include them in your paper. Remember: you need to balance what you use from outside sources with your own ideas. Writing an Outline, including a Thesis Statement of your own in which you clearly formulate a statement about the information you find, will help establish the boundaries between your ideas and those of outside sources. C. Take good notes One of the best ways to prepare to write up a research paper is by taking thorough notes from all of your sources so that you have much of the information organized before you begin writing. Keep careful track of what information you use from each source; use different coloured pens to distinguish your own ideas from those found elsewhere. Get in the habit of marking down page numbers, and make sure that you record Works Cited information or web addresses for every source right away, as finding them again later when you are trying to finish your paper is extremely hard to do! D. When in doubt, cite sources 3

Of course you want to get credit for your own ideas, and you dont want your teacher to think you got all of your information from somewhere else. But if it is unclear whether an idea really came from you, or whether you got it from somewhere else and just changed it a little, you should always cite your sources within the text of your paper, as well as on your Works Cited page at the end of your paper. This will show that you are not just copying other ideas but are processing and adding to them; you are using outside sources of information to strengthen your arguments and you are highlighting the originality of your own ideas by making clear distinctions between them and the ideas you have gotten elsewhere. E. Make it clear who said what Even if you cite sources, ambiguity/confusion in your phrasing can often disguise or hide the real source of any given idea, causing plagiarism. Make sure when you mix your own ideas with those of your outside sources that you always clearly distinguish them. Always make sure to distinguish who said what, and give credit to the right person. F. Know how to paraphrase correctly A paraphrase is a restatement in your own words of someone elses ideas. Changing a few words of the original sentences does NOT make your writing a legitimate paraphrase. You must change both the words and the sentence structure of the original, without changing the content. Also, you should keep in mind that paraphrased passages still require citation because the ideas came from an outside source, even though you are putting them in your own words. The purpose of paraphrasing is not to make it seem like you are drawing less directly from other sources or to reduce the number of quotations in your paper. It is a common misconception that you need to hide the fact that you rely on other sources. Actually, it is advantageous to highlight the fact that other sources support your ideas. Using quality sources to support your ideas makes them seem stronger. Good paraphrasing makes the ideas of the original source fit 4

smoothly into your paper, emphasizing the most relevant points and leaving out unrelated information. G. Evaluate your sources of information Not all sources on the Internet are worth citing; in fact, many of them are just plain wrong. A site like Wikipedia is not professionally edited for accuracy of either content or presentation of material (ie. grammar, punctuation, etc.). Anyone can publish on the Internet, so how do you tell good websites from bad ones? Make sure you know the authors of the pages you use, where they got their information from, and when they wrote it. Getting this information is also an important step in avoiding plagiarism. Then you should determine how credible you feel the source is: how well they support their ideas, the quality of the writing, the accuracy of the information provided, and so on. Check the University of California/Berkeleys Library website for evaluating web pages at
www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

as an easy way of testing the credibility of your sources.

Activity Here is an original text from Elaine Tyler Mays Myths and Realities of the American Family: Because womens wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage, single mothers rarely earn enough to support themselves and their children adequately. And because work is still organized around the assumption that mothers stay home with children, even though few mothers can afford to do so, child care facilities in the United States remain woefully inadequate. (588-589) Here are some possible uses of the text. As you read through each version try to decide if it is a legitimate use of Mays text, or if it is plagiarism.
Version A Since womens wages often continue to reflect the mistaken notion that men are the main wage earners in the family, single mothers rarely make enough to support themselves and their children very well. Also, because work is still based on the assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities for child care remain woefully inadequate in the United States. Version B As Elaine Tyler May points out, womens wages often reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage (Tyler May, 588). Thus, many single mothers cannot support themselves and their children adequately. Furthermore, since work is based on the assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities for day care in this country are still woefully inadequate (589). Version C By and large, our economy still operates on the mistaken notion that men are the main breadwinners in the family. Thus, women continue to earn lower wages than men. This means, in effect, that many single mothers cannot earn a decent living. Furthermore, adequate day care is not available in the United States because of the mistaken assumption that mothers remain at home with their children. Version D Women today still earn less than men so much less that many single mothers and their children live near or below the poverty line. Elaine Tyler May argues that this situation stems in part from the fiction that men earn the family wage (Tyler May, 588). May further suggests that the American workplace still operates on the assumption that mothers with children stay home to care for them (589). This assumption appears no longer to have the force it once did. More and more businesses offer in-house day care facilities now.

Answers Version A Plagiarism In this version, there is too much direct borrowing in sentence structure and wording. The writer changes some words, drops one phrase, and adds some new language, but the overall text closely resembles Mays. Even with a citation, the writer is plagiarizing because the lack of quotation marks indicates that Version A is a paraphrase and should be in the writers own language. Version B Plagiarism The writer now cites May, so we are closer to telling the truth about our texts relationship to the source, but this text continues to borrow too much language. Version C Plagiarism Version C shows good paraphrasing or wording and sentence structure, but Mays original ideas are not acknowledged. Some of Mays points are common knowledge (women earn less than men, many single mothers live in poverty), but May uses this common knowledge to make a specific point an original point, and her original conception of this idea is not acknowledged. Version D No plagiarism The writer makes use of the common knowledge in Mays work but acknowledges Mays original conclusion and does not try to pass it off as his or her own. The quotation is properly cited as is a later paraphrase of another of Mays original ideas. [Source: http://webster.comment.edu/mla/plagiarism.html]

What is a Citation? A citation is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from an outside source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again, including: Information about the author The title of the work The name and location of the company that published your copy of the source The date your copy was published The page numbers of the material you are borrowing

Why should I cite sources? Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other peoples work without plagiarizing. Other reasons to cite sources include: showing the amount of research you have done; strengthening your work by lending outside support to your ideas; showing the reader of your research paper where they can go to look for more information. Citing your sources actually helps your reader distinguish your ideas from those of your sources. This will emphasize the originality of your own work. When do I need to cite? Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you need to acknowledge their source. The following situations almost always require citation: Whenever you use quotations Whenever you paraphrase Whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed Whenever you make specific reference to the work of another person Whenever someone elses work has been critical in developing your own ideas How do I cite sources? This depends on what type of work you are writing and the expectations of your teacher. First, you have to think about how you want to identify your sources. If your sources are very important to your ideas, you should mention the author and work in a sentence that introduces your citation. If, however, you are only citing the source to make a minor point, you may consider using footnotes or endnotes. Always consult your teacher to determine the form of citation appropriate for your paper. Citations within the body 8

of your essay should appear at the end of a sentence, where needed. Contain the authors last name and page numbers so the reader of your essay can find the exact evidence or quotation to which you are referring. Here is an example of such a citation (Newton, 23). Listing Sources of Information: Writing a Works Cited Page What is a Bibliography or a Works Cited page? A Bibliography or Works Cited page lists all of the sources you have used in the process of researching your work. It should include: The authors names The titles of the works used or the URLs of the websites consulted The names and locations of the companies that published your copies of the sources The dates your copies were published Relevant page numbers (if a short article in a longer text)

Different kinds of sources may require more specific information to help your reader locate the material. What are footnotes? Footnotes are notes placed at the bottom of a page. They cite references or comment on a designated part of the text above it. For example, say you want to add an interesting comment to a sentence you have written, but the comment is not directly related to the argument of your paragraph. In this case, you could add the symbol for a footnote. Then at the bottom of the page, you could reprint the symbol and insert your comment. Here is an example: This is an illustration of a footnote. The number 1 at the end of the sentence corresponds to the note below. See how it fits in the body of the text?

At the bottom of the page you can insert your comments about the sentence preceding the footnote.

When your reader comes across the footnote in the main text of your paper, he or she could look down at your comments right away, or else continue reading the paragraph and read your comments at the end. Because this makes it convenient for your reader, most citation styles require that you use either footnotes or endnotes in your paper. Footnotes are not just for interesting comments, however. Sometimes, they simply refer to relevant sources. In order to know whether to cite your sources in the body of your writing or as footnotes/endnotes, ask your teacher. What is the difference between footnotes and endnotes? The only real difference is placement footnotes appear at the bottom of the relevant page, while endnotes all appear in one long list at the end of your paper. If your notes are very important, footnotes are more likely to get your readers attention. Endnotes, on the other hand, are less intrusive and will not interrupt the flow of your paper. If I cite sources in the footnotes (or endnotes), how is that different from a Bibliography or Works Cited page? In footnotes or endnotes, you are citing sources that are directly relevant to specific passages in your paper. In a Bibliography or on a Works Cited page, you are citing all of the sources that you researched, whether they relate to any specific part of your paper or not. So your Bibliography or Works Cited page might contain extra sources which you read, but did not specifically cite in your paper. Also, citations in footnotes or endnotes will always have page numbers, referring to the specific passages relevant to that part of your paper, while citations in a Bibliography or on a Works Cited page may have none. See the next few pages for examples of a Bibliography or a Works Cited page in MLA format.

For more directions on how to format your proper MLA Bibliography or Works Cited page, see pages 281-298 in the black reference text, Writers INC. available in Senior School classrooms.
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Works Cited / MLA Guideline

HELP SHEET

Follow these examples. General rules are: The first author is always listed last name then first name. Titles of books or journals are underlined or in italics (check with your teacher to see which is preferred). Names of articles are put in quotation marks. Indent any line that comes after the first line of any entry. Book, single author Author. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. City of publication: Name of publisher abbreviated, year of publication.

Abercrombie, Stanley. George Nelson: The Design of Modern Design. Cambridge : MIT Press, 1995.
Book, two or more authors First author, and second author. Title of Book. City of publication: Name of publisher, year of publication.

Cooper, Ilay, and John Gillow. Arts and Crafts of India. London: Thames and Hudson, 1996.
List the names in the order they appear on the title page (this is not necessarily in alphabetical order). Reverse only the name of the first author; additional authors are written in normal form. Article in a journal with continuous pagination Author. Name of Article. Title of Journal Volume number (year): pages.

Lavoisy, Olivier. Illustration and Technical Know-How in Eighteenth-Century France. Journal of Design History 17 (2004): 141-162.
Magazine article Author. Name of Article. Title of Magazine complete publication date: page number(s).

Bulik, Beth Snyder. Wrestling with Tech Talk. Advertising Age 23 Aug. 2004: 3+.
Use the plus sign when the article is continue don a non-consecutive page. Newspaper article Author (if available); Name of Article. Name of Newspaper Complete publication date: section: page number.

Gazelles go up for sale after SCENRs success. Gulf Times [Doha] 6 Sept. 2004: sec. 1: 3.
DVD or video cassette Name of Movie. Director. Performers. Original release date. Medium. Distributor, release date.

All About Eve. Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Perf. Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders and Celeste Holm. 1950. DVD. Twentieth Century Fox, 2002.
Painting, sculpture or photograph Artist. Title of Work. Date created (optional). Name of the institutional or individual owner, city.

Rouault, Georges. The Circus. Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal.

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Journal article accessed from an online database Author. Name of Article. Title of Journal volume number.issue number (year): pages. Database. Database Company (if applicable). Name of library, City, State (if needed). Date accessed <Database homepage URL>.

Leshkowich, Ann Marie and Carla Jones. What Happens When Asian Chic Becomes Chic in Asia? Fashion Theory 7(2003): 281-299. Art Full Text. WilsonWeb. VCUQ Lib., Doha, Qatar. 6 Sept. 2004. <http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com>.
Online newspaper article Author. Name of Article. Name of Newspaper Complete publication date. Date accessed <URL>.

Zoepf, Katherine. In Qatars Education City, U.S. Colleges Build Atop a Gusher. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 22 April 2005. 20 October 2005 <http://chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i33/33a04201.htm>.
Website Title of the site. Name of editor (if given). Date. Name of sponsoring institution or company. Date accessed <URL>.

Starbucks. 2004. Starbucks Corporation. 21 Oct. 2004 <http://starbucks.com>.

[Help Sheet pages contributed by Nancy Fawley, Librarian, VCUQ]

For guidance on how to cite email, websites with long URLs, personal homepages, comics, personal interviews, translated books and other such odd sources of information, consult Writers INC. pages 281-298.

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Important Terms Attribution

The acknowledgement that something came from another source. The following sentence properly attributes an idea to its original author: Jack Bauer, in his article Twenty-Four Reasons Not to Plagiarize, maintains that cases of plagiarists being expelled by academic institutions have risen dramatically in recent years due to an increasing awareness on the part of educators.

Bibliography (also known as a Works Cited page) An alphabetized list

of all sources used in preparing a paper.

Citation

A) A short, formal indication of the source of information or quoted material. B) The act of quoting material or the material quoted.

Cite

To indicate a source of information or quoted material in a short, formal note; to quote; to ascribe something to a source.

Common Knowledge Information that is readily available from a number of

sources, or is so well-known that its sources do not have to be cited. ie.) The fact that carrots are a source of Vitamin A is common knowledge, and you could include this information in your work without attributing it to a source. However, any information regarding the effects of Vitamin A on the human body are likely to be the products of original research and would have to be specifically cited.

Copyright Endnotes Facts

A law protecting the intellectual property of individuals, giving them exclusive rights over the distribution and reproduction of that material. Notes at the end of a paper acknowledging sources and providing additional references or information. Knowledge or information based on real, observable occurrences. Facts can be considered intellectual property as well. If you discover a fact that is not widely known nor readily found in several other places, you should cite the source.

Footnotes Fair Use

Notes at the bottom of a papers pages acknowledging sources or providing additional references or information. The guidelines for deciding whether the use of a source is permissible or constitutes a copyright infringement.

Intellectual Property A product of the intellect, such as an expressed idea or

concept.

Notation
sources.

The form of a citation; the system by which one refers to cited

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Original

Not derived from anything else; new; unique; markedly departing from previous practice; the first; preceding all others in time; the source from which copies are made.

Paraphrase

A restatement of a text or passage in other words that makes significant changes in the style and voice of the original while retaining the essential ideas.

Plagiarism

The reproduction or use of someone elses work or ideas without proper credit given to the source; passing off the work of someone else as ones own.

Public Domain The absence of copyright protection; belonging to the public so

that anyone may copy or borrow from it.

Quotation

Using words directly copied from another source; all quotations must be enclosed by quotation marks .

Self-plagiarism Copying material you have previously produced at an earlier

time for an earlier project, and passing it off as a new production.

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