(or How To Research Without

Accidentally Stealing Someone

Else’s Ideas!)

w to Paraphrase and
Avoid Plagiarism
 Pop Quiz: Which of these situations are cheating?
1. Copying from someone during a Biology test.
2. Asking someone in per 1 for the questions on the quiz you’re taking
per 3.
3. Recycling & re-using your older sister’s project (saves paper, right?).
4. Using ideas, but not direct quotations, from SparkNotes.
5. Turning in the same paper as your friend for History (hey, I’m in Ms.
Vincench’s class and she’s in Ms. Piekarski’s…).
6. Cutting and pasting a sentence from a website and then changing
some of the words using the Thesaurus.
7. Letting my friend copy my French homework.
8. Using a quote from the book in your benchmark project paper, with a
parenthetical citation, but forgetting to put quotation marks around it.
9. Putting “the Earth revolves around the sun” in your paper and not
citing that fact.
(Answer: All are cheating except #9, which is common knowledge)
 What is Plagiarism?
“…Taking and passing off as one’s own someone
else’s work or ideas (from Latin plagiārius,
kidnapper, literary thief).”
~ Macmillan Dictionary

ANY TIME YOU USE SOMEONE ELSE'S IDEA,

cite it.
 The Dangers of Cut and Paste…
• Did you know that if you CUT AND PASTE from
a website
• OR even if you borrow an IDEA and put it in
your own words…
• And you don’t cite it…

It’s cheating?
Yikes!
 This is Plagiarism Too!
• Not using ANY of your own ideas (entire paper
is cited)
• Parenthetical citations do not lead to the right
source
• Inaccurately paraphrasing or misrepresenting
the author’s intentions
 Geez. Are there any times I DON’T need to
cite?
• Info is so general it’s common knowledge.
Nobody would need to look it up:
– George Washington was the first US President.
– Most schools have a summer vacation.
– The Earth revolves around the sun.
– Pollution is bad for the environment.
• When the idea is your own:
Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is difficult for modern
audiences to understand because the characters fall
in love more quickly than modern people.
When in Doubt, Cite!
What kind of
information requires
acknowledging
the source?
 Direct quotations: incorporating another
person’s ideas exactly word for word into
your paper.
• “For a time, the United States Telegraph and the Washington
Globe were almost equally favored as party organs, and there
were fifty-seven journalists on the government payroll”
(Gibaldi, 2003, p. 116). Parenthetical citation
• According to Gibaldi (2003), “For a time, the United States
Telegraph and the Washington Globe were almost equally
favored as party organs, and there were fifty-seven journalists
on the government payroll” (p 116). Narrative citation

 Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of

Research Papers. New York: The Modern Language
Association of America, 2003.
Citation is in APA style.
 Paraphrased facts or statistical
information from other sources
that most people wouldn’t know.
• The average person must see a television
commercial at least seven times before they actually
remember viewing the commercial (“Interesting
Facts,” 1999). Parenthetical citation
• The article “Interesting Facts” states that the
average person must see a television commercial at
least seven times before they actually remember
viewing the commercial (1999). Narrative citation.
• Interesting facts and statistics about advertising. (1999). BPS
Outdoor Advertising. Retrieved February 3, 2005, from
http://www.bpsoutdoor.com/interest.htm
Citation is in APA style.
 Claims, arguments, theories,
interpretations of others that you have
paraphrased or summarized.

• The Chaos Theory suggests that there is order in

even the most random and disorganized information
(Young, 1991).

• Young, T.R. (1991). Chaos and social change:

Metaphysics of the postmodern. The Social
Science Journal, 28(3), 289-305.

Citation is in APA style.

 Ideas from others via personal
communication such as a professor, friend,
acquaintance.

• According to Prof. Blystone (personal

communication, February 9, 2005), the
notion of the deity determines all practices in
the culture.
 Do not cite: Common knowledge in a
specific field
Examples:
• Depression is caused by biological factors and
psychological and social stresses. (Common knowledge
in the field of psychology)

• An ultrasound machine can be used to treat a patient

in both acute and chronic phases of healing. (Common
knowledge in the field of physical therapy)
Information that someone could easily
locate.
Examples:
• Communication giants Viacom and CBS
merged in 1999.
• Fr. Lawton has been president of LMU since
May 1999.
• COVID 19 started in China in
2019
 Results from your own research:
interviews, surveys, observations,
data, etc.

 Your Personal Views

and Interpretations
 How do I avoid plagiarizing
unintentionally?
• Skillfully integrating sources into your writing is not easy.
Achieving a balance between presenting the ideas of others
and your own interpretations is what entering the academic
community is all about.

• As you write more papers in your major, you will become

more knowledgeable in the subject matter and able to
summarize and restate others’ ideas more easily.

• In the meantime, follow some do’s and don’ts and you

won’t be guilty of plagiarism.
 Instead of Plagiarizing, there are 2
choices…
1. Summarize or Paraphrase!
Put the information completely in your own
words, with a citation. (Alameddine,2021);
Alameddine (2021) state….
Or…
2. Use direct quotations!
Use the authors words, with “quotation marks
around them” and a citation. Alameddine
argues (2021, parag. 1)
 Use A Direct Quotation
• Use author’s exact words in quotations
• Don’t make ANY changes to the original
words
• Cite your quotation (Wilson, 2020, p. 5)
• If you need to leave words out, show
where they are missing using…ellipses
 …or Paraphrase
• Explain the main ideas of something you
read
• Show that you understand the source
• Write completely in your own words
• Cite the source (Wilson, 2021)
 How to do Parenthetical Citations
• Author and page #:
(Martinez, 2021, p. 5) for quotations
• For web sources, sometimes you must use the
paragraph number:
(Martinez, 2021, par. 16) for quotations
• Sometimes you don’t have an author. Move to
the next thing, the title:
(“Pollution”, 2021, 56) or (“Police Dogs”, 2021
par. 16)
 Example
• Original: “In research writing, sources are
cited for two reasons: to alert readers to the
sources of your information and to give credit
to the writers from whom you have borrowed
words and ideas” (Hacker,2021).
• Summary: Writers cite sources to show where
their material comes from (Hacker, 2021).
 Caution!
When you summarize or paraphrase…
• Keeping any of the same vocabulary is
plagiarism, even if you cite it
• Keeping the original order of ideas is
plagiarism, even if you cite it
• Don’t change the meaning
 Bad Paraphrasing!
• Original: “In research writing, sources are cited for
two reasons: to alert readers to the sources of your
information and to give credit to the writers from
whom you have borrowed words and ideas” (Hacker,
2021).
• Plagiarized Paraphrase: In research writing, we cite
sources for a couple reasons: to notify readers of our
information sources and give credit to authors we
borrowed from (Hacker, 2021).
• Writer has not made enough changes. Most of the
original words are the same, and the original
structure of the quote are the same.
 Good Paraphrasing
• Original: “In research writing, sources are cited for
two reasons: to alert readers to the sources of your
information and to give credit to the writers from
whom you have borrowed words and ideas” (Hacker,
2021).
• Good Paraphrase: A researcher cites sources to
acknowledge the original author’s work and to make
sure the audience can tell where the information
came from (Hacker, 2021).
• Writer has changed the order of ideas and the
words used. It is completely in his own words.
 You Tell Me…
• Original: “Be completely honest with your children.
This will show them how always applicable the
principle is and will demonstrate your commitment
to it… Never let them hear you tell little ‘convenient
lies’ on the phone and never ask them to tell one for
you” (Eyre,2021,p. 15).

• GOOD or BAD? Never tell lies, even convenient lies,

around your children. In addition, don’t let them tell
a lie for you. By doing this, you will demonstrate
your commitment to honesty (Eyre, 2021).
 You Tell Me…
• Original: “Be completely honest with your children.
This will show them how always applicable the
principle is and will demonstrate your commitment
to it… Never let them hear you tell little ‘convenient
lies’ on the phone and never ask them to tell one for
you” (Eyre, 2021).
• GOOD or BAD? Be totally honest with your kids. This
shows them that honesty is always important, and it
will show them that you care. Never tell lies, even if
small, and never ask them to lie for you (Eyre, 2021).
 You Tell Me…
• Original: “Be completely honest with your children.
This will show them how always applicable the
principle is and will demonstrate your commitment
to it… Never let them hear you tell little ‘convenient
lies’ on the phone and never ask them to tell one for
you” (Eyre, 2021).
• GOOD or BAD?
Children learn from their parents’ examples, especially
when it comes to honesty. Parents who don’t tell or
allow lies, even “white lies”, show their children the
importance of telling the truth by setting a good
example (Eyre, 2021).
How to Paraphrase in 3 Easy Steps!

1. READ:
• Stop after each paragraph or “chunk” and ask,
“What did I just read?”
• Take notes = Write down a list of the main ideas.
• Write ONLY things that relate to topic or support
your point.
• Summarize facts, not sentences. Only use what
you need.
• NO full sentences.
2. PARAPHRASE or DIRECT QUOTE:
• Put the source away & write full sentences about
what you just read, in your own words, in your own
order, using the notes.
• Pretend you’re explaining to a friend.
• Try starting with something different/change the
order.
• DON’T put anything in your paper that you don’t
understand.
• Check and make sure it’s not the same
• DON’T cut and paste!
 3. CITE YOUR SOURCES!
• ALWAYS cite right after “direct quotations,”
numbers, dates, statistics.
• Cite after you paraphrase (yep, even though
the whole thing is in your own words!)
• After 3 paraphrased sentences from same
source
When should you use a Direct
Quotation? How do you choose
one?
– When you really can’t say it better!
– When you want to capture the author’s way of
saying something
– When the exact words matter
– Only quote as much as you need (1-2 sentences
usually)
– Only when it’s relevant and important
– Don’t change the author’s meaning
How do you put a quotation in your
essay?
Introduce the quotation, and write your own
commentary/analysis after it:
After Orwell witnessed animal abuse he wrote,
“Men exploit animals in much the same way as the
rich exploit the worker” (“Meet George
Orwell”,2018, p. 9). Orwell chose animals as his
symbols to write about how governments abuse
people. This was a smart way to write about this
controversial topic, but people still refused to
publish his book.
 How do I use direct quotes?
• It’s easy; you just use small, key segments of the
original text, making sure to use the exact
wording.
• Don’t over quote or quote unnecessarily long
passages. Be selective.
• The main problem with using
quotations happens when writers assume that
the meaning of the quotation is obvious. Writers
who make this mistake believe that their job is
done when they’ve chosen a quotation and
inserted it into their text.
 How do I incorporate quotes?
• Every quotation needs to have your own
words appear right before or after it, or within
the same sentence.
• Use signal phrases to introduce quoted
material
e.g. Researcher X states, “_________”(2020, p.27).
In X’s perspective, “___________”(2020, par.27).
X concurs that “_______” (2020, p.27). (note no
comma)
 How to do Parenthetical Citations
After a DIRECT QUOTATION:
If you use someone’s words directly, put
“quotation marks” around their words and a
parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence:

After Orwell witnessed animal abuse he wrote, “Men

exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit
the worker” (“Meet George Orwell”, 2021, p. 9).
 After Paraphrasing:
If you used their idea but you put it entirely in
your own words , you put the citation at the
end of the sentence where you talk about that
idea, but no quotation marks:

Orwell’s inspiration to use animals as symbols of

oppressed people came from witnessing an incident
of animal abuse (“Meet George Orwell”, 2018).
 With a Signal Phrase
You can also name the author in a "signal
phrase." Introduce them in the sentence
before, and don’t put their name in the
parentheses:

Orwell defended his controversial writing by

arguing that “Liberty is telling people what
they do not want to hear” (2018, p.74).
 Resources to Help You
• www.irvington.org/library
Avoiding Plagiarism:
• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing:

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/

• Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference, Fourth Ed. Boston:

Bedford/St. Martins, 1999. A really helpful book! Many of the
examples in this PowerPoint came from this book.