How to Avoid Plagiarism

Quotations

Put in quotations information that is used word for word from the source and provide the name of the author, year of publication, page number, and the reference according to the citation style chosen. For citations of 40 words or more, use block indention. The Green Library at Florida International University has manuals and reference books available about citation styles.

Example 1 - Quotations (APA style)

The mosaic type of plagiarism refers to the blending of original material with students' words without giving credit to the author of the original.

Original Source Material

Student's Version

Still feeling nauseous, and now hot, Briony pressed her cheek against the wall. It was no cooler than her face. She longed for a glass of water, but she did not want to ask her sister for anything.

Ian McEwan (2001) transmits to the reader the anguish of one of his characters, Briony, as "Still feeling nauseous, and now hot, Briony pressed her cheek against the wall. It was no cooler than her face. She longed for a glass of water, but she did not want to ask her sister for anything" (p. 339).

Source:
McEwan, I. (2001). Atonement. Vintage: London

Reference:
McEwan, I. (2001). Atonement. Vintage: London

Analysis:

Note that the name of the author, year of publication, and page number are cited in the text (APA style).
Quotations are used to indicate that the information has been reproduced verbatim.
A reference is also provided (APA style).

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is the use of your own words to express the author's ideas without changing the meaning. Paraphrasing does not mean just rearranging or changing a few words from the original.

How to paraphrase:

Express the author's ideas with your own words.
Keep in mind the author's meaning.
Do not use the original sentence structure.
ALWAYS give credit to the author. Consult manuals for forms of citations and references in different styles.

Plagiarism occurs when students change words, rearrange sentences, or use synonyms when paraphrasing the original text. Paraphrasing entails expressing others' ideas in your own words so a citation must be provided. The ideas are still the author's and credit must be given. Plagiarism occurs not only when borrowing words but also ideas.

Example 1: Paraphrasing - Correct Version

Original Source Material

Business plays a mammoth role in workforce development, but many environments are inhospitable to learning, and business goals may fail to serve the learner. The competitive global economy has caused employers to take a greater interest in human resource development because it is through people, not technology, that competitive edge is gained.

Student's Version

Although the corporate world represents a major influence in employees' education, what matters is how this education positively impacts job outcomes regardless of the educational interests of the learner. In spite of an increasing interest in the labor force as a competitive advantage for organizations, economic interests seem to be above educational ones (Bierema, 2000).

Source:

Bierema, L. L. (2000). Moving beyond performance paradigms in human resource development. In A. L. Wilson & E. R. Hayes (Eds.), Handbook of adult and continuing education (pp. 278-293). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Reference:

Analysis:

Note that the passage ends with a citation of the author (APA style).
The main ideas of the paragraph are expressed in different words, but the argument is the same as the author's. Credit is given to the source.
A reference is also provided (APA style).
However, note that the source of the picture is not mentioned. The reader does not know where the picture comes from. A reference for the picture must be provided.

Example 2: Paraphrasing - Correct Use

Original Source Material

Student's Version

According to Bierema (2000), although the corporate world represents a major influence in employees' education, what matters is how this education positively impacts job outcomes regardless of the educational interests of the learner. The increasing interest in human resources development is a sign of the importance of people as the greater resources in organizations.

Source:

Bierema, L. L. (2000). Moving beyond performance paradigms in human resource development. In A. L. Wilson & E. R. Hayes (Eds.), Handbook of adult and continuing education (pp. 278-293). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Reference:

Analysis:

The author's ideas are expressed with different words (paraphrasing) AND the source is cited at the beginning of the text (APA style).
The reference is also mentioned (APA style).

Example 3: Paraphrasing - Plagiarism

Original Source Material

Student's Version

Corporations play a huge role in labor force development, but many places are not friendly to learning, and business targets may not serve the students. The global competition in the economy has made employers be more interested in developing employees to be more competitive in the market.

Source:

Reference:

Analysis:

Note that the student is using the author's sentence structure and ideas, but using synonyms for the original words. Using synonyms is not paraphrasing.
The author MUST BE cited to acknowledge the source.
The reference provided (APA style) is of no use if the author is not cited.

Example 4: Paraphrasing - Plagiarism

Original Source Material

Student's Version

Corporations play a huge role in labor force development, but many places are not friendly to learning, and business targets may not serve the student. The competitive world economy has made employers have a greater interest in employees' development as it is with human resources, not technology, that a competitive advantage is achieved.

Source:

Reference:

Analysis:

Changing words for synonyms is NOT paraphrasing.
The author is not cited as the source of the ideas expressed in the text.
The reference (APA style) has no use if the author is not cited in the text.

Summarizing

A summary is a shorter version of the original passage keeping the author's ideas in mind. Summarizing is a good technique when the original material to be used is too long to be quoted. When summarizing, the source must also be cited.

Example 1: Summarizing - Correct Version

Original Source Material

Student's Version

The idea that globalization necessarily decreases or homogenizes cultural diversity is not a foregone conclusion. Debates abound on the validity of cultural homogenization supposedly brought about by globalization. The way we conceptualize culture dictates the extent we believe globalization can affect it. If we believe that culture is bounded by pace, that culture is dependent on fixity of location for us to construct meaning, then globalization has the capacity to shift and mediate culture.

Globalization is being considered responsible for trying to eliminate cultural differences and create a unique world culture. Ideas about what culture is play an important role in defining how it is influenced by globalization (Hatcher, 2002).

Source:

Hatcher, T. (2002). Ethics and HRD. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.

Reference:

Hatcher, T. (2002). Ethics and HRD. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.

Analysis:

Note that the author's ideas are expressed in different words in a shorter version (summarizing).
A citation is provided at the end to acknowledge the source (APA style).
A reference is also provided (APA style).

Example 2: Summarizing - Plagiarism

Original Source Material

Student's Version

The idea that globalization necessarily decreases or homogenizes cultural diversity is not a foregone conclusion. The way we conceptualize culture dictates the extent we believe globalization can affect it.

Source:

Hatcher, T. (2002). Ethics and HRD. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.

Reference:

Hatcher, T. (2002). Ethics and HRD. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.

Analysis:

Shortening the paragraph is NOT summarizing.
A citation is NOT provided to acknowledge the source.
No quotation marks are used although the author's words are copied verbatim.
A reference is provided (APA style) but it is of no use if the author is not cited.

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How to Avoid Plagiarism

Quotations

Paraphrasing

Summarizing