Avoiding Plagiarism

(Developed by FSU’s First-Year Writing Program)

 

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism occurs when you represent someone else’s words or ideas as if they were your own. Deliberate plagiarism is when you put your name on an essay someone else has written and try to pass it off to your teacher as your own work. This kind of plagiarism is illegal and unethical and will result in a 0 on the assignment. Further action will be taken.

 

Accidental plagiarism is when you make a big mistake incorporating research into your essay: maybe you forget to put the quotation marks around the source’s exact words, or you do not paraphrase thoroughly, or you borrow ideas from a source but do not give credit to that source. These errors can result from lack of knowledge about research writing, or simple carelessness. But they are very serious errors in that they violate our national copyright laws.

 

How To Avoid Plagiarism

  1. Keep a responsible research and writing schedule. Begin thinking about the assignment early. Schedule yourself enough time to find sources, read and evaluate them, and synthesize the information you find. Leave yourself enough time to plan and write and revise and edit your essay thoughtfully. And remember: computers and printers know Murphy’s Law by heart.

 

  1. Make sure you understand the specifications of the assignment---how long it should be, how the topic should be dealt with, what types of research are expected or appropriate. If you’re unsure about any of the specifications, speak with your instructor. Perhaps ask if you can bring in a draft during the instructor’s office hours.

 

  1. Know and practice the appropriate guidelines for citation/documentation. Are you supposed to use MLA, APA, etc.? If you don’t know, ask your instructor. Look up the procedures for the required citation/documentation style in your handbook or online. Find out how the citations should be handled both inside the text of the essay as well as on the Works Cited page. Meet with your instructor or a tutor in the Writing Center for help.

 

  1. Take notes carefully as you research. Record not only the information you’re going to use in your essay, but also the information you need for the Works Cited page. Be especially careful when you paraphrase. In fact, you may want all your notes to be quotations so you’ll avoid potential problems when drafting and revising.

 

 

What Should Be Cited

Cite the following in each instance or each occurrence:

 

Also, each source you cite in your essay should appear on your Works Cited list. And each item on your Works Cited list should appear somewhere in your text. Leave a source trail for your reader to follow.

 

 

Practice Exercises

 

Original:

There are always two jazz worlds: the formal one and the informal one; the salaried booking and the unexpected event. In the formal situation, you will hear a band doing its job. In the informal one, you will witness the bandstand personnel suddenly expanded by an invitation to a visiting musician who has been asked to sit in; or you will find yourself in a jam session, where anything can happen. Each situation is an important aspect of the jazz world, and sometimes the two scenarios come together in the same place. Both worlds are found in the clubs. Sitting at a table or at the bar, one comes to understand something about the power of jazz and experiences the intimacy of a chamber-music setting.                     

--Stanley Crouch, “New York Is Jazz,” The New Yorker, August 26, 1996, page 168

 

 

Student A

I enjoy jazz because I can listen to it in two different settings: an informal one in clubs and a formal one in recital halls. In informal settings, I can experience the spontaneity of a jam session, while in the formal settings, I can hear a combo doing a brilliant and well-rehearsed set.

 

Is this accidental plagiarism? If so, correct the problem area(s) below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student B

Stanley Crouch, in his recent article in The New Yorker, writes that the formal and informal settings for jazz can come together in the same place in the clubs (168).

 

Is this accidental plagiarism? If so, correct the problem area(s) below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student C

I usually listen to jazz on CDs, not live. It’s hard to get into some of the better clubs with my friends because I’m not 21 yet and I don’t have the money. My parents took me to a local nightspot one time when my favorite group was playing. The club setting is definitely a better way to experience jazz. Sitting at a table or at the bar, one comes to understand something about the power of jazz and experiences the intimacy of a chamber-music setting (Crouch 168).

 

Is this accidental plagiarism? If so, correct the problem area(s) below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student D

Stanley Crouch, a music critic for The New Yorker, says there are two jazz “worlds”: traditional, planned, and rehearsed jazz and spontaneous, improvised, “jam” sessions. In the traditional setting, the musicians merely give their best performance. In the spontaneous one, you may observe a change in personnel as a guest musician joins the group, where the unexpected can occur (168).

 

Is this accidental plagiarism? If so, correct the problem area(s) below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Case Studies

Consider the following situations and decide what type of citation, if any, is necessary for each. Be ready to discuss your responses with the class.

 

  1. In a literary anthology you read a footnote which claims the inspiration for a particular character came from a real person in the author’s life. This connection would make an excellent addition to a paper you’re writing. Do you need to cite this footnote?

 

  1. During a class discussion your instructor makes an observation that the theme of the text you are studying is strongly linked to another text and a reader would benefit from considering both texts together. This gives you a new insight into that text and shapes how you will write about it. Do you need to cite this comment?

 

  1. You are researching the social climate in which a text was written and you happen to catch a documentary on The History Channel that provides you with a clearer picture of what was going on in that period. You can now make some very strong points in your paper about the social conditions expressed in the text. Do you need to cite that program?

 

  1. A student included the following statement in her paper: “Everyone says that The Spy Who Shagged Me is the best. Austin Powers really made me laugh. And ‘Mini-Me’ was the funniest character on the screen since John Belushi played ‘Bluto.’”  What sources should be cited and how?