Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: November 10, 2008
(Note: Today’s post is taken from the NSCC Student Handbook)
What is plagiarism?
According to Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, plagiarism is “the unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own.”
Why should I care about plagiarism?
The main reason is that it is academic stealing. It’s claiming ownership of words and ideas that are not yours.
There are also severe penalties associated with plagiarism. Depending on the instructor, you can receive an “F” on a plagiarized assignment or an “F” for the course.
Okay. You convinced me. So how do I keep from plagiarizing?
The obvious way is to avoid buying term papers off the Internet or turning in someone else’s work as your own.
Truthfully, however, most people don’t do that. The vast majority of cases of plagiarism can be classified as unintentional. Students don’t mean to plagiarize; they’re just not skillful at paraphrasing and/or citing sources.
What is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing is taking an original statement and putting it in your own words without modifying the author’s meaning. This is a skill that takes some practice and time.
Can you give an example?
Sure. Let’s work with this paragraph:
Servants were ubiquitous in Victorian culture. Every household with pretensions to middle class respectability had at least one servant, making servanthood the largest category of employment for women throughout the nineteenth century. Still servants never garnered the public’s attention the way the female factory worker and governess did. There was no outcry about their working conditions and little concern expressed about the deleterious effects on a family if the mother worked as a servant.
–Margaret Jones, Worker Angels: Ambivalence towards Women’s Work in Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, and Elizabeth Stuart Phelps.
Here’s an acceptable paraphrase:
Although more women worked as servants than at any other job in Victorian England, there was little public concern about their welfare or that of their families (Jones 32).
Notice here that the meaning stays the same, but I have put the meaning in my own words. Also, notice that while, technically, paraphrasing does not mean shortening the original; in practicality, that often happens.
Can you give me an example of plagiarism?
Sure, think of the original paragraph above.
Wait a minute! Why would that be plagiarism? The paragraph is paraphrased.
True, but while you have put the original in your own words, the original idea is not yours. You got that from the source. So you will still need to cite it appropriately.
What else can go wrong?
· Here is another version that just doesn’t get the paraphrasing right. See if you can tell what is wrong:
In Victorian culture, servants were ubiquitous. Any house that wanted middle-class respectability had a servant. This made servanthood the biggest group of jobs for women in the 1800s. Still, the public’s attention was never focused on servants rather than governesses and factory workers. Their working conditions and effects on their families caused little outcry.
The problem here is that the wording is just too close to the original. There are just a few synonyms thrown in with a couple of sentences inverted. This usually happens when you haven’t given yourself enough time to write the paper, and you’re in a rush. Good paraphrasing and summarizing take time.
Can you summarize some tips to help me here?
· If it’s your thoughts and your words, no need to cite.
· If it’s someone else’s words, use quotation marks.
· If it’s someone else’s ideas but your paraphrase, you need to cite.
· Give yourself plenty of time.
· Consider writing your thoughts first; then, you’ll be clear about what came from you and what came from other sources.
Where are some other resources for help?
Look under resources at the NSCC library webpage for some helpful handouts on plagiarism.
There are also some good links to helpful guides at the Learning Center website .
