Plagiarism is the act of presenting
someone else's work as your own. It is the theft of intellectual property.
The following examples should help you distinguish plagiarism from well-documented
research.
Original text from:
McCullough, David. John Adams. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
p. 57
His marriage to Abigail Smith was the most important
decision of John Adams's life, as would become apparent with time. She
was in all respects his equal and the part she was to play would be
greater than he could possibly have imagined, for all his love for her
and what appreciation he already had of her beneficial, steadying influence.
Writing sample #1
John Adam’s marriage to Abigail was the
most important choice in his life. He was to come to understand this
better with time. In so many ways, she was his equal, and he could not
have imagined the importance of the role she was going to play, despite
his love for her and his appreciation of her good, solid influence.
Unacceptable! This paragraph is the work of someone either deliberately
plagiarizing or someone who doesn’t understand what it means to
plagiarize. The writer may have changed a few words and switched the order
of words in the sentences, but the writer has not changed McCullough’s
sequence of ideas and has not used the information in a meaningful way.
He or she failed to cite what are really McCullough’s original ideas
or words.
Writing sample #2
When John Adams was ready to marry, he sought
a woman who was his equal. He found Abigail Smith and loved her for
her steadying influence.
Unacceptable! Not only did this student neglect to cite, this paraphrase
twists McCullough’s meaning. Though it changes words significantly,
it also does a poor job conveying the original idea accurately.
Writing sample #3
The best decisions of a great leader may extend
beyond the political. In fact, the course of American history may have
been changed by an entirely personal decision. In his biography of Adams,
David McCullough notes that Adams’ choice of Abigail Smith as
a wife was the most critical decision of his life. “She was in
all respects his equal and the part she was to play would be greater
than he could possibly have imagined” (McCullough 57).
This is acceptable because the author uses the information in a meaningful
way, accurately paraphrases the ideas presented in the original source,
credits them and weaves in a quote to emphasize the point. The source
is properly quoted and cited using quotation marks and in-text documentation.
Note that in this example the student created his/her own topic sentence,
following an independent plan and not the necessarily following the structure
of another author's material.
You can avoid plagiarism.
- When you are taking notes, make sure that you
copy all original passages in quotation marks.
- Paraphrase by really putting ideas into your
own words; go beyond changing a few words. Recognize that paraphrasing
of unique ideas and facts also requires citation. As you write, return
to the text and check your paraphrase against the original source to
make sure you haven’t unintentionally copied.
- Use graphic organizers to restructure your facts
and ideas.
- Use your own voice to put a new twist on old
information.
- When in doubt, cite!
What is Common Knowledge?
- You don’t have to cite everything. Facts
or ideas referred to as “common knowledge” do not have to
be cited.
- Common knowledge includes facts that are found
in many sources, facts that you assume many people know. A rule of thumb
is that if you find a fact in three or more sources, it may be considered
common knowledge.
- An example of common knowledge is that John
Adams married Abigail Smith.
- Remember, you must document little-know facts
and any ideas that interpret facts, even if they are paraphrased! For
instance, even if you don’t use McCullough’s words, you
should absolutely document McCullough’s belief that this marriage
may have been the most critical decision of Adam’s life.
This article is used with permission of the author, Joyce Valenza, Springfield
Township High School.