Dont Fail Your Courses: Cite Your Sources

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Dont Fail Your Courses Cite Your Sources!

• Shawn V. Lombardo
• Reference Librarian
• Kresge Library
• lombardo_at_oakland.edu

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Examples of Academic Cheating

• Cheating on an exam
• Unauthorized collaboration
• Plagiarism
• Falsifying lab results/data
• Submitting a paper from one class to another
  class (w/out prior approval)

From the OU Student Handbook, Academic Conduct
Regulations
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Why Students Cheat

• 7. Everyones doing it
• 6. Pressure to do well
• 5. The teacher doesnt care, so why should I?
• 4. Famous people cheat
• 3. Didnt have enough time
• 2. Laziness
• 1. They didnt realize they were doing it!

Teaching Learning Bridges http//www.usask.ca/tl
c/bridges_journal/v1n3_jan_03/v1n3_why_cheat.html
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Examples of Plagiarism Unauthorized Copying

• NPR story on Stephen Ambrose
• Vanilla Ice vs. David Bowie Queen

Examples from Janice Cooper, Plagiarism
Workshop http//mail.nvnet.org/cooper_j/plagiaris
m/
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What is Plagiarism?

• Failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas.
• Failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation
  marks.
• Failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your
  own words.

(Bedford Handbook, 570.)
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When is it Plagiarism?

• Intentional
• Intentional copying/paraphrasing, without
  attribution, in order to pass off anothers work
  as ones own
• Paper sharing/term paper mills
• Unintentional
• Improper paraphrasing
• If I change every 5th word, its not plagiarism,
  right?
• Unconscious plagiarism
• Not citing properly

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Paraphrasing Is this Plagiarism?

• Original Source
• If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling
  for linguists, it was also startling news for
  animal behaviorists.
• (An excerpt from an article by B. Davis)

• Version A
• The existence of a signing ape unsettled
  linguists and startled animal behaviorists
  (Davis, 26).

This exercise is from The Bedford Handbook
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Answer A

• Original Source
• If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling
  for linguists, it was also startling news for
  animal behaviorists.

• Version A
• The existence of a signing ape unsettled
  linguists and startled animal behaviorists
  (Davis, 26).
• Answer Plagiarism. Even though the writer has
  cited the source, the writer has not used
  quotation marks around the direct quotation, "the
  existence of a signing ape." In addition, the
  phrase, "unsettled linguists and startled animal
  behaviorists," closely resembles the wording of
  the source.

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Paraphrasing Is this Plagiarism?

• Original Source
• If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling
  for linguists, it was also startling news for
  animal behaviorists.

• Version B
• If the presence of a sign-language-using chimp
  was disturbing for scientists studying language,
  it was also surprising to scientists studying
  animal behavior (Davis, 26).

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Answer B

• Original Source
• If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling
  for linguists, it was also startling news for
  animal behaviorists.

• Version B
• If the presence of a sign-language-using chimp
  was disturbing for scientists studying language,
  it was also surprising to scientists studying
  animal behavior (Davis, 26).
• Answer Still plagiarism. Even though the writer
  has substituted synonyms and cited the source,
  the writer is plagiarizing because the source's
  sentence structure is unchanged.

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Paraphrasing Is this Plagiarism?

• Original Source
• If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling
  for linguists, it was also startling news for
  animal behaviorists.

• Version C
• According to Flora Davis, linguists and animal
  behaviorists were unprepared for the news that a
  chimp could communicate with its trainers through
  sign language (Davis, 26).

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Answer C

• Original Source
• If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling
  for linguists, it was also startling news for
  animal behaviorists.

• Version C
• According to Flora Davis, linguists and animal
  behaviorists were unprepared for the news that a
  chimp could communicate with its trainers through
  sign language (Davis, 26).
• Answer No plagiarism. This is an appropriate
  paraphrase of the original sentence.

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A Summary of Proper Documentation

• Exact phrases
• Quotation marks around the phrase
• Cite the author in the text (authors last name,
  page number) include the source on your Works
  Cited page.
• Paraphrasing
• Change the wording AND sentence structure
• Cite the author in the text include the source
  on your Works Cited page.
• Ideas
• Cite the author in the text include the source
  on your Works Cited page.
• Common knowledge
• No need to cite

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Documentation Guidelines

• Be sure to note all necessary information for a
  complete citation
• Ask your professor what citation style is
  required/recommended
• MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, CBE
• Consult the appropriate style manual

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Examples of Proper MLA Citations
Book by a Single Author In-text example (Sagan
98) Reference list example Sagan, Carl. The
Demon-Haunted World Science as a Candle in the
Dark. New York Random House, 1996.
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MLA Examples

• Article in a Weekly Magazine
• In Text Example
• (Mitchell and Winters 34)
• Reference list example
• Mitchell, Emily, and Rebecca Winters. "They Came,
  They Stayed." Time 8 Mar. 1999 28-35.

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MLA Examples

• Web Site
• In-text example
• (Monfredo)
• Reference list example
• Monfredo, Miriam Grace. Home page. 1 Aug. 1999
  lthttp//www.Miriamgracemonfredo.com/gt.

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Whats Wrong with this Reference?

• Jowett, L. Sex and the slayer A gender studies
  primer for the Buffy fan. Middletown, CT
  Wesleyan UP, 2005.

• Need authors first name.
• Underline book title.
• Capitalize important words in the book title.

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Whats Wrong with this Reference?
Frank, Lisa and Miller, Tom. The Evolution of the
Seven Sins From God to the Simpsons. Journal
of Popular Culture. 35 95-105.

• 2nd authors name should be reversed.
• Need a comma after the first authors name.
• Journal/mag. title should be underlined.
• Need quotation marks around the article title.
• The publication date is missing.
• No period after the journal title.

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Whats Wrong with this Reference?

• Pierson, David P. Journal of Popular Culture. A
  Show about Nothing Seinfeld and the Modern
  Comedy of Manners. Vol. 34, i. 1 (Summer 2000)
  p. 49-64. WilsonSelectPlus. FirstSearch
  lthttp//newfirstsearch.oclc.orggt.

• Journal/mag. title should follow the article
  title.
• You dont need to include the issue or
  Summer.
• Must include date the article was retrieved.
• Database name should be underlined.

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More Tips to Avoid Plagiarism Organizing Your
Work

• Start early!
• Create a working bibliography.
• Keep copies of all sources.

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Tips Note Taking

• Take careful notes!
• Try blind paraphrasing.
• Use index cards one for each quotation/paraphras
  e/idea.
• Try the Green Ink or double-entry note-taking
  method.

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Double-Entry Journal Example

• Lord of the Flies
• "Now we come to the most important thing. I've
  been thinking...We want to have fun. And we want
  to be rescued." (p. 37)

• This quote captures how Ralph is stuck between
  two courses of action. He wants to be a kid, to
  be carefree but he also wants to get rescued, to
  be responsible, and to lead the younger kids to
  safety. He is stuck between the adult world,
  represented by Piggy, and the world of childish
  wants, represented by Jack. I wonder which route
  he will eventually follow...

From Guidelines for Double-Entry Journal Notes
http//www.husd.k12.ca.us/hayward/english/journal
notes.html
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Tips Writing Your Paper

• Write your first draft w/out consulting notes or
  sources.
• Use signal phrases to introduce quotes.
• Place quotation marks around passages that you
  copy/paste from the Web.
• Keep your style manual handy! Or consult the OU
  Student Writing Guide
• When in doubt, cite!

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Need More Help?

• KL Writing Resources for Students
• KL Citation Guides
• The Writing Center! 212 KL