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To complete a
writing assignment, you may find it necessary to gather information by
interviewing people; by reading books, magazines, journals, or other printed
materials; by downloading material off the Internet; or by viewing and/or
listening to films, tapes, plays, or some other formal or informal
presentations. Such borrowed information usually appears in your writing as
paraphrases, direct quotations, or summaries. However, correctly
incorporating borrowed material into your own writing requires special skill.
Improper use of borrowed information creates chaos in your essay; it also
results in plagiarism, which means presenting someone else's ideas or words as
your own. To ensure that you do not unintentionally plagiarize, you should
clearly “frame” all borrowed information—whether direct quotations, paraphrased,
or summarized materials—by introducing, identifying, and evaluating the source
and by citing the source at the end of the borrowed information.
Plagiarism
Intentional plagiarism is a form of
cheating. However, many students find themselves unintentionally presenting
someone else's work as their own simply because these students do not know how
to use borrowed information correctly. For example, students often do not know
how to paraphrase properly and simply mix their own words and phrases with those
in the original source without enclosing borrowed elements in quotation marks.
Below you will find a paragraph as it appeared in the original source, E. D.
Hirsch’s book Cultural Literacy:
The recently rediscovered insight that literacy
is more than a skill is based upon knowledge that all of us unconsciously have
about language. We know instinctively that to understand what somebody is
saying, we must understand more than the surface meanings of words; we have to
understand the context as well. The need for background information applies all
the more to reading and writing. To grasp the words on a page we have to know a
lot of information that isn’t set down on the page. (3)
(Note that any direct quotation that is more than
4 lines is indented and double-spaced {PH, 7th
edition, 64e}.)
Using this original paragraph, we will give you
definitions and examples of a paraphrase, a direct quotation, and a summary.
Remember, failure to paraphrase, quote, or summarize correctly can constitute
plagiarism. (You can find more information about avoiding plagiarism in the
Prentice Hall Reference Guide, 7th edition, chapter 64.)
Definition of a Paraphrase
A paraphrase is a restatement in
your own words and your own style of someone's ideas
and discoveries. You must change both the words and the
sentence structure of the original. Please remember that your purpose in
using a paraphrase is not to save words because normally the paraphrase is about
the same length as the original. Your purpose, instead, is to express the
borrowed information in a style that is your own and that is already familiar to
your reader. (See Prentice Hall, 7th edition, 64d.)
Plagiarized Paraphrase
In his book Cultural Literacy,
University of Virginia English professor and noted literacy theorist E. D.
Hirsch argues that literacy is more than a skill. It is, instead,
based upon what we know unconsciously about language. By
instinct, we are aware that we must know more than the surface meaning of
words; we must grasp the situation too. We also have to have this
background information when we read and write. In other words, to
understand the words on a page, we must know more than what is written
on a page (3).
(The underlined words are lifted without change
from the original paragraph. Note that several phrases were taken in their
entirety and that elsewhere only minor changes were made.)
Correct Paraphrase
E. D. Hirsch, University of Virginia
Professor of English and noted literacy theorist, reaffirms in his book
Cultural Literacy that literacy is something other than just a “skill.”
Instead, it involves some things that we all know intuitively about the way
words function. We realize that to decode what is said to us, we must know more
than the dictionary definitions of the individual words; in fact, we must also
understand the situation in which the communication takes place. In order to
read or write, we must be even more aware of the surrounding circumstances.
Consequently, we have to know things other than the words themselves (3).
Obviously, we need to consider many issues when we process language.
(Note the “framed” material, beginning with the
source and ending with the citation.)
Definition of a Direct Quotation
A direct quotation is an exact
repeating of someone else's words as he or she wrote or spoke them. (See
Prentice Hall, 7th edition, 64e.)
Example of a
Direct Quotation
In Cultural Literacy, E. D. Hirsch,
University of Virginia English professor and noted literacy theorist,
persuasively argues that true literacy encompasses more than just recognizing
words. Hirsch reminds us that “to understand what somebody is saying, we must
understand more than the surface meanings of words; we have to understand the
context as well” (3).
Definition of a Summary
A summary is
simply a brief but accurate statement in your own words of the main idea(s) of
some borrowed information. Brevity is the summary's reason for being, but a
summary must give all of the main idea, not just half of it. (See PH, 7th
edition, 64c.)
Example of a Summary
E. D. Hirsch, University of Virginia English
professor and noted literacy theorist, suggests in his book Cultural Literary
that a person must know more than the dictionary meanings of words to be truly
literate; he or she must also understand significant information that precedes
and surrounds the communication (3).
Work Cited
Hirsch, E. D., Jr. Cultural Literacy: What
Every American Needs to Know. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.
Incorporating
Borrowed Material
Incorporating borrowed material into
your own writing is not simply a matter of avoiding plagiarism. You must also
create smooth transitions between your own words and ideas and those borrowed
from other sources. These transitions should introduce and identify your
sources and should evaluate the borrowed material. Frequently, inexperienced
writers will simply drop a summary or a quotation into the middle of their own
writing and rely on only a parenthetical citation to help the reader make sense
of it. The following is an example of such a situation:
Unclear Incorporation
The 1980s and 1990s spawned a large
number of books about the nature of communication. Some of these, like Deborah
Tannen’s You Just Don’t Understand, are concerned with gender
differences. Others, like Shirley Brice Heath’s Ways With Words, deal
with class and ethnicity. We must also remember that different communication
situations require different strategies no matter what the gender, class, or
ethnicity of the participants may be. If people know each other, their
conversations can be more cryptic and not always simplistic. However, if they
are unacquainted and know nothing of each other’s background, they have to
explain a great deal to be understood (Hirsch 4).
While this citation gives credit to
Hirsch for borrowed ideas and, consequently, does not constitute plagiarism, it
nevertheless creates several difficulties for the reader. In the first place,
the reader does not know where the borrowing from Hirsch begins. A second
problem is that the reader knows practically nothing about Hirsch’s identity or
his credentials. Finally, the reader doesn’t know whether the writer is
agreeing with Hirsch or disagreeing.
Correct Incorporation
The 1980s and 1990s spawned a large
number of books about the nature of communication. Some of these, like Deborah
Tannen’s You Just Don’t Understand, are concerned with gender
differences. Others, like Shirley Brice Heath’s Ways With Words, deal
with class and ethnicity. However, gender, class, and ethnicity are by no
means the only factors to consider. As University of Virginia English professor
and noted literacy theorist E. D. Hirsch persuasively reminds us in his book
Cultural Literacy, different communication situations require different
strategies. If people know each other, their conversations can be more cryptic
and not always simplistic. But, if they are unacquainted and know nothing of
each other’s background, they have to explain a great deal to be understood (4).
Work Cited
Hirsch, E. D.,
Jr. Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. Boston:
Houghton
Mifflin, 1987.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
One of the most difficult tasks
facing the writer of documented papers is to distinguish clearly between his or
her own voice and the voices of the various authorities whose words and ideas
are being incorporated into the paper. In order to accomplish this goal,
writers should make sure that they do the following:
1.
Your source should always be
introduced by name in the text rather than just in the parenthetical citation.
This procedure must be followed when introducing quotations, but it is even more
important when introducing paraphrased or summarized material. With quotations,
the reader knows when the writer has begun to borrow because all the material is
set off by quotation marks or indentation. With paraphrased or summarized
material, only an introductory citation of the source’s name will show the
reader where the borrowed material has begun. (See PH, 64f.)
2.
The first time a source is introduced
by name, it is important for the writer to identify this person, preferably by
establishing the source’s credentials as an authority on the subject under
discussion. Authors vary widely in their degree of expertise, and it is up to
you to justify to the reader your inclusion of a particular source’s opinions.
After the source has been identified once, it is not necessary to cite the
credentials of that same person in subsequent references.
3.
Your paper may cite opinions on both
sides of an issue: some you will oppose; some you will endorse. If you are
writing an argument, it is absolutely crucial for the reader to know in which
category any of the borrowed material belongs. Often writers believe that their
position is obvious, but readers do not always find it to be. One easy way to
make the matter clear is to include an evaluative adverb or other signal phrase
in your introduction to the borrowed material. For example, rather than saying,
“Hirsch states,” you might say, “Hirsch persuasively argues,” or “Hirsch
unrealistically claims.” (For a list of frequently used signal phrases, see
PH, 7th edition, 64f.)
Documentation
The purpose of
documentation is to enable any reader to follow in your footsteps. It should, in
other words, be possible to go to the original sources of your borrowed ideas,
words, and summaries and read more about them. To assist your reader in locating
the material, always include a parenthetical citation of the source at the end
of the borrowed material. That documentation within the body of the paper will
lead the reader back to the sources--back to your Works Cited or Works Consulted
page, which will contain the full particulars on the books, magazines,
newspapers--that you used.
Review
1.
Always
give credit to your sources every time you use them in your papers.
2.
Introduce borrowed
information--whether in a direct quotation, a summary, or a paraphrase--by
referring to its source in your text.
3.
Include the credentials of a source
the first time the source is introduced. Be sure to indicate why or how this
source is an authority on the matter under discussion.
4.
Use evaluative words and phrases when
developing an argument to make clear the degree to which you oppose or endorse
the opinion you are citing.
5.
Give proper credit for information
quoted directly by both (1) enclosing a short quotation in quotation marks or
indenting a long quotation (more than 4 lines of text) and (2) using an
acceptable form of documentation. (See the Prentice Hall Reference Guide
for additional information.)
6.
Be sure to document summaries and
paraphrases even though you do not use quotation marks or special indentation
with these. You can find detailed information on how to incorporate borrowed
information into your papers in the Prentice Hall Reference Guide chapter
64, 7th edition.
7.
Include a citation (usually the page
numbers) in parentheses at the end of the borrowed material.
You should also
read the appropriate sections on documentation in the Prentice Hall Reference
Guide and understand that you are responsible for using borrowed material
correctly in your writing. You should also be aware of the penalties for
plagiarism as stated in the Student Handbook. Depending on the severity
of the offense, penalties may vary from a grade reduction on the assignment to a
failing grade in the course.
I have read
this discussion and the appropriate sections in the Prentice Hall Reference
Guide and understand that I am responsible for using borrowed material
correctly in my writing. I am also aware of the penalties for plagiarism as
stated in the Student Handbook and on my instructor’s syllabus.
________________________________________
Student’s Signature
_____________________________________
Date
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