PLAGIARISM

AND HOW
TO AVOID IT

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

THIS PRESENTATION DRAWS ON A JSGS PROFESSIONAL

WORKSHOP SERIES, ENTITLED ‘AVOIDING PLAGIARISM:
CITING, PARAPHRASING AND SUMMARIZING’ (HEATHER
MCWHINNEY, 2016),

AND ‘PARAPHRASING VS PLAGIARISM’, BY TAMMY L.

WHITLOW, CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN

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 WORKSHOP LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this workshop, you should be able to:
o Know what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
o Understand the importance of citing.
o Write an accurate and effective paraphrase.
o Use APA citation accurately.

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EXAMPLE OF PLAGIARISM

https://youtu.be/RCS2N4nUu84

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 A SECOND EXAMPLE OF PLAGIARISM
❑ In 2011, Dean Philip Baker of the University of Alberta resigned from the university after plagiarizing
large parts of an address to medical students.

❑ His speech included stories that were very similar to those told by Dr. Atul Gawande during a 2010
speech at Stanford University.

❑ Baker defended himself by saying that he was “inspired” my Gawande’s words and that they “resonated
with [his] own experiences.”

❑ His mistake was to use Gawande’s stories without attributing them to the real author.

Dehas, J. (2011, June 11). Dean accused of plagiarizing convocation speech.

Macleans. Retrieved from
http://www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/dean-accused-of-plagiarizingconvocation-speech/

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 DETECTING PLAGIARISM: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
A student makes the following choices in citing sources. Has she plagiarized?
1. She copies a paragraph, replacing a few words with synonyms. She
acknowledges the source in this in-text citation: (Clark, 2016).
2. She composes a paragraph by combining her own sentences with those
from various sources. She acknowledges the sources in in-text citations
that look like this: (Clark, 2016).
3. She composes a paragraph, which contains one sentence with four
consecutive words from a source. She acknowledges the source in an in-
text citation that looks like this: (Clark, 2016, p. 95).

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 DETECTING PLAGIARISM: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
4. She composes a paragraph, which contains one sentence with four consecutive words
from a source. She puts the words in quotation marks and acknowledges the source in
an in-text citation that looks like this: (Clark, 2016, p. 95).
5. She paraphrases another author’s paragraph by using a different sentence structure
and putting the ideas in her own words. She acknowledges the source in this in-text
citation: (Clark, 2016).
6. She includes in her paper four paragraphs copied from a paper that she submitted a
year earlier in another course.

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DEFINITIONS OF PLAGIARISM

Oxford Dictionary’s Definition of Plagiarism

“Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent,
by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement”

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FORMS OF PLAGIARISM
1 Quoting someone else’s work, word for word, without acknowledgement.
2 Cutting and pasting text, diagrams or any other material from the Internet without
acknowledgement.
3 Paraphrasing someone else’s work by altering a few words or changing their order
or closely following the structure of their argument without acknowledgement.
4 Collaborating with others (unless expressly asked to do so such as in group work)
and not attributing the assistance received.
5 Inaccurately referencing, within the text and list of references, the source of a
quoted passage. This often occurs when students pretend to have read an original
source, when their knowledge is derived from a secondary source.
6 Failing to acknowledge assistance that leads to substantive changes in the content
or approach.
7 Using materials written by others such as professional essay writing services, or
friends, even with the consent of those who have written it.
8 Auto or self-plagiarising, that is submitting work that you have already submitted
(either in part or fully) for another assessment. However, it usually acceptable to
cite earlier work you have had published.
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HOW CAN YOU AVOID PLAGIARISM?

oUse judgment and discretion. You must include an in-text citation:

if you refer to another person’s ideas, research, theories or procedures.
if you use another person’s specific words. (You must put the words inside quotation marks or
in a block quotation and record the page number).
oIt is better to over cite than to under cite.
oIt is better to use quotation marks than to plagiarize.

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PLAGIARISM SPECIFICS

You don’t need an in-text citation or a page number from the source:
oIf you use a piece of information that is considered common knowledge.
oIf you use a specialized word or phrase that is standard in your field even if the source uses it.

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PLAGIARISM SPECIFICS (continued)

How many words can you use from a source without using quotation marks and including a
page number?
o The number of words differs from professor to professor.
o Most would say it’s fine to use two to three consecutive words from a source without putting
them in quotation marks.
o Check with your professor.
o Remember, it is better to over cite than to under cite.

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ACTIVITY ONE: IDENTIFYING PLAGIARISM

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 PARAPHRASING
o Paraphrasing is the expression in your own words of the meaning of another person’s written
or spoken words.
o The source must be acknowledged in an in-text citation. Some professors require you to
include the page number from the original source.
o Some paraphrases contain four or more consecutive words from the original source. These
words should be enclosed in quotation marks and accompanied by an in-text citation that
includes a page number.

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 PROBLEMS WITH STUDENTS’ PARAPHRASES
o Problem 1: The paraphrase uses the same order and sentence structure of the original
piece, simply replacing the author’s words with synonyms. This is known as patchwork
plagiarism.
o Problem 2: The paraphrase uses the same order and sentence structure but inserts extra
words. It is thus longer than the original.
o Problem 3: The paraphrase includes ideas not expressed by the original author.

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IS THIS PARAPHRASE ACCEPTABLE?
Original
The widespread deterioration and some recent collapses of highway
bridges (Inaudi, 2009) have highlighted the importance of developing
effective bridge inspection and maintenance strategies, including
structural health monitoring and durability monitoring, which can help
identify structural and durability problems before they become critical.
Paraphrase
The widespread corrosion and several collapses of highway bridges
have illustrated the necessity of effective inspection and maintenance
practices such as structural health monitoring and durability monitoring,
both of which can help find problems before they become serious
(Cusson, Lounis, & Daigle, 2011, p. 524).
2

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IS THIS PARAPHRASE ACCEPTABLE?
Original
The widespread deterioration and some recent collapses of highway bridges
(Inaudi, 2009) have highlighted the importance of developing effective bridge
inspection and maintenance strategies, including structural health monitoring and
durability monitoring, which can help identify structural and durability problems
before they become critical (Cusson, Lounis, & Daigle, 2011, p. 524).
Paraphrase
Highway bridges are highly susceptible to structural problems, corrosion and even
collapse. Two inspection and maintenance methods that can help find weaknesses
at a relatively early stage are structural health monitoring and durability monitoring
(Cusson, Lounis, & Daigle, 2011, p. 524).
3

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 PARAPHRASING: TIPS FOR AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
1. Use a note-taking method to distinguish paraphrases, summaries and quotations; always
record the page number.
2. Study the original carefully; note the main idea.
3. Figure out how to change the order of ideas, structure and parts of speech.
4. Decide if any specialized terms should be retained.
5. Think of synonyms for non-specialized terms.
6. Write the paraphrase without looking at the original.
7. Insert quotation marks around any remaining phrases from the source.

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 READING TO PARAPHRASE
oA good paraphrase starts with careful reading of the original passage.
oMake sure you understand the main idea, point or argument of the passage.
oStudy the verbs and signal words to determine the relationships they express; think about
synonyms that you could use to express these same relationships.
oThe next two slides provide some relationship clues and synonyms for verbs and signal words.
These will help you improve your paraphrasing.

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CLUES TO PARAPHRASING: VERBS

COMMON VERBS RELATIONSHIP EXPRESSED

Is; is known as; is called; refers to; is Definition; explanation
named; denotes
Explain; elucidate; expound; explicate; Explanation; interpretation; analysis
clarify; construe; interpret; analyze
Cause; lead to; result in, trigger; produce; Cause or effect
affect; has an effect on; change; make;
induce; influence
Compare; contrast; differentiate; Compare and contrast
distinguish; differ from

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CLUES TO PARAPHRASING: SIGNAL WORDS

COMMON SIGNAL WORDS RELATIONSHIP EXPRESSED

Because; for; so; due to; since; as; To connect a result to a reason or a reason
therefore; as a result; consequently to a result
If, unless Under certain conditions
Although; however; but; yet; in spite (of); To express a seeming contradiction; partial
despite; notwithstanding contrast; adversarial relationship or
concession
While; whereas; in contrast; on the other To contrast; direct opposites
hand
To; in order to/that; so that To show a purpose
Similarly, Both ... and; neither ... Nor; To compare
Such as, including, for example, for To show examples
instance

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