MODULE: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

Chapter 3: Avoiding Plagiarism

Objectives:
a. Define Plagiarism.
b. Differentiate paraphrasing and summarizing.
c. Appreciate the importance of citing one’s work.

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Avoiding Plagiarism: Paraphrasing,

Summarizing and Citation

What is Plagiarism?
What is plagiarism? When can you be accused of
plagiarizing other people's works?
Plagiarism could be any of the following:
• Deliberate copying of somebody else's work and
claiming that work to be his/ her own;
• Using somebody else's work or ideas without proper
acknowledgement or citation; and copying the text
without paraphrasing it.
• An act of presenting the words, ideas, images, sounds,
or the creative expression of others as your own

Paraphrasing and Summarizing (Avoiding Plagiarism)

Paraphrasing and summarizing are both related terms. They are often confusing
for people.
Paraphrasing and summarizing are essential techniques for an effective and
efficient essay. These are an absolute must when dealing with scientific concepts. Both
paraphrasing and summarizing are allowed and accepted till due credit is given to the
original source, and only till the work is not copied and is free from any kind of plagiarism.

Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is one of the ways to avoid plagiarism. It is rendering the essential
ideas in a text (sentence or paragraph) using your own words. Paraphrased materials are
usually shorter than the original text. It is more detailed than a summary. When you
paraphrase, it is advised that you first understand what the text is about and then write
your rendition of the text without referring to it as you write. The tendency when you have
the text in front of you is to copy the structure of the text and just change some of the
words, which still qualify as plagiarism.
Paraphrasing is restating text giving the meaning in another form.
Paraphrasing is reading over a text and interpreting it in one’s own words without
changing the meaning of the original text. This excludes copying of text in any form. It is
like grabbing the idea about a topic from another writer’s work then transforming it into

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your own method of thoughts and words. Paraphrased material is almost equal to or
slightly shorter in comparison to the original material.
Paraphrasing is required sometimes to prove your point. It provides support and
adds credibility to your own writing. It is also used to add depth to your work. Paraphrasing
is used;
• When another writer’s work has to be used.
• When quotes are not used in the text.
• When the ideas have a greater relevance than the style of writing.
• When you want to simplify the work of another person.

Summarizing
Summarizing is the tool in writing which is used when you need the main idea of
the text. It is a condensed form of the written text in your own words with only the highlights
of the text. A summary is much shorter than the original text. It excludes the explanation
of the text. Only the main idea or the basic information is included.
Summarizing is used to refer to work that culminates into the present writing that
you are doing. It is sometimes used when you want to draw attention to an important
point. It is also applicable when you want to distance yourself from the original text.
Summarizing is used;
• When only the main ideas of the writer are to be identified.
• When only an overview of the whole work is required.
• When simplification is required.
• When only the main highlights of the work have to be mentioned.

Another way to avoid plagiarism is to directly quote the sentence or the paragraph
that you will use in your paper. Quotations must be identical to the original text. A direct
quotation is preferred to a paraphrase when the author's ideas are so important that
paraphrasing them will change the essence of those ideas.

Citation
A citation shows the reader or viewer of your project where you found your
information. Citations are included in the body of a project when you add a quote into your
project. Citations are also included in the body when you’re paraphrasing another
individual’s information. These citations that are in the body of a research paper are called
in-text citations. They are found directly next to the information that was borrowed and
are very brief in order to avoid becoming distracted while reading a project. These brief
citations include the last name of the author and a page number
In-text citations provide us with a brief idea as to where you found your information,
though they usually don't include the title and other components. Look on the last page
of a research project to find complete citations.

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Complete citations are found on what is called an MLA works cited page, which is
sometimes called an MLA bibliography. All sources that were used to develop a research
project are found on the Works Cited page. Complete citations are also created for any
quotes or paraphrased information used in the text. Included in complete citations is the
author’s name, the title, publisher, year published, page numbers, URLs, and a few other
pieces of information.

Why does it Matter?

Citing your sources is an extremely important component of your research project.
It shows that you’re a responsible researcher and that you located appropriate and
reputable sources that helped back up your thesis or claim. In addition, if your work ends
up being posted online or in print, there is a chance that others will use your research
project in their own work!

What is MLA format?

The Modern Language Association is an organization that was created to develop
guidelines on everything language and literature related. They have guidelines on proper
grammar usage and research paper layouts. In addition, they have English and foreign
language committees, numerous books and journal publications, and an annual
conference. They are not connected with this guide but the information here reflects the
association’s rules for formatting papers and citations.

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EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE

For further reading please refer to the link provided:
What is Plagiarism?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk1pq8sb-eo
Criminalizing Plagiarism in the Philippines
• http://www.ithenticate.com/plagiarism-detection-
blog/bid/87800/Criminalizing-Plagiarism-in-the-
Philippines
How to write a good essay: Paraphrasing the question
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9aVjBHEEbU
How to write a summary?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGWO1ldEhtQ
How to cite using MLA style
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG2pIUYUB9Y

Book
Saqueton, Grace M. & Uychangco, Marikit Tara A. 2016
English for Academic & Professional Purposes.
Quezon City: REX book Store Inc. REX Knowledge Center.

Online Source
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/paraphrasing-summarizing.htm
https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/summarizing
https://www.citationmachine.net/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation

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