Research & Reference

To plagiarize means "to use and pass off as one's own the ideas or writings of another." --American Heritage Dictionary

The best way to avoid plagiarism when you are exploring a topic new to you and relying on the work of others for your evidence is to cite everything

EXCEPT . . .

material that is common knowledge (i.e. dates and events typically fall into this category as do statements like "It rains in Washington", "The President of the United States is G.W. Bush", "The World Trade Center used to be in New York City", etc.),

AND

your own commentary—what you say (your own ideas, insights, evaluations, judgments, criticisms, reflections, comparisons, in your own words) about the information you use.

"But my teacher says that no more than one-third of my paper can be cited material and if I have to cite everything to avoid plagiarism that means most of the writing in my paper is going to be. . . GULP, my own commentary!!!!"

Ah ha!!!

This is as it should be. It’s not the moving of information from one location (books, magazines, or web sites) to another (white papers with your name attached), but the thinking about the information you’re moving that makes you smarter.

Of course research papers are boring if all you’re doing is copying down five pages of someone else’s words.

They only become interesting to write—and to read!—when you comment on the information you discover and when what you discover leads you to the answers to meaningful questions or to more questions!

--submitted by Loren Willson,
Professional Development Specialist

For more information about paraphrasing and plagiarizing and more ideas about how to avoid plagiarism visit the following websites:
"Avoiding Plagiarism" from the Online Writing Lab: OWL

Links:

• Citation Machine
• OttoBib
• EasyBib