RESEARCH PAPER DOCUMENTATION

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism occurs when you present words and ideas as your own when they are actually someone else's. It includes the following:

• failure to identify with quotation marks words copied from another source
• failure to identify the source of quoted information
• failure to identify the source of paraphrased information
• failure to identify the source of summarized information
• failure to provide a Works Cited page for a paper that requires research
• turning in another individual’s paper as your own
• turning in a paper off the Internet as your own

Plagiarism can be avoided by identifying the source of any borrowed words or ideas in a parenthetical citation. Parenthetical citations typically include, in parentheses, the author’s last name and page number(s) where the information can be found. Use parenthetical citations to identify the source of any quoted, paraphrased, or summarized information. Facts that are considered common knowledge do not need to be cited.

Type of Information Requiring Parenthetical Documentation	Definition	When to Use
Direct Quote	The exact words of a source enclosed in quotation marks	To preserve especially vivid, well-phrased, or dramatic statements To preserve the wording of someone who is an authority To preserve the accuracy of a statement that might be easily misinterpreted in a paraphrase or a summary
Paraphrase	A restatement of a short passage using your own vocabulary and sentence structure	To convert difficult passages into easily understandable ones To capture the ideas of a source that lacks eloquence
Summary	A concise restatement of the main ideas of a longer work using your own vocabulary and sentence structure	To convert difficult passages into easily understandable ones To capture the ideas of a long work in a few sentences

 

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