Transcript Plagiarism

Amy Benjamin
www.amybenjamin.com
Cathedral High School
New York, New York
September 1, 2010
Plagiarism:
Defining it
Avoiding it
Preventing it
Part One: Defining Plagiarism
Plagiarism: The “kidnapping” of the unique
words and ideas of another; the
deliberate attempt to mislead the
reader into thinking that the unique words
and/or ideas of another are those of the
writer
Forms of:
•
•
•
Word-for-word copying
Using statistics without attribution
Paraphrasing without attribution
Forms of:
Word-for-word copying
The “five-word” rule:
If you lift more than five consecutive words
from a source, then you have to cite.
Forms of:
Using statistics without attribution
The “numbers” rule:
You always have to say where you found
your statistics.
Forms of:
Paraphrasing without attribution
The “not my idea” rule:
If it’s an idea (not a fact) that someone else
developed, you need to attribute the idea to
them.
Part II: Avoiding Plagiarism
Frame writing tasks that require thought and
integration, rather than cut-and-paste.
Easily cut-and-pastable tasks:
1. Write a report about an author’s life and
works.
2. Explain photosynthesis.
3. Discuss three reasons for the Civil War.
4. Summarize Chapter 5 of The Scarlet Letter.
Part II: Avoiding Plagiarism
Frame writing tasks that require thought and
integration, rather than cut-and-paste.
Not so easy to cut-and-paste:
Compare and contrast two authors, focusing on how their works reflect their
lives. Consider:
• The time and place in which they lived: Are the settings in their works
similar to those in which the authors themselves lived?
•
Their personal challenges and losses: Do their characters face personal
challenges and losses that are similar to those of the authors?
•
Their family lives: Do the authors write about families that are similar to
their own?
Word Bank: environment, reflect, recreate, setting, characters, similar to,
different from, conflict, challenge, relationship
Part II: Avoiding Plagiarism
Frame writing tasks that require thought and
integration, rather than cut-and-paste.
Not so easy to cut-and-paste:
Draw and label a series of diagrams that depicts photosynthesis. Use
scientific terminology
OR:
Photosynthesis is a complex process. How would you explain it to a third
grader? How would you explain it to an eighth grader?
OR:
Create an illustrated glossary of words and terms that someone would need
to understand photosynthesis. Define the words and terms in your own
words.
Part II: Avoiding Plagiarism
Frame writing tasks that require thought and
integration, rather than cut-and-paste.
Not so easy to cut-and-paste:
Locate the information about the reasons for the Civil War in your textbook.
Make an outline that expresses this information.
Outline:
Middle Sch
Elementary
I.
A.
B.
C.
Boxes & Bullets
Main idea
Main idea
Main idea
II.
A.
B.
C.
III.
A.
B.
C.
High Sch
I.________
A.______
1._____
2.______
a._____
b._____
c._____
B.__________
II.____________
A.__________
B.__________
1._______
2._______
3._______
C.__________
Part II: Avoiding Plagiarism
Frame writing tasks that require thought and
integration, rather than cut-and-paste.
Not so easy to cut-and-paste:
Summarize Chapter 5 of The Scarlet Letter as an in-class writing task.
The following writing tasks and writing conditions are difficult to plagiarize:
Comparison-contrast
Writing that involves making a personal connection: (What does
________ remind you of? Why?)
Non-traditional formats: dialogues, lists, labeled diagrams, raps,
scripts, information expressed within a graphic organizer
Outlines
In-class writing tasks
Paraphrase Example
Original: Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one
learned in school.
Albert Einstein
Not-so-good Paraphrase: Education is what is left after a person no longer
remembers what that person learned when that person went
to school. That is what Albert Einstein said.
Better Paraphrase: According to Albert Einstein, true education outlives
the forgettable details that we learn in school.
Original Source Looks Like This:
For many Southerners it was psychologically impossible
to see a black man bearing arms as anything
but an incipient slave uprising complete with arson,
murder, pillage, and rapine.
-Dudley Taylor Cornish, The Sable
Arm: Negro Troops in the Union Army,
1861-1865, p. 158.
1
Plagiarism:
According to Civil War historian Dudley Taylor Cornish,
for many Southerners it was psychologically impossible
to see a black man bearing arms as anything
but an incipient slave uprising complete with arson,
murder, pillage, and rapine. 2
Not Plagiarism:
According
to Civil War historian Dudley Taylor
1
Cornish, “For many Southerners it was
psychologically impossible to see a black man
bearing arms as anything but an incipient slave
uprising complete
with arson, murder, pillage, and
2
rapine.”
Summaries and Paraphrases
Original Source:
Half of the force holding Fort Pillow were
Negroes, former slaves now enrolled in the
Union Army. Toward them Forrest’s troops had
the fierce, bitter animosity of men who had been
educated to regard the colored race as inferior
and who for the first time had encountered that
race armed and fighting against white men. The
sight enraged and terrified many of the
Confederates and aroused in them the ugly spirit
of a lynch mob.
Summaries and Paraphrases
Borderline Plagiarism:
Albert Castel suggests that much of the brutality
at Fort Pillow can be traced to racial attitudes.
Fifty percent of the troops holding Fort Pillow
were Negroes, former slaves who had joined the
Union Army. Toward them Forrest’s soldiers
displayed the savage hatred of men who had
been taught the inferiority of blacks and who for
the first time had confronted them armed and
fighting against white men. The vision angered
and perhaps frightened the Confederates and
2
aroused in them the ugly spirit of a lynch mob.
Summary and Paraphrase
Acceptable Paraphrase:
Albert Castel suggests that much of the brutality
at Fort Pillow can be traced to racial attitudes.
Nearly half of the Union troops were blacks, men
whom the Confederates had been raised to
consider their inferiors. The shock and perhaps
fear of facing armed ex-slaves in battle for the
first time may well have unleashed the fury that
led to the massacre. 2
Integrating Sources
• Use present or present perfect tense in
phrases that introduce quotations:
Bloom points out that…
Bloom has pointed out that…
Signal Phrases (or not)
A signal phrase is a phrase that informs the
reader that a quotation, summary, or
paraphrase is coming up:
No Signal Phrase
Those testifying on the Union and
Confederate sides recalled events at Fort
Pillow quite differently. Unionists claimed
that their troops had abandoned their arms
and were in full retreat. “The
confederates, however, all agreed that the
Union troops retreated to the river with
arms in their hands.” 3
Signal Phrase
Those testifying on the Union and
Confederate sides recalled events at Fort
Pillow quite differently. Unionists claimed
that their troops had abandoned their arms
and were in full retreat. “The Confedertes,
however, “writes historian Albert Castel,
“all agreed that the Union troops retreated
3
to the river with arms in their hands.” 3
Vary Your Signal Phrases
• In the words of historian Rajesh Kumar,”…
• As Rajesh Kumar has argued, “…
• In a letter to his colleague, Rajesh Kumar
writes, “…
• “…” notes Rajesh Kumar, “…” 3
• Rajesh Kumar offers an intriguing
interpretation of these events: “…
• In a bold claim, Rajesh Kumar asserts
that, “…
Cite Statistics and Include
Signal Phrases
Shelby Foote notes that of the 295 white
troops garrisoned at Fort Pillow, 168 were
taken prisoner. Black troops fared much
worse, with only 58 of 262 men being
taken into custody. 3
Ellipsis
Ellipsis marks look like this: …
Use ellipsis to indicate that words have been
omitted.
Use ellipsis only when the words have been
omitted within a sentence.
The sentence must remain grammatically
complete despite its omissions.
Ellipsis
“We captured…about 40 Negro women and
7
children.”
Brackets
Brackets allow you to insert words of your own into
quoted material. Sometimes, you want to do this
to explain a confusing reference, or to keep a
sentence grammatically intact:
According to Albert Castel, “It can be reasonably
argued that he <Forrest> was justified in
believing that the approaching steamship-s 8
intended to aid the garrison <at Fort Pillow>.”
The examples in this presentation are taken from A Pocket Style Manual, Fourth
Edition by Diana Hacker published by Bedford/St. Martin’s 2004.