Winthrop's policy on academic honesty is set out in
"Section V, Academic Misconduct," of the
Student Code of Conduct, and what follows here is an elaboration on
the policy on plagiarism contained in the Student Code. To
complete a writing assignment, you may find it necessary to gather
information by interviewing people; by reading books, magazines,
journals, or other printed materials; by downloading material off the
Internet; or by viewing and/or listening to films, tapes, plays, or some
other formal or informal presentations. Such borrowed information
usually appears in your writing as paraphrases, direct
quotations, or summaries. However, correctly incorporating borrowed
material into your own writing requires special skill. Improper use of
borrowed information creates chaos in your essay; it also results in
plagiarism, which means presenting someone else's ideas or words as your
own. If you ever have any question about how you are handling a borrowed
source, consult with your instructor before handing in the paper.
Plagiarism
Intentional plagiarism is a form of cheating.
However, many students find themselves unintentionally presenting
someone else's work as their own simply because these students do not
know how to use borrowed information correctly. For example, students
often do not know how to paraphrase properly and simply mix their own
words and phrases with those in the original source without enclosing
borrowed elements in quotation marks. Below you will find an example of
a paragraph as it appeared in the original source--E. D. Hirsch’s book
Cultural Literacy--and definitions and examples of a paraphrase,
a direct quotation, and a summary. Remember, failure to paraphrase,
quote, or summarize correctly can constitute plagiarism. (You can find
more information about avoiding plagiarism in the Prentice Hall
Reference Guide, 5th ed., chapter 55c.)
The Original Paragraph
(indented
paragraph that explains where the page # is)
The recently rediscovered insight that
literacy is more than a skill is based upon knowledge that all of us
unconsciously have about language. We know instinctively that to
understand what somebody is saying, we must understand more than the
surface meanings of words; we have to understand the context as well.
The need for background information applies all the more to reading
and writing. To grasp the words on a page we have to know a lot of
information that isn’t set down on the page. (3)
Definition of a Paraphrase
A paraphrase is a restatement in your own
words and your own style of someone's ideas and
discoveries. You must change both the words and the
sentence structure of the original. Please remember that your
purpose in using a paraphrase is not to save words because normally the
paraphrase is about the same length as the original. Your purpose,
instead, is to express the borrowed information in a style that is your
own and that is already familiar to your reader. (See Prentice Hall,
55a.)
Plagiarized Paraphrase
In his book Cultural Literacy,
University of Virginia English professor and noted literacy theorist
E. D. Hirsch argues that literacy is more than a skill. It is,
instead, based upon what we know unconsciously about
language. By instinct, we are aware that we must know more than
the surface meaning of words; we must grasp the situation too.
We also have to have this background information when we read
and write. In other words, to understand the words on a page,
we must know more than what is written on a page (3).
(The underlined words are lifted without change
from the original paragraph. Note that several phrases were taken in
their entirety and that elsewhere only minor changes were made.)
Correct Paraphrase
E. D. Hirsch, University of Virginia Professor
of English and noted literacy theorist, reaffirms in his book
Cultural Literacy that literacy is something other than just a
"skill." Instead, it involves some things that we all know intuitively
about the way words function. We realize that to decode what is said
to us we must know more than the dictionary definitions of the
individual words; in fact, we must also understand the situation in
which the communication takes place. In order to read or write, we
must be even more aware of the surrounding circumstances.
Consequently, we have to know things other than the words themselves
(3). Obviously, we need to consider many issues when we process
language.
Definition of a Direct Quotation
A direct quotation is an exact repeating of
someone else's words as he or she wrote or spoke them. (See Prentice
Hall, 54d.)
Example of a Direct Quotation:
In Cultural Literacy, E. D. Hirsch,
University of Virginia English professor and noted literacy theorist,
persuasively argues that true literacy encompasses more than just
recognizing words; he reminds us that "to understand what somebody is
saying, we have to understand the context as well. The need for
background information applies all the more to reading and writing. To
grasp the words on a page we have to know a lot of information that
isn’t set down on the page" (3).
Definition of a Summary
A summary is simply a brief but accurate
statement in your own words of the main idea(s) of some borrowed
information. Brevity is the summary's reason for being, but a summary
must give all of the main idea, not just half of it.
Example of a Summary:
E. D. Hirsch, University of Virginia English
professor and noted literacy theorist, suggests in his book
Cultural Literary that a person must know more than the
dictionary meanings of words to be truly literate; he or she must
also understand significant information that precedes and surrounds
the communication (3).
Work Cited
Hirsch, E. D. Cultural Literacy: What
Every American Needs to Know. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.
Incorporating Borrowed
Material
Incorporating borrowed material into your own
writing is not simply a matter of avoiding plagiarism. You must also
create smooth transitions between your own words and ideas and those
borrowed from other sources. These transitions should introduce and
identify your sources and should evaluate the borrowed material.
Frequently, inexperienced writers will simply drop a summary or a
quotation into the middle of their own writing and rely on only a
parenthetical citation to help the reader make sense of it. The
following is an example of such a situation:
Unclear Incorporation
The 1980s and 1990s spawned a large number of
books about the nature of communication. Some of these, like Deborah
Tannen’s You Just Don’t Understand, are concerned with gender
differences. Others, like Shirley Brice Heath’s Ways With Words,
deal with class and ethnicity. We must also remember that different
communication situations require different strategies no matter what
the gender, class, or ethnicity of the participants may be. If people
know each other, their conversations can be more cryptic and not
always simplistic. However, if they are unacquainted and know nothing
of each other’s background, they have to explain a great deal to be
understood (Hirsch 4).
While this citation gives credit to Hirsch for
borrowed ideas and, consequently, does not constitute plagiarism, it
nevertheless creates several difficulties for the reader. In the first
place, the reader does not know where the borrowing from Hirsch begins.
A second problem is that the reader knows practically nothing about
Hirsch’s identity or his credentials. Finally, the reader doesn’t know
whether the writer is agreeing with Hirsch or disagreeing.
Correct Incorporation
The 1980s and 1990s spawned a large number of
books about the nature of communication. Some of these, like Deborah
Tannen’s You Just Don’t Understand, are concerned with gender
differences. Others, like Shirley Brice Heath’s Ways With Words,
deal with class and ethnicity. However, gender, class, and ethnicity
are by no means the only factors to consider. As University of
Virginia English professor and noted literacy theorist E. D. Hirsch
persuasively reminds us in his book Cultural Literacy,
different communication situations require different strategies. If
people know each other, their conversations can be more cryptic and
not always simplistic. But, if they are unacquainted and know nothing
of each other’s background, they have to explain a great deal to be
understood (4).
Work Cited
Hirsch, E. D., Jr. Cultural Literacy:
What Every American Needs to Know. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1987.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
One of the most difficult tasks facing the writer
of documented papers is to distinguish clearly between his or her own
voice and the voices of the various authorities whose words and ideas
are being incorporated into the paper. In order to accomplish this goal,
writers should make sure that they do the following:
- Your source should always be introduced by
name in the text rather than just in the parenthetical citation. This
procedure must be followed when introducing quotations, but it is even
more important when introducing paraphrased or summarized material.
With quotations, the reader knows when the writer has begun to borrow
because all the material is set off by quotation marks or indentation.
With paraphrased or summarized material, only an introductory citation
of the source’s name will show the reader where the borrowed material
has begun.
- The first time a source is introduced by name,
it is important for the writer to identify this person, preferably by
establishing the source’s credentials as an authority on the subject
under discussion. Authors vary widely in their degree of expertise,
and it is up to you to justify to the reader your inclusion of a
particular source’s opinions. After the source has been identified
once, it is not necessary to cite the credentials of that same person
in subsequent references.
- Your paper may cite opinions on both sides of
an issue: some you will oppose; some you will endorse. If you are
writing an argument, it is absolutely crucial for the reader to know
in which category any of the borrowed material belongs. Often writers
believe that their position is obvious, but readers do not always find
it to be. One easy way to make the matter clear is to include an
evaluative adverb or other signal phrase in your introduction to the
borrowed material. For example, rather than saying, "Hirsch states,"
you might say, "Hirsch persuasively argues," or "Hirsch
unrealistically claims." (For a list of frequently used signal
phrases, see PH, 55b.)
Click here to print out this pledge on a separate sheet to turn in to
your instructor.
I have read this discussion and the appropriate
sections in the Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage
and understand that I am responsible for using borrowed material
correctly in my writing. I am also aware of the penalties for
plagiarism as stated in The Student Code of Conduct and on my
instructor's syllabus.
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