Avoiding Plagiarism
Avoiding Common Plagiarism Mistakes
Whenever you integrate outside sources into your writing, you must also include in-text citations and references to indicate where the source material comes from.
For every source in your paper, you must include both an in-text citation and a reference.
In-text citations are required whether you quote the source directly or paraphrase the source directly or paraphrase the source material. If either the in-text citation or the reference is missing, it can be considered plagiarism.
How to Revise
Cite as you write
Whenever you incorporate a source into your writing, stop and create both the in-text citation and the reference.
That way, once your assignment is complete, you don’t have to go back and try to remember every source you used, which could result in forgetting a citation or two.
Compare your in-text citations with your References page
When reviewing the final draft of your assignment, use the Find feature in Microsoft Word to help you locate the citations for each source in your paper.
Search for authors’ last names to make sure that each source appears at least once in the body of the assignment and once in the References page.
Using Find feature will help you determine if you’re missing an in-text citation or reference for a source.
Even if you include in-text citations and references for every source in your paper, you must ensure that each citation is correct.
Incorrect citations may not provide the reader with the information they need in order to locate the sources you used, which undermines the purpose of citing in the first place.
How to Revise
When using source material, you must always include an in-text citation with:
If you are directly quoting, you must also include a page number (or paragraph number, if the source does not have page numbers).
Use resources like the CSU-Global Writing Center’s APA resources, the APA style manual, and the APA style blog to make sure that your citations are correctly formatted.
Since references require more specific formatting, double check your in-text citations first before looking over your References page.
Formatting requirements vary depending on the type of source, so pay special attention to capitalization, punctuation, and the use of italics in your References page.
If your writing relies too much on outside source material, then your assignment can be considered unoriginal.
It is important that you balance the use of outside source material with your own thoughts, ideas, and analysis. Otherwise, your assignment is not a reflection of your own ability and effort.
How to Revise
If a paragraph ends with a citation, it means you’re ending on the ideas of outside sources instead of your own.
All source material should be followed up with your own explanation, interpretation, or analysis of that evidence.
Consider adding a few sentences to show the reader why you’re including the material and how it supports or develops your overall argument.
If you see a paragraph that contains 3 sentences or fewer, it’s likely that this paragraph is underdeveloped.
Generally, block quotations, which hare 40 words or longer, should be avoided.
With block quotations, a large amount of your draft is devoted to someone else’s words, leaving less space for your ideas.
Consider removing block quotations altogether in favor of paraphrasing the source and analyzing it in depth.
The more direct quotations you use in your writing, the less original it becomes.
Consequently, it’s important to use as few direct quotations as possible.
How to Revise
Re-read your draft and highlight all of your direct quotations.
Review each quotation, and see if you can either omit it or paraphrase the source material instead. If you choose to keep the direct quotation, then be sure to follow up the quotation with extensive analysis.
The goal here is to have as few direct quotations as possible so that your assignment consists primarily of your own thoughts and ideas.
When your paraphrase is too close to the original source, it can be considered plagiarism because your writing relies too heavily on the original source while implying that you’ve put the source material into your own words.
In other words, you haven’t paraphrased, but you also haven’t incorporated the source material word-for-word as a direct quotation either.
Many students unintentionally fall into this area between paraphrase and direct quotation when integrating source material.
How to Revise
When comparing your paraphrase to the original, look for places that are too similar.
While it’s okay if you use two or three important keywords from the original source, similarities in phrasing or sentence structure indicate that you need to revise your paraphrase to reflect your own authorial voice.