Episode 20 – Video on Avoiding Plagiarism
October 2008
MEGHAN- Howdy I’m Meghan Wall and welcome to “Write Right.” Today we’ll be discussing one of the most serious issues on college campuses, plagiarism. Here at A&M it can prevent you from passing a class, getting your ring, or even graduating. That’s because as Aggies we are bound to one code, “An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do.” Texas A&M defines plagiarism as: the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving credit to the source. Getting caught plagiarizing could mean getting a 0 for the assignment, an F* on your transcript, requirement to participate in an extra course, or suspension, dismissal, or expulsion from the university. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite your sources. Citing sources not only gives credit where it is due to the author of the original work and protects intellectual property but it can actually help you add credibility to your argument and defend your research. You should cite anything that is a direct quote, a paraphrase, or a summary. What is a direct quote and how do you use it in your paper without plagiarizing?
STUDENT 1- “You take exactly like what they said but you put it in quotation marks.”
STUDENT 2- “And then you cite it…immediately.”
STUDENT 3- “I guess a direct quote is something that somebody actually said like their actual words that you don’t change. You don’t alter them; you just put it in your paper as it was said.
CONSULTANT 1- The guidelines for direct quoting are: you must use the exact wording of the original source, for quotes of three lines or less you use quotation marks, for quotes of four or more lines use a block quote format without quotation marks, and always include a citation at the end.
MEGHAN- Okay do you know how to paraphrase?
STUDENT 2- “Paraphrasing is reading something and then absorbing the information, and putting it in your own words.”
STUDENT 4- “Yes to paraphrase is to take someone else’s words, still give them credit but put it in your own form of words and to like show that you can say what their saying in a different way.”
CONSULTANT 2- Paraphrasing means: putting ideas and information in your own words, it keeps you from directly quoting too much, it’s more detailed than a summary, it requires that you understand the information of the work being paraphrased, and you always include a citation.
MEGHAN- What is summarizing, what’s the difference?
STUDENT 4- “Summarizing is two or three sentences that will still have the same exact meaning that the other person had without so much information.”
STUDENT 5- “Summarizing is more of giving the general gist and the general idea in my own words.”
CONSULTANT 3- Summarizing is where you take all of that information and condense it by: putting only the main points into your own words, giving a broad overview of the material, focusing on what the author is saying, not how they are saying it, and always use a citation at the end.
MEGHAN- For more information on avoiding plagiarism just go to itunes.tamu.edu. There you can click on campus resources, then on writing and there you can see our handouts on summarizing, paraphrasing, and citing and using sources. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of “Write Right.” We’ll see you next time.
