Created by Alyse McKeal

1. Basic Citations: Avoiding
Plagiarism
PRESENTED BY PROFESSOR ALYSE MCKEAL

2. What is Plagiarism?
 Using someone else’s work (writing) without giving them
credit in our paper. And also excluding their names from our
Works Cited, Bibliography or References page. We must do
both!!
 Even if we put someone else’s words in our own words, we
have to give the person credit by using their name. It was
their idea, after all.
 It is stealing if we don’t give them credit.

3. Why People Plagiarize
 Under pressure and feel will not get caught:
This has to change because you will get caught!
 Procrastination and busy schedules
 Needing help with reading difficult articles and books
 Not meeting with a Librarian and/or SLC lab. Make apt.
 Not taking enough time to write notes from reading
 Copying and pasting
 Not understanding Plagiarism and its ramifications
 Poor study and research skills
 Time management and planning

4. Reasons to Avoid Plagiarism
Student Success
Graduation
Your Wonderful Future
Develop skill set applicable
Employment: Acceptance for a Job (Many ask for
transcripts)!

5. Reasons to Avoid Plagiarism Continued
 Ramifications- Punishment
 Zero grade for assignment
 Course failure (F grade)
 Listed on Transcript for PBSC and then sent to other
schools if you apply there!
 Possible expulsion
 Basic ethics of being a good researcher and student.
You will need these skills to be successful.

6. Examples of What Can Be Plagiarized
 Speech (conversations, interviews, lectures, verbal
quotes).
 Writing: Books, journals, emails, web pages, blogs,
published and print materials (even Facebook messages
and tweets). You must cite yourself, also!
 Expressive materials: Movies, music, PPT presentations,
photographs, etc.
 Art and other creative works: Drawings, graphs, maps,
statistics, etc.)

7. When Should I Think About Plagiarism and
Giving Credit?
 When Writing Papers
 Presentations
 Group and Individual Work
 Writing Homework
 Writing, Speaking, and delivering Speeches
 PowerPoint and other Presentations
 Online assignments
 Whenever you use someone else’s work even if not word for
word(and it is not common knowledge).

8. Writing and Research Techniques to Avoid
Plagiarizing
 Paraphrase
 Summarize
 Quote
 Use a citation if not common knowledge (I.E. The Earth
is round.)

9. Paraphrasing
 Paraphrase – Once you find information to use for your paper, reread it a few
times and think about it. Perhaps say/speak it in your own words. Then write it
in your own words for your paper. (Do not copy & paste!)
 Copying and pasting gets us into trouble.
 Do not replace a few words here and there, reword into your own words!
 Important Rule: Do not copy word for word more than 2 words in a row from
the research unless quoting a sentence. If you do use more than two words
together, you will have to use quotation marks “around those words copied.”

10. Paraphrasing Examples
Quote: “The biker sped past me, waving his fist
aggressively.”
Correct Paraphrase: When you cite it in your paper: The
biker shook his fist at me while racing by (Smith 24).
 Incorrect Paraphrase: The biker sped by and was
waving his fist aggressively (Smith 24).

11. Summarizing
 Synthesizing the idea(s) and reworking into your own
thoughts, “including only the main point(s).”
 Even though this has been reworded in your words,
you must credit the author or source you read it in.
 Summaries are shorter and overall ideas from our
readings. They are not detailed but are the main ideas.
 Example: Summary of something you read (Authors last
name date written).

12. Quoting
 How? Follow formatting rules for style (APA or MLA)
 Write the quote exactly as your read it on the paper or device.
 Use quotation marks around the words “_”. (If it is a > 4 lines, follow special
rules for Block quotes).
 Must Use author’s name in parentheses or in your sentence!
 Misquoting is not fair to the author or your readers.
 You must quote correctly to avoid being accused of plagiarizing.
 Example of a quote, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and
expecting different results”(Einstein n.d.).

13. Sample Block Quote
Credit: http://cwidaho.cc/faq/writing-center/how-do-i-format-block-quotes-mla-style

14. Citing Your Own Work
 Cite yourself as the author and your work as
published or unpublished paper.
 Follow the citation rules for your assigned or
chosen style (MLA or APA).
 If you don’t cite and you use formerly submitted
papers it is self-plagiarism.

15. Common Knowledge
 Cite unless it is common knowledge. Then you don’t need to cite!
 Common knowledge means “information that the average,
educated reader would accept as reliable without having to look it
up” (MIT).
 Examples of common knowledge are:
 The Earth orbits the sun.
 The United States is a country.
 Dogs are often pets in North America.

16. Rules (APA, MLA or other)
 There are formatting rules that must be followed for citing and giving credit!
 What citation style did your professor assign or did you choose? MLA or APA? If you do
not know, please ask or check your Syllabi.
 Do you have a style guide or how do you plan to do your citations?
 A style guide explains the rules for specific citation styles for citing in paper
and for your bibliographic page.
 Remember, the Library has copies of several guides, including the most
frequently used Bedford Handbook and the Little Seagull Book to use
on all three floors. You can use in the library only.

17. Need Help Citing at Home or Off Campus?
 Make an apt with a Librarian for the future.
 You can also go to Purdue Owl @
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html and follow the rules for
your assigned or chosen citation style (MLA, APA, etc.)
 Check out the Library’s Research Guides.

18. Ways to Avoid Plagiarizing
 Cite – When in doubt, not sure if you need, cite the material and give author,
editor, or title credit.
 How to Cite- Follow citation rules for your assignment. Your professor will
provide them or will let you choose a style (APA, MLA, etc.).
 Commit or stick to one style (only MLA, only APA, etc.)
 Keep clear notes detailing where ideas and research comes from. Make sure to
send yourself the article and do not delete it until you receive your grade for the
assignment/paper.
Not citing properly can constitute plagiarism.

19. PBSC Student Code of Conduct
 “Academic Dishonesty Academic misconduct including, but not limited to,
unauthorized use of aids, cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating academic
dishonesty in the classroom or other college environments, as defined below:
 Plagiarism -Taking the words or specific substance of another and either copying or
paraphrasing the work without giving credit to the source. Submitting a term paper,
examination or other work written by someone else. Failure to give credit in a
footnote for ideas, statements of facts or conclusions derived by another. Failure to
use quotation marks when quoting directly from another person, whether it is a
paragraph, a sentence or even a part thereof. Similar and extended paraphrasing of
another. “
 https://www.palmbeachstate.edu/studenthandbook/documents/StudentHandbook20
18-19.pdf

20. Important Tips
 If you use information from an author or from a title in your paper, then there
must be a matching citation in your Works Cited.
 So, if you have an item listed in your Works Cited, it must go in the text of your
paper wherever you use the author’s or title’s ideas.
 Use a paper template for MLA or APA from Microsoft Word or Library Research
Guides.
 Use the Bedford Handbook, Little Seagull Handbook, or Purdue OWL.
 Schedule an appointment at the Library, SLC Writing Lab or both.
 MLA and APA examples are available on the PBSC Library Webpage. Go to
Research/Libguides and search APA or MLA.

21. General Rules for Giving Author Credit
and Citing
When adding the research or other information in to your paper,
add the author’s name to the sentence in your paper. If there is no
author, we can add part of all of the title.
Example of in text citing with author: According to McKeal plagiarism is a reality (6).
Example of in text citing without an author: Plagiarism is a reality (“Seventeen Years” 6).
And add the the citation to your Works Cited or References Page.
Will view a page of works used in a paper, later, if needed.

22. Specific In-Text (MLA) Examples
 Basic (LastName PageNumber) = …(Pachter 214).
 Two authors = …(McKeal and Pachter 1244).
 Three or more authors = …(McKeal; et al. 114).
 Signal Phrase = As McKeal asserts…(12).
 No author/title = …(“The Catcher in the Rye” 21).
 No page number = …(DeMauro).
 Organization= …(National Audubon Society 65).

23. Two Most Common Citations
 Book
 Article or short work
 See Style Guides for other examples.

24. Sample Book as Cited in a Works Cited
(MLA)
Books Citation Rules and Example (clear punct.rules)
LastName, FirstName. Title of Book or Report.
Publisher, Date.
McKeal, Peggy. Women Rule. Salem Press, 2018.

25. Sample Short Article as Cited in Works
Cited (MLA)
Article or Short Work Rules and Example (explicit punct.rules)
LastName, FirstName and FirstName LastName. “Title
of Work.” Source, Date, Page*, Database*, URL Link*.
McKeal, Alyse and Robbie Allen. “Catching
Plagiarism.” PBSC Cites, 2018, pp. 12-40. Gale
Power Search. Galegroup.link.com
Starred (*) items are not always available.

26. An Example of a Full Works Cited Page: MLA
Credit:Adapted from
Lumen Learning

27. Additional Help with Citations
 Library Tools (Available on Library Homepage:
• Library Databases (Login to Blackboard or PantherWeb to access)
• Noodle Tools (https://www.palmbeachstate.edu/library/)
• RefWorks (https://www.palmbeachstate.edu/library/)
 Free Tools:
• BibMe
• Zoterobib
• KnightCite

28. Quick Reminder: How to Avoid Plagiarizing
 Do drafts of you paper, not just one paper.
 If copy and pasting in the draft process, put quotes around and add the author/title in parentheses to refer
back to. Keep a list of all of possible references or works including title, author, date, source info.
Citing Quotes – If you use a sentence, exact word for word from someone else’s idea or work, then put the
quote in quotations with author’s name or title.
“Plagiarism is critical for enforcing copyright in our society” (McKeal 2018)
 Citing Your Own Material – Seriously you can plagiarize on yourself. If you use material you submitted from
a previous or current class, or from somewhere else you must cite yourself. Just treat the text the same as
you would if someone else wrote it. It may sound odd, but using material you have used before is called
self-plagiarism, and is a big “No, no.”
 Referencing - One of the most important ways to avoid plagiarism is including a reference page or page of
works cited at the end of your research paper. Again, this page must meet the document formatting
guidelines used by your educational institution. This information is very specific and includes the author(s),
date of publication, title, and source. Follow the directions for this page carefully. You will want to get the
references.

29. Works Cited
Works Cited
Allen, Robbie, and Carrie Thompson. “Unpublished Presentation.”
College of Western Idaho Writing Center. “CWI Writing Center: MLA Block Quotes.” College of
Western Idaho http://cwidaho.cc/faq/writing-center/how-do-i-format-block-quotes-mla-style.
Lumen Learning. Works Cited Page Formatting.” ER Services, Guide to Writing,
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-
styleguide/chapter/mla-works-cited-page-formatting/.
Palm Beach State College. “PBSC Student Code of Conduct, Student Handbook.” Palm Beach State
College, 2018,
https://www.palmbeachstate.edu/studenthandbook/documents/StudentHandbook2018-19.pdf.