Plagiarism

Using another person's words or ideas is plagiarism, and, not only is it unethical, it's illegal. Newspapers and magazines fire authors if they are caught plagiarizing; colleges expel students if they are caught. Most universities have software that detects plagiarism and professors require students to submit their papers electronically in order to detect plagiarism.  Teachers have a "sixth sense" about detecting plagiarism, so if you commit this crime, you will probably get caught.  It's important to know what it means to plagiarize and then learn how to avoid doing it.

Never use someone else's exact words in your own paper, and it goes without saying that you should never copy and paste information into your own document. It is okay to discuss someone else's ideas as long as they are not presented as your own original thoughts.  Give credit to the original author or creator. This is easily done by citing the source and providing an in-text citation for the author of the material.  Remember: If you have any doubt about what to do, cite your source.

When do you not have to cite information?
Citations are not needed when the information is commonly known or recognized by other experts. Examples of this include biographical information (birthdays, occupations, etc.) and major contributions to society (awards, medals, etc.). If you see information over and over on multiple sites or in multiple sources, it is not necessary to cite that information. However, if you have a doubt, go ahead and cite the source.

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Mixing Concrete Details and Commentary

Good writing is a mixture of the author's voice and solid research. Remember that it's your responsibility to write the paper with thoughtful commentary (from your head). The research you're including is the concrete details that you are using to reinforce and support what the paper is saying. Good writers use two quotes or paraphrases per paragraph -- and no more. If there are more than three quotes, you are probably not including enough voice. It is true that your paper needs the support of professionals and experts in order to give your own writing the credibility it needs to strengthen or argue the position of the thesis. In order to successfully prove your thesis, each paragraph will need to be reinforced with cited information.

Concrete Details - Information gathered from reliable sources through careful research. The best concrete details support your thesis and help your argument.

Commentary - These sentences come from you and make the connection between the concrete details and the thesis. In formal research papers like the Graduation Project paper, the commentary will not use personal pronouns (I, me, you, etc.).

Here's a hand-out with more information and an activity for you to practice this skill:


Formal essays should not include the second person pronoun (you). If you struggle with that particular problem, this practice may help you:

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