Avoid plagiarism by learning how to properly cite the work of others within the body of your paper and on the reference page. This brief slide presentation walks readers through the basics of avoiding plagiarism in college writing and helps with plagiarism prevention. A must for all college students and faculty!

1. Preventing Plagiarism
and Using APA Format
John D. Moore, PhD

2. What is plagiarism?
 Using other people’s ideas or research
without giving them credit
 Theft of intellectual property
 Cheating – using someone else’s work
 Consequences can be detrimental!

3. Examples of plagiarism
 Copying or paraphrasing from a source without crediting
the author
 Using another person’s words or ideas as if they were
your own
 Copying another student’s work
 Quoting from another person without indicating that it is a
quotation
 Summarizing information from another source without
indicating where it came from
 ―Cutting and pasting‖ from an online source or the Internet
without citing the source
 Copying an image from the Internet and inserting it in a
presentation without giving the source
 Handing in a paper to one class that you wrote and
handed in for an earlier class

4. Common Ways to Use Information from
a Source
 Quoting -- Direct quotes from a source
 Paraphrasing – Summarizing or
rewording information from a source
 Borrowing – Using ideas, concepts,
organizational patterns, themes, motifs,
etc.

5. To avoid plagiarism …
Credit (cite) all your sources
–In the text
–In the reference list or
bibliography

6. Some style formats
 MLA – for language and literature
 CBE – for biology/life sciences
 Chicago – for history
 Turabian – for history and humanities
 APA – for behavior sciences
 Bluebook – for law

7. APA Style to Utilize: 6th ed.
 Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th edition)
 Concise Rules of APA Style (6th edition)
 Note: 6th edition was published in July 2009;
check with your other professors to verify which
edition they want you to use

8. What to cite in your paper
 According to APA:
– cite the work of those individuals whose
ideas, theories, or research have directly
influenced your work. They may provide
key background information, support or
dispute your thesis, or offer critical
definitions and data. … In addition to
crediting the ideas of others that you used
to build your thesis, provide documentation
for all facts and figures that are not
common knowledge. (APA, 2009, p. 171)

9. APA In-text citation format
 Author-date system
 Give last name of the author and date of
publication for every source
 Include page numbers or paragraph
numbers for exact quotes

10. Example: Exact quote
 Zuckerman (2006) has shown that the
value of a college degree has increased
dramatically in the past century. ―The
income gap between college graduates
and those without university degrees
doubled between 1979 and 1997. In the
1930s and 1940s, only half of all
American chief executives had college
degrees. Now virtually all do‖ (p. 71).

11. Example: Paraphrase
 The value of a college degree has
increased dramatically in the past
century. The difference in income
between people with college degrees
and those without has doubled since
1980, and almost all American CEOs
now have college degrees (Zuckerman,
2006).

12. Example: Quote, no author or page
numbers
 A study conducted at Florida International
University found that ―the present value of
future after-tax earnings plus fringe benefits
for the average high school graduate comes
in at almost $1 million. For the average
college graduate, the value of earnings plus
benefits—less the cost of tuition and the loss
of four years of earnings while attending
college—doubles to approximately $2 million‖
(―New study,‖ 2007, para. 10).

13. Example: Personal interview
 Tax specialist J. Lasky emphasized the
importance of continuing professional
education for tax accountants (personal
communication, July 15, 2007).

14. The reference list
 Includes all sources used in the text of
the paper except personal
communications
 Arranged alphabetically by author’s last
name or title of work (if no author given)

15. In-text to Reference list
correspondence
 Text:
– …and almost all American CEOs now have
college degrees (Zuckerman, 2006).
 Reference list:
– Zuckerman, M. (2006, June 12). Rich man,
poor man. U.S. News & World Report, 71-
72.

16. Typical information for citations
 Author(s)
 Date of publication
 Title of the work you are citing
 If you are citing something that appeared in a
larger work (like a chapter or article), the title of
the larger work
 For an article, the volume (and issue) of the
magazine or journal
 For a book, the publisher and place of publication
 For an edited book, the name of the editor
 For an article or book chapter, the page numbers
 For an Internet source, the URL

17. Points to remember
 Authors – always list by last name and initials,
not full name. If the source has multiple
authors (up to six), list all of them.
 Capitalization – article, chapter, or book titles:
capitalize only the first word of the title, first
word of the subtitle, and any proper nouns or
adjectives are capitalized. Journal titles:
capitalize all important words.
 Double-space and use hanging indent

18. Example: Books
 Standard form:
 Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of
work: Capital letter also for subtitle.
Location: Publisher.
 Example:
 Scott, D.M. (2005). Cashing in with content:
How innovative marketers use digital
information to turn browsers into buyers.
Medford, NJ: Information Today/CyberAge
Books.

19. Example: E-books
 Standard format:
 Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work:
Capital letter also for subtitle. Location:
Publisher. Retrieved from URL
 Example:
 Robert, M., & Racine, B. (2001). E-strategy pure
and simple: Connecting your internet strategy to
your business strategy. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Retrieved from http://www.netlibrary.com

20. Example: Scholarly Articles
 Standard format:
 Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C.
C. (Year). Title of article. Title of periodical,
volume number(issue number), pages.
 Example:
 Howell, R.A. (2004). Turn your budgeting
process upside down. Harvard Business
Review, 82(7/8): 21-22.

21. Example: Daily or weekly
publication
 Standard format:
 Author, A. A. (Year, month day). Title of
article. Title of periodical, volume, pages.
 Example:
 Williamson, E., Farnam, T.W., & Mullins,
B. (2009, July 1). Finance lobby cut
spending as feds targeted Wall Street.
Wall Street Journal (Eastern ed.), pp. A1,
A10.

22. Example: Internet periodical
 Standard format:
 Author, A. A. (Date). Title of article. Title of
periodical, volume, pages. Retrieved from
URL
 Example:
 El-Erian, M.A. (2009, May 21). Life after the
financial crisis. BusinessWeek. Retrieved
from
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/cont
ent/09_22/b4133073646280.htm

23. Example: Article with no author
given
 Standard format:
 Title of article. (Date). Title of
periodical, volume, pages.
 Example:
 Study looks at trends in online banking.
(2009, February 13). Credit Union
Journal, 13(7):18.

24. Example: Page from website
 Standard format:
 Page title. (Date). Website title.
Retrieved from URL
 Example:
 History. (2009). John Deere company
information. Retrieved from
http://www.deere.com/en_US/compinfo/
history/index.html

25. Example: Web page, organization as
author
 Standard format:
 Name of organization. (Date). Web
document title. Retrieved from URL
 Example:
 U.S. Department of State. Bureau of
Western Hemisphere Affairs. (2009, April).
Background note: Belize. Retrieved from
http://www.state.gov/
r/pa/ei/bgn/1955.htm

26. Parts of the APA-style paper
 Title page
 Abstract
 Body of the paper
 Reference list
 Tables
 Appendices

27. Some specifics – Running head
 Running head – a shortened version of
the title
 Appears on each page, with page
number
 Starts on title page (page 1)

28. Some specifics - References
 Placed at end of paper
 Headed References
 Entries arranged alphabetically by
author (or by title, if no author is given)
 When you have several items by the
same author, arrange these (1)
alphabetically and (2) chronologically
 Use hanging indent

29. Some specifics - Headings
Level 1: Centered, Boldface, Uppercase
and Lowercase Heading
Level 2: Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase
and Lowercase Heading
Level 3: Indented, boldface, lowercase,
heading ending with a period.
Level 4: Indented, boldface, italicized,
lowercase heading ending with a
period.
Level 5: Indented, italicized, lowercase
heading ending with a period.

30. Some specifics – writing style
 Logical organization
 Correct grammar
 Smooth transitions
 Interesting tone
 Concise language
 Precise word choice
 Third person
 Bias-free language

31. For more information, details,
rules and examples
 Concise Rules of APA Style
 Publication Manual of the APA

32. Hi! Want to learn more
tips for college? Click
on the link below
www.onlinecollegestar.com
John D. Moore, PhD