The document discusses paraphrasing and avoiding plagiarism when using secondary sources. It defines paraphrasing as restating an idea from a source in your own words while maintaining the overall meaning. To properly paraphrase, one must change both the vocabulary and sentence structure used while still citing the original source. Summarizing is condensing a source into a shorter statement, capturing the main ideas. Both paraphrasing and summarizing, when done correctly, help avoid plagiarizing others' work.

1. ACADEMIC DISCOURSE
B. Mitsikopoulou
PLAGIARISM AND PARAPHRASING

2. The use of secondary sources
Why use secondary sources in your text
a) To include in your writing material you have
read somewhere (e.g. in a book)
b) To support your own ideas and the points
you make in a text
c) To avoid plagiarism

3. What is plagiarism?

4. WHY DOCUMENT
TO AVOID PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of
another writer without giving proper credit.
The plagiarist usually intends to pass off his
paper as being an original creation when it is
not.

5. Plagiarism as stealing
Plagiarism is a form of stealing. If you copy a
sentence, a phrase or an idea and use it in
your paper without acknowledging its owner
(the author), you are stealing from the author
of the source.
Please notice:
Plagiarism refers to borrowing both words
and ideas

6. Forms of Plagiarism
Plagiarism takes many forms
1. Word-for-word copying without using
quotation marks or crediting the writer’s
source.
2. Using another student’s work but turning it in
under your own name.
3. Using a catchy or clever phrase or comment
without giving credit.
4. Taking material from a variety of sources and
tying it together to make it look original.

8. DOCUMENTATION
Documentation gives the reader the source of
the information you use in your paper. It says
to the reader: “Here is where I found this
information in case you are interesting in
finding out more about this topic”.

9. WAYS TO AVOID PLAGIARISM
1. PARAPHRASE
2. SUMMARIZE
3. QUOTE

10. PARAPHRASE
WHY a) Restate an idea using your own words
b) Avoid having many different writing styles
in your paper
WHAT a) Important idea not well stated
b) Material you would like to incorporate in
your text but you cannot quote
WHEN Incorporate material you have read into your
paper
HOW By changing
a) vocabulary and b) sentence structure
+ reference to the source

11. SUMMARY
WHY Condense a paragraph, a text etc
WHAT a) The gist of a text in one-two sentences
(one-sentence summary)
b) The main ideas of a text (global summary)
c) An aspect of a text you have read
(selective summary)
WHEN Recall an idea in a text
HOW By identifying the topic sentence and the
main points of a text or an aspect of a text
+ reference to the source

12. QUOTE
WHY Transfer the exact words of a text and
support a point you make in your paper
WHAT Something brief and well stated
(remember: quotations in a text can be up to
10-15% of the total number of words)
WHEN Emphasize a point
HOW By using quotation marks and transferring the
exact words of the original text
+ reference to the source

13. PARAPHRASE

14. What is a paraphrase?

15. DEFINING PARAPHRASING
To paraphrase is to read and understand a
piece of source material (which can be of any
length) and then to rewrite it in your own words.
How can you rewrite a text in your own words?
(a) using different vocabulary words, and
(b) using different sentence structure

16. The most important aspect of paraphrase
 The ability to relate the borrowed idea to the
writer’s purpose

17. IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF
PARAPHRASING
Meaning
The paraphrase must have the same meaning as the
source: it should also have the same relationships
between main ideas and supporting details.
Length
The length should not vary much from the length of the
original.
Style
It should be your own and not an imitation of the source.

18. HOW TO PARAPHRASE
…words
Use different words when possible, usually
more common synonyms, expressions and
simpler phrases.
Keep specialized vocabulary which has no
synonyms (e.g. calcium, plastic, theory),
numbers and formulae.

19. CHANGING VOCABULARY ITEMS
Character words
Character words are like a writer’s signature, because
they carry the style of the original author. Therefore,
they must be changed when paraphrasing.
How to identify character words:
They are almost always words of substance – such as
nouns, verbs, special adjectives, and unusual adverbs.
A character word is one the reader is likely to notice and
remember: it is not a common class word such as
building or plant but a specific word such as high-rise or
philodendron.

20. RECOGNIZING CHARACTER WORDS
In each of the following set of words, identify one is
unusual or one that is noticed and remembered.
1. one, tick, was, and, man
2. beautiful, cumbersome, interesting, important
3. car, automobile, vehicle, conveyance
4. flower, daisy, blossom
5. walk, run, amble, move
6. dig, uncover, excavate, work
7. parched, dry, thirsty
8. late, delayed, tardy

21. HOW TO PARAPHRASE
…grammatical structures
The grammatical structure should be changed if
this can be done without changing meaning.
Different things you can do:
1. break up long sentences
2. combine short sentences
3. expand phrases for clarity
4. shorten sentences for conciseness

22. STEPS IN PARAPHRASING
1. Read the source
2. Understand the source
3. Put away the source
4. Make a simple list of the main points you remember
from the source
5. Reread the source quickly to make sure you have
included all the important points
6. Put away the source again
7. Join the points into appropriate sentence structure
8. Reread your paraphrase, checking the grammar
and organization if necessary

23. A GOOD PARAPHRASE IS
Accurate
the ideas in the paraphrase are the same
as in the source
Original
the language used is different from the
source
Grammatical

24. Paraphrase the direct quotation below
Text 1
 “Terseness of note taking rather than mere
quantity seems to be an essential ingredient
of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

25. Activity on notetaking
Paraphrase 1
As Dunkel affirmed in 1988 conciseness
is the key to a successful notetaking.
“Terseness of note taking rather than mere
quantity seems to be an essential ingredient
of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

26. Activity on notetaking
Paraphrase 2
Dunkel (1988) argues that an important
factor of successful notetaking is not
being simple but being brief and concise.
“Terseness of note taking rather than mere
quantity seems to be an essential ingredient
of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

27. Activity on notetaking
Paraphrase 3
As Dunkel points out, the briefer one’s
notes are the better result is achieved.
“Terseness of note taking rather than mere
quantity seems to be an essential ingredient
of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

28. Activity on notetaking
Paraphrase 4
According to Dunkel (1988) notetaking can
only prove useful when it is characterized
by accuracy and not quantity.
“Terseness of note taking rather than mere
quantity seems to be an essential ingredient
of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

29. Activity on notetaking
Paraphrase 5
As Dunkel states writing briefly is the most
functional way of taking notes.
“Terseness of note taking rather than mere
quantity seems to be an essential ingredient
of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)

30. Paraphrase the direct quotation below on notetaking
Text 2
 “Several other researchers have found similar
positive relationships between “terseness” of
notes and test performance” (Chaudron,
Loschky and Cook, 1994)

31. Now put the two paraphrases together in a brief
report. Use a linking expression to connect the two
sentences.
 “Terseness of note taking rather than mere
quantity seems to be an essential ingredient
of effective notetaking” (Dunkel, 1988)
 “Several other researchers have found similar
positive relationships between “terseness” of
notes and test performance” (Chaudron,
Loschky and Cook, 1994)

32. Paraphrase the two direct quotations relating to
the same topic (teaching of academic discourse)
 “In the past, composition and argumentation played a
key role in higher education, as the teaching of
scientific discourse consisted largely of teaching
students about how to compose ideas in writing”
(Jones, 1990).
 “The process of students moving from school to
university studies is currently associated with the
acquisition of an increased expertise in the discourse
and culture of academia rather than an increased
ability to argue in writing” (Brown & Mitchell, 1998).