The document provides guidance on how to properly paraphrase and cite sources to avoid plagiarism. It defines plagiarism as passing off another's work as one's own and explains that any ideas or content taken from an outside source must be cited, regardless of whether it is a direct quote or paraphrased. The document outlines a three-step process for properly paraphrasing a source: reading the source, putting it into one's own words while taking notes, and citing the source. It also discusses when a direct quote is warranted and how to format both paraphrases and direct quotes with citations in papers or assignments.

1. How to Paraphrase and
Avoid Plagiarism
(or How To Research Without
Accidentally Stealing Someone
Else’s Ideas!)

2. Pop Quiz: Which of these situations are cheating?
1. Copying from someone during a Biology test.
2. Asking someone in per 1 for the questions on the quiz you’re taking
per 3.
3. Recycling & re-using your older sister’s project (saves paper, right?).
4. Using ideas, but not direct quotations, from SparkNotes.
5. Turning in the same paper as your friend for History (hey, I’m in Ms.
Vincench’s class and she’s in Ms. Piekarski’s…).
6. Cutting and pasting a sentence from a website and then changing
some of the words using the Thesaurus.
7. Letting my friend copy my French homework.
8. Using a quote from the book in your benchmark project paper, with a
parenthetical citation, but forgetting to put quotation marks around it.
9. Putting “the Earth revolves around the sun” in your paper and not
citing that fact.
(Answer: All are cheating except #9, which is common knowledge)

3. What is Plagiarism?
“…Taking and passing off as one’s own someone
else’s work or ideas (from Latin plagiārius,
kidnapper, literary thief).”
~ Macmillan Dictionary
ANY TIME YOU USE SOMEONE ELSE'S IDEA,
cite it.

4. The Dangers of Cut and Paste…
• Did you know that if you CUT AND PASTE from
a website
• OR even if you borrow an IDEA and put it in
your own words…
• And you don’t cite it…
It’s cheating?
Yikes!

5. This is Plagiarism Too!
• Not using ANY of your own ideas (entire paper
is cited)
• Parenthetical citations do not lead to the right
source
• Inaccurately paraphrasing or misrepresenting
the author’s intentions

6. What’s The Big Deal?
At Irvington, if you plagiarize:
• 1st time: Zero on the assignment, call home, conference
with parent and administrator. Can lose class privileges
like contracts.
• 2nd time: NC in the class
• 3rd time: loss of extracurriculars, expulsion
In the “Real World,” if you plagiarize, you may…
• Be expelled from college the first time
• Lose your job
• Lose recommendations to another college or job
• Be sued by the person whose idea you “borrowed”

7. Geez. Are there any times I DON’T need
to cite?
• Info is so general it’s common knowledge.
Nobody would need to look it up:
– George Washington was the first US President.
– Most schools have a summer vacation.
– The Earth revolves around the sun.
– Pollution is bad for the environment.
• When the idea is your own:
Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is difficult for modern
audiences to understand because the characters fall
in love more quickly than modern people.
When in Doubt, Cite!

8. Instead of Plagiarizing, there are 2
choices…
1. Summarize or Paraphrase!
Put the information completely in your
own words, with a citation.
Or…
2. Use direct quotations!
Use the authors words, with “quotation
marks around them” and a citation.

9. Use A Direct Quotation
• Use author’s exact words in quotations
• Don’t make ANY changes to the original
words
• Cite your quotation (Wilson 5)
• If you need to leave words out, show
where they are missing using…ellipses

10. …or Paraphrase
• Explain the main ideas of something you
read
• Show that you understand the source
• Write completely in your own words
• Cite the source (Wilson 5)

11. How to do Parenthetical Citations
• Author and page #:
(Martinez 5)
• For web sources, sometimes you have to use
the paragraph number:
(Martinez par. 16)
• Sometimes you don’t have an author. Move to
the next thing, the title:
(“Pollution” 56) or (“Police Dogs” par. 16)

12. Example
• Original: “In research writing, sources are
cited for two reasons: to alert readers to the
sources of your information and to give credit
to the writers from whom you have borrowed
words and ideas” (Hacker).
• Summary: Writers cite sources to show where
their material comes from (Hacker).

13. Caution!
When you summarize or paraphrase…
• Keeping any of the same vocabulary is
plagiarism, even if you cite it
• Keeping the original order of ideas is
plagiarism, even if you cite it
• Don’t change the meaning

14. Bad Paraphrasing!
• Original: “In research writing, sources are cited for
two reasons: to alert readers to the sources of your
information and to give credit to the writers from
whom you have borrowed words and ideas”
(Hacker).
• Plagiarized Paraphrase: In research writing, we cite
sources for a couple reasons: to notify readers of our
information sources and give credit to authors we
borrowed from (Hacker).
• Writer has not made enough changes. Most of the
original words are the same, and the original
structure of the quote are the same.

15. Good Paraphrasing
• Original: “In research writing, sources are cited for
two reasons: to alert readers to the sources of your
information and to give credit to the writers from
whom you have borrowed words and ideas”
(Hacker).
• Good Paraphrase: A researcher cites sources to
acknowledge the original author’s work and to make
sure the audience can tell where the information
came from (Hacker).
• Writer has changed the order of ideas and the
words used. It is completely in his own words.

16. You Tell Me…
• Original: “Be completely honest with your children.
This will show them how always applicable the
principle is and will demonstrate your commitment
to it… Never let them hear you tell little ‘convenient
lies’ on the phone and never ask them to tell one for
you” (Eyre 15).
• GOOD or BAD? Never tell lies, even convenient lies,
around your children. In addition, don’t let them tell
a lie for you. By doing this, you will demonstrate
your commitment to honesty (Eyre 15).

17. You Tell Me…
• Original: “Be completely honest with your children.
This will show them how always applicable the
principle is and will demonstrate your commitment
to it… Never let them hear you tell little ‘convenient
lies’ on the phone and never ask them to tell one for
you” (Eyre).
• GOOD or BAD? Be totally honest with your kids. This
shows them that honesty is always important, and it
will show them that you care. Never tell lies, even if
small, and never ask them to lie for you (Eyre).

18. You Tell Me…
• Original: “Be completely honest with your children.
This will show them how always applicable the
principle is and will demonstrate your commitment
to it… Never let them hear you tell little ‘convenient
lies’ on the phone and never ask them to tell one for
you” (Eyre).
• GOOD or BAD?
Children learn from their parents’ examples, especially
when it comes to honesty. Parents who don’t tell or
allow lies, even “white lies”, show their children the
importance of telling the truth by setting a good
example (Eyre).

19. How to Paraphrase in 3 Easy Steps!

1. READ:
• Stop after each paragraph or “chunk” and ask,
“What did I just read?”
• Take notes = Write down a list of the main ideas.
• Write ONLY things that relate to topic or support
your point.
• Summarize facts, not sentences. Only use what
you need.
• NO full sentences.

20. 2. PARAPHRASE or DIRECT QUOTE:
• Put the source away & write full sentences about
what you just read, in your own words, in your own
order, using the notes.
• Pretend you’re explaining to a friend.
• Try starting with something different/change the
order.
• DON’T put anything in your paper that you don’t
understand.
• Check and make sure it’s not the same
• DON’T cut and paste!

21. 3. CITE YOUR SOURCES!
• ALWAYS cite right after “direct quotations,”
numbers, dates, statistics.
• Cite after you paraphrase (yep, even though
the whole thing is in your own words!)
• After 3 paraphrased sentences from same
source

22. When should you use a Direct
Quotation? How do you choose
one?
– When you really can’t say it better!
– When you want to capture the author’s way of
saying something
– When the exact words matter
– Only quote as much as you need (1-2 sentences
usually)
– Only when it’s relevant and important
– Don’t change the author’s meaning

23. How do you put a quotation in your
essay?
Introduce the quotation, and write your own
commentary/analysis after it:
After Orwell witnessed animal abuse he wrote,
“Men exploit animals in much the same way as the
rich exploit the worker” (“Meet George Orwell” 9).
Orwell chose animals as his symbols to write about
how governments abuse people. This was a smart
way to write about this controversial topic, but
people still refused to publish his book.

24. How to do Parenthetical Citations
After a DIRECT QUOTATION:
If you use someone’s words directly, put
“quotation marks” around their words and a
parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence:
After Orwell witnessed animal abuse he wrote, “Men
exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit
the worker” (“Meet George Orwell” 9).

25. After Paraphrasing:
If you used their idea but you put it entirely in
your own words , you put the citation at the
end of the sentence where you talk about that
idea, but no quotation marks:
Orwell’s inspiration to use animals as symbols of
oppressed people came from witnessing an incident
of animal abuse (“Meet George Orwell” 9).

26. With a Signal Phrase
You can also name the author in a "signal
phrase." Introduce them in the sentence
before, and don’t put their name in the
parentheses:
Orwell defended his controversial writing by
arguing that “Liberty is telling people what
they do not want to hear” (74).

27. Resources to Help You
• www.irvington.org/library
Avoiding Plagiarism:
• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/
Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing:
• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/
• Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference, Fourth Ed. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martins, 1999. A really helpful book! Many of the
examples in this PowerPoint came from this book.