Paraphrasing and Plagiarism
To paraphrase means to put into your own words. The following sentence is quoted from an essay entitled “Gender Roles” by William H. Masters, Virginia E. Johnson, and Robert C. Kolodny. It’s taken from the anthology Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum edited by Laurence Behrens and Leonard Rosen. A paraphrase of the sentence appears below it.
“In the past 25 years, there has been considerable
scientific interest in studying differences and similarities between the
sexes for a number of reasons” (Masters, Johnson and Kolodny 544).
Paraphrase:
Scientists have been interested in comparing and contrasting males and females for at least 25 years (Masters, Johnson and Kolodny 544).
Notice that even though the sentence has been completely paraphrased, it is still cited because the idea it expresses comes from the source.
To plagiarize means to take someone else’s words and/or ideas and attempt to pass them off as your own. Some people deliberately steal other writer’s works, but most students plagiarize because of carelessness, uncertainty, or ignorance.
The following guidelines should help you avoid plagiarism:
1. Always put quotation marks around any direct statement taken from someone else’s work. Also, be sure to cite your quote.
2. Cite any paraphrase of another writer’s ideas or statements. If you paraphrase a whole paragraph, you only need one citation at the end of the paragraph.
3. Cite any thoughts/ideas you got from a specific source during your research.
4. Cite any material, ideas, thoughts, etc. you got from your research that can’t be described as general knowledge.
5. Cite any summary of a discussion that you got from one of your sources, even if you put it into your own words.
6. Cite any charts, graphs, tables, etc. made by someone else or any you make using outside information.
The following examples show both the wrong way to paraphrase (plagiarism) and the right way.
In the past 25 years, there has been considerable scientific interest in studying differences and similarities between the sexes for a number of reasons. First, various beliefs about sex differences in traits, talents, and temperaments have greatly influenced social, political, and economic systems throughout history. Second, recent trends have threatened age-old distinctions between the sexes. In 1987, for instance, more than half of American women worked outside the home. Unisex fashions in hairstyles, clothing, and jewelry are now popular. Even anatomic status is not fixed in a day where change-of-sex surgery is possible. Third, the women’s movement has brought increasing attention to areas of sex discrimination and sexism and has demanded sexual equality.
Student Version One:
In the past 25 years, scientists have been interested in studying differences and similarities between the sexes. There are many reasons for this. First, many beliefs about sex differences in traits, talents and temperaments have had an effect on societies, politics, and economies throughout the world. Second, current trends have challenged age-old distinctions between the sexes. For example, in 1987 more than half of American women worked outside the home. Also, unisex fashions are now popular. People can even have sex-change operations. Finally, the women’s movement has brought more attention to things like sex discrimination and sexism and has argued for sexual equality.
Comments:
The writer (let’s assume it’s a girl named Mary) has plagiarized for two reasons. First, Mary uses information that she got from reading an outside source, but she doesn’t cite any of it! Second, Mary uses many of the author’s exact words and phrases but doesn’t put them in quotation marks or mention that they’re not hers. Even though Mary uses some of her own words, she still has to give credit to the author for the information in the paragraph and for the author’s words.
Student Version Two:
Scientists have been interested in comparing and contrasting the sexes for at least 25 years. Three primary reasons explain this. First, many beliefs about sex differences in traits, talents, and temperaments have had an effect on societies, politics, and economies throughout the world. Second, established differences between the sexes have been challenged by current trends. For example, in 1987 more than half of American women worked outside the home. Also, unisex fashions are now popular. People can even have sex-change operations. Finally, the women’s movement has led to increased awareness of sex discrimination, sexism, and sexual equality (Masters, Johnson and Kolodny 544).
Comments:
Although this version is better, Mary is still plagiarizing. She has provided a citation at the end of the paragraph, but she is still passing off some of the author’s words and phrases as her own. Citing the information does not give her the right to do this. She must either put quotation marks around the author’s words and phrases or work to put them into her own words.
Student Version Three:
Scientists have been interested in comparing and contrasting males and females for at least 25 years, and three primary reasons explain this interest. First, as Masters, Johnson, and Kolodny explain, “various beliefs about sex differences in traits, talents, and temperaments have greatly influenced social, political, and economic systems throughout history” (544). In addition, established differences between men and women have been challenged by current trends such as women working outside the home, unisex fashions, and sex-change operations. Finally, the public has been made more aware of sex discrimination through the efforts of the women’s movement, which has also fought for sexual equality (Masters, Johnson and Kolodny 544).
Comments:
Mary has finally stopped plagiarizing. She has provided citations for all outside information (whether it’s paraphrased or quoted), and she has also put quotation marks around the author’s words and phrases.
Guidelines for Paraphrasing:
1. Make sure you understand the source completely. If necessary, take notes to help you. If you don’t understand the source, you won’t be able to explain it in your own words.
2. Don’t look at the source when you’re trying to paraphrase. If you look at the source, you will probably copy words and phrases without meaning to.
3. Don’t try to paraphrase individual sentences. Instead, put the main ideas of a paragraph into your own words and write your own paragraph.
Practice Paraphrasing:
Read the following paragraph and take notes on it (underline, highlight, write in the margin--whatever method you normally use). After you feel you fully understand it, turn this sheet over and write a paraphrase of the information in your own words. (The following paragraph is a continuation of the source used above.)
As a result of these trends, old attitudes toward sex differences, child-rearing practices, masculinity and femininity, and what society defines as appropriate gender-role behavior have undergone considerable change. Many of today’s young adults have been raised in families where a progressive attitude toward gender roles has been taught or where parents struggled to break away from stereotyped thinking. Thus, there is a continuum of types of socialization today that ranges from old, traditional patterns to modern versions. These issues and trends influence the experience of being male or female.