Plagiarism 101

Definition:Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas as your own without giving credit to that person.

Examples of plagiarismQuoting or paraphrasing material

without citing the source of that material.

Quoting a source without using quotation marks – even if you do cite it.

Buying a paper online or downloading a paper from a free site.

Copying or using work done by another student.

2 more examples

Citing sources you didn’t use

Turning in the same paper for more than one class without the permission of both teachers

3 steps to avoid plagiarism

Step 1 – Take good bulleted notes in your own words; no complete sentences

Step 2 – Paraphrase your notes. Since your notes are in your own words, you are putting your notes back into complete sentences. This step is easy once you have notes in your own words.

Step 3 – Citing your sources

Step 1 - Note-TakingRead all the way through the material

you are using for research.

Write down the important pieces of information in your own words.

Use a “bullet” form – no complete sentences. This eliminates the danger of copying phrases from the original document.

Note-Taking PracticeWhat is important in this passage?

The time between 1783 and 1789 is called the “Critical Period.” The thirteen states were held together by the Articles of Confederation, but there were some problems. Each state, no matter the size of its population, had only one vote. The approval of nine states was required to pass legislation. So it was hard to get anything done. The Articles had no provision for Congress to levy taxes or borrow money to pay their debts. Congress could pass laws but had no power to enforce them. It was up to the states to enforce laws. There was also no plan for settling disputes between states, and trade barriers between states threatened the economic system of the new nation. In addition, Congress was not effective in conducting foreign affairs.

The original purpose of the Federal Convention was to revise and improve the Articles of Confederation.

Creating BulletsOriginal passage Bullets

The time between 1783 and 1789 is called the “Critical Period.” The thirteen states were held together by the Articles of Confederation, but there were some problems. Each state, no matter the size of its population, had only one vote. The approval of nine states was required to pass legislation, so it was hard to get anything done. The Articles had no provision for Congress to levy taxes or borrow money to pay their debts. Congress could pass laws but had no power to enforce them. It was up to the states to enforce laws. There was also no plan for settling disputes between states, and trade barriers between states threatened the economic system of the new nation. In addition, Congress was not effective in conducting foreign affairs.

The original purpose of the Federal Convention was to revise and improve the Articles of Confederation.

Critical Period 1783-89 Articles of Confederation -

> problems Big and small states-only

one vote 9 states to pass laws Congress – no taxes, no

borrowing, no enforcing laws or settling disputes

Ineffective foreign affairs Federal Convention =

revise and improve

Step 2 - Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is writing in your own words the essential information and ideas expressed by someone else.

Paraphrasing or Plagiarizing

Original PassageAt the start of the Philadelphia

Convention, many delegates wanted to believe that the hot weather would be only temporary.

Plagiarism or Not?At the beginning of the Philadelphia

Convention, a lot of delegates wanted to think that the hot weather would not last.

Practice selecting information

Even though the delegates to the Federal Convention were due to arrive in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, it was not until May 25 that the meeting could begin with enough delegates present. On the first day, George Washington was elected to serve as the presiding officer, and, a short time later, rules of procedure were adopted. These were formal and borrowed from the traditions of the British Parliament. “Every member rising to speak shall address the president, and whilst he shall be speaking, none shall pass between them, or hold discourse with another, or read a book, pamphlet, or paper, printed or manuscript. And of two members rising to speak at the same time, the president shall name him who shall be first heard.” The delegates also agreed that all proceedings should be kept secret and that a simple majority (more than half the votes cast) would be enough to pass the laws.

Bulleted NotesOriginal passage Bulleted notes

Even though the delegates to the Federal Convention were due to arrive in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, it was not until May 25 that the meeting could begin with enough delegates present. On the first day, George Washington was elected to serve as the presiding officer, and, a short time later, rules of procedure were adopted. These were formal and borrowed from the traditions of the British Parliament. “Every member rising to speak shall address the president, and whilst he shall be speaking, none shall pass between them, or hold discourse with another, or read a book, pamphlet, or paper, printed or manuscript. And of two members rising to speak at the same time, the president shall name him who shall be first heard.” The delegates also agreed that all proceedings should be kept secret and that a simple majority (more than half the votes cast) would be enough to pass the laws.

Federal Convention – May 25, 1787

Geo. Washington – presiding officer

Procedure rules = address president, no talking or reading

Proceedings = secret Majority to pass laws

Paraphrasing

Bulleted notes Paraphrase

Federal Convention – May 25, 1787

Geo. Washington – presiding officer

Procedure rules = address president, no talking or reading

Proceedings = secretMajority to pass laws

The Federal Convention officially began on May 25, 1787. Delegates selected George Washington as presiding officer and put in place rules of procedure to follow. These rules stated that each speaker had to address the presiding officer, and, while that was happening, other delegates could not talk or read. The delegates were in agreement that a majority of votes could pass laws and that the proceedings of the convention must remain secret.

Homework Read the passage on the Constitution.

Highlight what is important in the article.

Create bulleted notes in your own words of the most important facts from the article.

Write a paraphrase of the article from your bulleted notes.

Bullets for Homework Article

Step 3 – Citing Sources

Bibliography formatMLA (Modern Language Association)-7th edition

Title – Bibliography vs. Works Cited

4 essentials: alphabetize citations, period at end of each citation, indent 2nd (and 3rd) lines, double space entire document

Citing Sources

There are two ways to cite your sources:

Bibliography or Works Cited at the end of your project - This is always required!

Parenthetical citations within the text of your paper – You would add this feature when you write a paper.

Parenthetical CitationsUsing Parenthetical Citations means citing

sources within the body of your paper.

The purpose of a Parenthetical Citation is to indicate specifically which information came from which source.

Each parenthetical citation should refer clearly to one of the items in the Works Cited list at the end of your paper.

You will call your list of sources “Works Cited” instead of “Bibliography.”

What a parenthetical citation looks like:

A total of 74 delegates answered the call to the Constitutional Convention. Over the 4 months that it took to create a new constitution, however, only 55 delegates would make an appearance. On average, 30 delegates attended each day. They came from different backgrounds, but all were landowners and most were educated. They ranged in age from 26 to 81 (Hubbard-Brown 9).

From Works Cited pageHubbard-Brown, Janet. How The

Constitution Was Created. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. Print.

Parenthetical citationsFor four months, in closed sessions, the delegates at the Philadelphia Convention debated and re-wrote the articles of the new Constitution. Main issues to decide were how much power to allow the central government, how many representatives in Congress to allow each state, and how these representatives should be elected--directly by the people or by the state legislators. The end result was a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise (National n. pag.). Of the original fifty-five delegates who attended some or part of the sessions at the Philadelphia Convention, thirty-nine signed. Washington’s diary noted that after the last session the delegates “adjourned to the City tavern, dined together and took a cordial leave of each other” (Morris 223). What followed the Philadelphia Convention was the most exciting and most important political contest the United States had ever known. It was not like an ordinary election, for the goal of the Federalists (as the friends of the Constitution began calling themselves) was not to get a set of candidates elected to office but to get the Constitution adopted. The goal of the anti-Federalists (as the opponents began to be called) was to prevent its adoption (McDonald 93).

Works Cited

McDonald, Forrest. Enough Wise Men: The Story of

Our Constitution. New York: G. P. Putnam’s

Sons, 1970. Print.

Morris, Richard B. Witnesses at the Creation. New

York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985.

Print.

National Archives. “Constitution of the United

States.” Charters of Freedom. Web. 19 Oct.

2011.

With most electronic or website sources, you do not have page numbers to use in your parenthetical citations.

Here’s what you do:

(Franklin n.pag.)(National n.pag.)

Parenthetical Citations from a non-print source

What does a complete and correct Works Cited/Bibliography look like?

Works Cited (or Bibliography)

“Address Supporting the Constitution.” American History Online. Web.

19 Oct. 2011.

Hubbard-Brown, Janet. How The Constitution Was Created. New

York: Chelsea House, 2007. Print.

McDonald, Forrest. Enough Wise Men: The Story of Our Constitution.

New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1970. Print.

Morris, Richard B. Witnesses at the Creation. New York: Holt, Rinehart

and Winston, 1985. Print.

National Archives. “Constitution of the United States.” Charters of

Freedom. Web. 19 Oct. 2011.

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