What about Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is using someone's words and passing them off as your own. Plagiarism is dishonest and unethical and can cause serious repercussions for students in a college setting. Plagiarism can be intentional or accidental, however most students plagiarize by not summarizing or citing correctly. Here are tips for avoiding plagiarism:
From: Cruz, L. (2016). Where Stranger Things Loses Its Magic. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/07/stranger-things-netflix/491681/.
Signal phrases introduce the material, often including the author's name. Remember that the signal verb must be appropriate to the idea you are expressing.
acknowledges * concludes * emphasizes * replies * advises * concurs * expresses * reports * agrees * confirms * interprets * responds * allows * criticizes * lists * reveals * answers * declares * objects * says * asserts * describes * observes * states * believes * disagrees * offers * suggests * charges * discusses * opposes * thinks * claims * disputes * remarks * writes
To use your sources (books, articles, interviews, blogs, etc.) in a research paper, there are three main techniques.
Direct Quotes
Paraphrasing
Summarizing
For each of these techniques, you will need to Signal, Cite, and Comment. Signaling allows the reader to know that you are incorporating another writer's ideas, the citation gives information about where the information came from, and the comments will show your reader how this information supports your ideas. For more information about how this works, check out the the strategies on this page.
Remember, sources are important to strengthen your argument, show contradicting opinions, share statistics, and lead your reader to more information about your topic. Using and citing sources allows your excellent research to show through and help to establish you as a credible writer.
Think of the quote as a rare and precious jewel.
Quotes can be super-effective in getting your point across to the reader. Just be sure you’re not stringing a bunch of quotes together – you want your voice to be stronger than the voice of your sources. You always need to interpret, analyze, add to and explain more about the quote to your reader.
Here are some guidelines to help you decide when to use quotes:
Think of Paraphrases and Summaries as your foundations
Paraphrase and summarize long passages where the main point is important to the point you are making, but the details are not. You should use paraphrasing and summarizing much more often than direct quotes. A good balance would be 75% paraphrasing and summarizing and 25% direct quotes.
Paraphrase: You are paraphrasing when you take someone else’s words and rewrite them in your own words without altering the meaning or providing interpretation. Paraphrases are about the same length as the original. Always cite your paraphrase.
Summarize: You are summarizing when you condense the author's words or ideas without altering the meaning or providing interpretation using your own words -- basically, you’re presenting the original information in a nutshell. Always cite it.
To successfully synthesize (or integrate, or put together, or blend) your sources into your own writing, you need to think about balancing the amount of your own writing with the other sources you are using. For example, look at the following texts. The highlighted text is from other sources.
Writing #1
Composting is a great way to use grass clippings, shredded leaves, and even discarded food items to add nutrients to your yard or garden. The key to composting is to have brown materials (shredded dry leaves, twigs, and branches) and green materials (grass clippings and kitchen scraps) as well as water to keep the mixture moist. Willi Evans Galloway writes in Organic Gardener that the right equation for composting is “Compost = Air + Water + 2 Parts Browns + 1 Part Greens” (2004). The brown materials contain carbon and the green materials contain nitrogen which are necessary for bacteria and fungi, as well as larger organisms such as worms, to live and speed up the decomposing process (USDA, n.d.). The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) also suggests using a tarp over the compost pile to increase the heat and speed up the decomposition process (2017). Although creating a compost pile does require a little maintenance and an occasional toss to keep good air flow, the benefits are reducing food waste as well as putting yard waste to good use.
Writing #2
Composting is a great way to use yard and food waste to add nutrients to the yard. “Composting speeds the process by providing an ideal environment for bacteria and other decomposing microorganisms. The final product, humus or compost, looks and feels like fertile garden soil. This dark, crumbly, earthy-smelling stuff works wonders on all kinds of soil and provides vital nutrients to help plants grow and look better” (USDA, n.d.). The brown materials contain carbon and the green materials contain nitrogen which are necessary for bacteria and fungi, as well as larger organisms such as worms, to live and speed up the decomposing process (USDA, n.d.). According to the USDA (n.d.), “compost can be used for all your planting needs. Compost is an excellent source of organic matter to add to your garden or potted plants. It helps improve soil structure which contributes to good aeration and moisture-holding capacity. Compost is also a source of plant nutrients” (USDA, n.d.). Although creating a compost pile does require a little maintenance and an occasional toss to keep good air flow, the benefits are reducing food waste as well as putting yard waste to good use.
Writing #3
Composting is a great way to use grass clippings, shredded leaves, and even discarded food items to add nutrients to your yard or garden. The key to composting is to have brown materials (shredded dry leaves, twigs, and branches) and green materials (grass clippings and kitchen scraps) as well as water to keep the mixture moist. There is an equation for compost that is air+water+2 parts browns + 1 part greens. Carbon is in the brown materials and nitrogen is in the green materials. Both of these are important to support worms, bacteria and other organisms that break down materials. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) also suggests using a tarp over the compost pile to increase the heat and speed up the decomposition process (2017). Although creating a compost pile does require a little maintenance and an occasional toss to keep good air flow, the benefits are reducing food waste as well as putting yard waste to good use.
Citations
Rafael's Isaiah is the left picture and Michelangelo's Isaiah is the right. See any similarities?
