Avoiding plagiarism

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM

• The Learning Resource Center
• Loyola Marymount University
• presents a tutorial on…

What is plagiarism?

Deliberate Plagiarism

• Copying or buying a paper
• Recycling one of your papers from another class
• Using information (ideas, words, passages) from another source without acknowledging (citing) that source

Unintentional Plagiarism

• Paraphrasing that is too close to the original (patchwriting)
• Copying and pasting online sources into your paper
• Forgetting to name the source

What is a source?

• Any print material: books, journals, magazines, newspapers, ads, etc.

• Cite me!

• Any electronic or nonprint material:
• online journals, web sites, email, films,
• TV, plays, songs, speech, lecture, etc.

What kind of information isn’t necessary to acknowledge?

• What kind of information isn’t necessary to acknowledge?

COMMON KNOWLEDGE

• COMMON KNOWLEDGE

Common knowledge that your readers will already know

• Examples:
• George W. Bush was governor of Texas before becoming president of the United States.
• Insider trading is illegal.

Common knowledge in a specific field

• Examples:
• Depression is caused by biological factors and psychological and social stresses. (Common knowledge in the field of psychology)
• An ultrasound machine can be used to treat a patient in both acute and chronic phases of healing. (Common knowledge in the field of physical therapy)

Information that someone could easily locate.

• Examples:
• Communication giants Viacom and CBS merged in 1999.
• Fr. Lawton has been president of LMU since May 1999.

Results from your own research: interviews, surveys, observations, data, etc.

• Your Personal Views and Interpretations

• What kind of
• information requires
• acknowledging
• the source?