Writing manual final (1)

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Woodstock High School Writing Manual Chapter One—PLAGIARISM Plagiarism is the representation of another’s words as the writer’s own. These words may come from any written or electronic source. Some examples of plagiarism include the following: • • • • • •

not citing a source when idea or words are taken from another author; not citing a source when even a sentence or group of sentences from another author are used; making up citations; taking of an entire paper or portions of a paper from an on-line or offline source, including a disk computer file; using statistics or diagrams without citing the original source; paraphrasing too closely to the original wording of the source.

One way to avoid plagiarism is to paraphrase or restate the author’s words in the writer’s own words. The full meaning and intent of the original writer’s words are conveyed yet the wording is modified to the present writer’s style and interpretation. Therefore, paraphrasing can be longer than the original text. Paraphrasing is also used to explain meanings of proverbs, legal documents, poems, or obscure or symbolic writings. In research, the writer may introduce the paraphrase by citing the original author and work. An example of this would be the following: In his book, The Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin states that animals that are the strongest and the most acclimated to the climate and conditions they live in will live the longest. The author, source, and paraphrasing of Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” theory are stated in one introductory sentence. The writer would then continue to develop the concept with examples, quotations, statistics, and other research studies.

WHS Writing Manual

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Writing manual final (1) by Jon Grell - Issuu