Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
When I first begin discussing this topic with my composition classes, I like to begin with this example:
"Global warming is real" (Smith).
And I ask students if this is an example of plagiarism. When I ask them to raise their hands if they think so, only one or two typically go up. When I ask how many think it is not, more go up, but many never raise their hands at all because they just are not sure. Why is?
I think there are a couple of reasons:
MLA citation format is not taught in any detail, if at all, in many high schools. Even though students are told they "have to cite to avoid plagiarism," they are never really taught how to properly do so. Perhaps this is because many high school English teachers feel it is unneccesary because many of their students do not intend to attend college.
Regardless of why you may or may not understand concerning MLA citation at this point in your composition class, from this point forward you are expected to understand all of the rules regarding the integration of other's ideas into your own work. If you do not properly understand these rules and cite accordingly, you could be accused of plagiarism by one of your professors, and, as you know, this is a serious offense. Academic dishonesty is not tolerated in the world of academia. You should refer to your student handbook for further explanation regarding this matter or speak to your professor.
Introduction of Sources and Author Tags
The example sentence above regarding global warming is plagiarized. Often students find this surprising, and say things like: "But the citation is at the end of the sentence."
While it is true that one must cite where ideas come from, it is also true that a writer must mark boundries where their ideas end and begin and those of a source end a begin. Placing a citation at the end of a sentence or a paragraph simply isn't enough.
One way we properfly mark boundries between the ideas of a source and your own ideas is through the introduction of sources and the use of author tags.
The first time that a source is used it must be introduced by mentioning at least two of the following four items: a) author's name b) title of the work c) author's credentials d) place of publication
Here's an example:
In the article "Global Warming: A Changing Planet," Donald Nagel, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Physics and noted climatologist, claims that "average global temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100 (Nagel 210).
In this example, everything in boldtype up to "climatologist" is the "introduction" of the source. Such an introduction is only required the first time that a source is used in the paper. When the source is used again, a writer should refer to the source by their last name (in this case, "Nagel").
You should note that research papers are written for formal, academic audiences and purposes; therefore, it is considered inappropriate to refer to a source by their first name.
When referring to the source by their last name, you will create something known as a "signal phrase;" this is commonly referred to as an author tag.
Here is a continuation of the Nagel example above:
Nagel argues changes resulting from global warming may include rising sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps, as well as an increase in occurrence and severity of storms and other severe weather events. He contends that many highly populated costal areas will likely see flood waters of historical proportions and insists that entire ecological habitats will be permanently changed due to rising temperatures.
The phrases in bold in the above example are the author tags/signal phrases. These phrases signal to the reader of your paper that the info that is about to follow does not belong to you but instead came from a specifc source. These tags/phrases must be used each time that you paraphrase or directly qoute a source in your paper.
To avoid repetition, however, you should vary both the language and placement of your signal phrases.
Model Signal Phrases
The American Medical Association, a physician's association to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health, insists that "<insert quote>."
Stephens and Clark reject the notion that "<insert quote>."
"<Insert quote>," claims biologist Brian Kendall.
As noted physcologist Lisa Miller has pointed out, "<insert quote>."
"<insert quote>," Jones contends
Baker observes that "<insert quote>."
Verbs in signal phrases
acknowledges comments endorses reasons
adds compares explains refutes
admits concedes finds rejects
advises confirms grants
reports
reports agrees contends illustrates responds
illustrates respondsargues declares implies suggests
asserts denies insists thinks
believes disputes maintains writes
claims disagrees notes
concludes discusses observes
contests emphasizes points out
MLA In-Text Citations
Returning to the global warming example used above, let's turn our attention to MLA In-Text Citations.
This is the kind of common mistake students often make in their academic research papers:
The average global temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100, and the changes resulting from global warming may include rising sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps, as well as an increase in occurrence and severity of storms and other severe weather events. As a result, many highly populated costal areas will likely see flood waters of historical proportions and insists that entire ecological habitats will be permanently changed due to rising temperatures. There are a number of scientists, however, that disagree and claim that these numbers are exaggerated (Nagel).
Quite often students tell me that this is how they were taught to do MLA in-text citations in high school. This is incorrrect because it fails to clearly mark boundries between the author of this paragraph's ideas and the ideas of their source.
This is how it should read:
In the article "Global Warming: A Changing Planet," Donald Nagel, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Physics and noted climatologist, claims that "average global temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100 (210). Nagel argues changes resulting from global warming may include rising sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps, as well as an increase in occurrence and severity of storms and other severe weather events. He contends that many highly populated costal areas will likely see flood waters of historical proportions and insists that entire ecological habitats will be permanently changed due to rising temperatures (212). There are a number of scientists, however, that disagree and claim that these numbers are exaggerated.
The introduction of the source and use of signal phrases/author tags marks clear boundries between the ideas of the source and the author of this paragraph. In addition, the in-text citations further clarify where specific information is taken from and who those ideas belong to as well.
When should I cite?
You should cite any information/idea that is not your own or is not common knowledge.
Basic rules of citation:
1) Cite after every direct quoation
2) Cite at the end of a paraphrase.
You should never have more than 20% of direct quotes in your paper; however, 10% is preferable.
FAQ
I don't understand MLA in-text citations. Where can I get more info?. Be sure you click on the Microsoft Word document labeled "MLA Citation Style" at the bottom of the page.
The Works Cited Page
The Works Cited Page is very important. The in-text citations that you use guide the reader of your research paper to the specific source you either quoted or paraphrased. Why would a reader want to locate theh source that you used? They may wish to verify the validity of the information that you have presented, to study the source in more detail, or like to use information from this source in their own research somehow. The citation on your works cited page then must contain the information that a reader will need to locate that source on their own.
Each source that is used in your paper somehow must be listed on the works cited page, but you should never list a source there that was not used in the composition of your paper.
NOTE: Any paper that uses outside sources must always include a works cited page. Failure to do so gurantees a student a zero for that assignment. This is also considered plagiarism, so there could be further consequences as deemed necessary at the discretion of the professor.
FAQ
How should a works cited page be formatted? See the info at the bottom of the page.
