MIDTERM_-_LESSON_2_-_Avoiding_Plagiarism_-_Integrating_Ideas

Integrating One's Ideas

• Academic Writing (AW100)

• Instructor: Ashiel D. Bagnes

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:

  • Improve the ability to write a summary and paraphrase.

  • Avoid plagiarism through proper summarizing, quoting, and paraphrasing.

Plagiarism

• Definition: Taking ideas or words from a source without giving credit to the author (Bailey, 2011).

Summarizing

• Definition:

  • Condensing lengthy sources into a concise form.

  • Putting the main idea into your own words while including only the big picture.

Tips for Summarizing

1. Look for text features.

2. Identify vocabulary.

3. Focus on topic sentences.

4. Utilize reporter’s notes.

Stages of Summarizing

1. Write the summary from your notes, reorganizing the structure if needed.

2. Make notes of key points, paraphrasing where possible.

3. Read the original text carefully and check for new or difficult vocabulary.

4. Mark key points by underlining or highlighting.

5. Check the summary to ensure accuracy—nothing important should be changed or lost.

Practical Exercise

Example of Early Football Helmets:

• Early football players played bareheaded, leading to numerous injuries.

• Introduction of plain leather caps, followed by plastic helmets and masks.

• Modern helmet design inspired by woodpeckers' tough, spongy skulls to enhance protection.

Paraphrasing

• Definition (Bullock, Daly-Goggin, and Weinberg, 2008):

  • Restate information from a source using your own words and sentence structure.

  • Change the wording significantly without altering the original meaning.

Elements of Paraphrasing

• Different structure from the original.

• Use mainly different vocabulary.

• Retain the same meaning.

• Keep common phrases from the original.

  • e.g., "industrial revolution" or "eighteenth century".

Common Techniques for Paraphrasing

1. Changing Vocabulary: Use synonyms (e.g., "argues" ➔ "claims").

2. Changing Word Class: (e.g., "explanation" ➔ "explain").

3. Changing Word Order: Rearranging syntax (e.g., "the best explanation for..." ➔ "A focus on...may help explain...").

Techniques for Effective Paraphrasing

1. Reformulating sentences.

2. Combining information from multiple sentences.

3. Leaving out irrelevant information.

4. Using synonyms that do not distort meaning.

Quoting

• Definition:

  • Incorporating someone’s exact words into your own text.

  • Reproduce the source exactly and give credit (in-text citation).

When to Use Quotations

• When original words express an idea distinctly.

• When the original is more concise than your summary could be.

• When the original version is well-known.

Quoting Techniques

• Ellipses: Represents omission (e.g., "Scout...hold your head high").

• Brackets: Indicate additions or changes (e.g., "Influenced by [her father, William] Godwin..."

Example of Quoting with Ellipses and Brackets

• Original Text: "Scout, simply by the nature of the work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally…"

• Revised Text: "Scout...every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime...hold your head high...try fighting with your head for a change..."

Quoting Reference Example

• Citation example in a quote: "Inflation is the one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation" (Friedman, 1974: 93).

Acknowledgments

• Thank you for your attention!