Academic English: Avoiding Plagiarism

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Academic English Avoiding Plagiarism

• Paraphrasing

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Group Discussion

• What is plagiarism?
• Come up with a definition.

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• Plagiarism can involve two things
• (1) Claiming somebodys idea
• as your own.
• (2) Claiming somebodys words as
• your own.

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• In academic circles, plagiarism is a serious
  offense that can ruin your career.
• It is important for graduate students to
  understand the seriousness of the offense.

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• It is especially tempting for graduates students
  writing in a foreign language to use language
  from native speakers.

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How to Avoid Plagiarism

• (1) Dont claim other peoples ideas as your own.
  
• This involves (a) writing in-text citations when
  you are using other peoples research and (b)
  creating a reference list at the end of your
  written work.

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• (2) Dont use other peoples words without direct
  quotations and citations.
• If you dont want to use quotations then you must
  paraphrase the original text in your own words
  (and include a citation).
• It is not acceptable to use large amounts of
  texts written by others as your own.

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Paraphrasing

• Since an over abundance of quotations looks bad
  in academic writing, paraphrasing is an essential
  skill for academic writers.

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What is paraphrasing?

• Paraphrasing is changing vocabulary and sentence
  structure so that the wording is original to you
  (though the idea is still somebody elses and
  must be cited).

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Vocabulary Synonyms

• Perhaps, the easiest way to begin paraphrasing is
  to find synonyms for key words.
• Smoking is forbidden in the building.
• Smoking is prohibited on the premises.

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Vocabulary Synonyms

• However, there are two important points to make
  about using synonyms to paraphrase.
• (1) Make sure the synonym actually works in that
  situation.
• (2) Many technical terms should not be
  paraphrased.
• comprehensible input
• understandable input

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Vocabulary Antonyms

• Antonyms can also be used when the structure is
  changed from an affirmative sentence to a
  negative sentence.
• Smoking is prohibited in the building.
• Smoking is not allowed in the building.

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Vocabulary Word Form

• You can also change the form of important keyword
  from say a noun to a verb or adjective.
• Chronic health problems have been linked to
  industrialization.
• Chronic health problems have been linked to the
  rise of industry.

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Sentence Structure Affirmative/Negative

• As already mentioned above negative sentences can
  be made affirmative or vice versa. Note some
  vocabulary shift is usually required to do this.
• Few learners willingly participate.
• Most learners do not willingly participate.

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Sentence Structure Active/Passive Voice

• Another good structural change is changing active
  to passive voice or vice versa.
• Researchers have found compelling evidence that
  smoking causes cancer.
• Compelling evidence that smoking causes cancer
  has been found.

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Sentence Structure Gerund/Infinitive Structures

• Another good structural change is changing active
  to passive voice or vice versa.
• Speaking with married women is taboo in some
  cultures.
• Its taboo to speak with married women in some
  cultures.

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Sentence Structure Other Structures

• The possibilities are endless for changing
  structure. Modals for example can often be
  rewritten.
• He may have committed a fraud.
• It is possible that he committed a fraud.

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Paraphrasing Longer Works

• When paraphrasing longer works (as in doing
  summaries) you should also consider changing the
  sentence order when possible.

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• Over grazing on the steppe lands of Asia has
  resulted in a loss of ground cover. This in turn
  has left soil exposed to the wind resulting in a
  yellow dust that blows across China, Korea, and
  Japan.
• The yellow dust that afflicts some East Asian
  countries occurs as a result of soil being
  exposed to winds. This is due to overgrazing on
  the Asian steppe which erodes the ground cover.

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• Lets try some examples in class.