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The Correct Use of Borrowed
Information
Winthrop's policy on academic honesty is set out in "Section V,
Academic Misconduct," of the
Student Code of Conduct, and what follows here is an elaboration on
the policy on plagiarism contained in the Student Code. To
complete a writing assignment, you may find it necessary to gather
information by interviewing people; by reading books, magazines,
journals, or other printed materials; by downloading material off the
Internet; or by viewing and/or listening to films, tapes, plays, or some
other formal or informal presentations. Such borrowed information
usually appears in your writing as paraphrases, direct
quotations, or summaries. However, correctly incorporating borrowed
material into your own writing requires special skill. Improper use of
borrowed information creates chaos in your essay; it also results in
plagiarism, which means presenting someone else's ideas or words as your
own. If you ever have any question about how you are handling a borrowed
source, consult with your instructor before handing in the paper.
Plagiarism
Intentional plagiarism is a form of cheating. However, many students
find themselves unintentionally presenting someone else's work as their
own simply because these students do not know how to use borrowed
information correctly. For example, students often do not know how to
paraphrase properly and simply mix their own words and phrases with
those in the original source without enclosing borrowed elements in
quotation marks. Below you will find an example of a paragraph as it
appeared in the original source--E. D. Hirsch’s book Cultural
Literacy--and definitions and examples of a paraphrase, a direct
quotation, and a summary. Remember, failure to paraphrase, quote, or
summarize correctly can constitute plagiarism. (You can find more
information about avoiding plagiarism in the Prentice Hall Reference
Guide, 5th ed., chapter 55c.)
The Original Paragraph (indented paragraph--that explains
where the page # is)
The recently rediscovered insight that
literacy is more than a skill is based upon knowledge that all of us
unconsciously have about language. We know instinctively that to
understand what somebody is saying, we must understand more than the
surface meanings of words; we have to understand the context as
well. The need for background information applies all the more to
reading and writing. To grasp the words on a page we have to know a
lot of information that isn’t set down on the page. (3)
Definition of a Paraphrase
A paraphrase is a restatement in your own words and
your own style of someone's ideas and discoveries. You must
change both the words and the sentence structure
of the original. Please remember that your purpose in using a paraphrase
is not to save words because normally the paraphrase is about the same
length as the original. Your purpose, instead, is to express the
borrowed information in a style that is your own and that is already
familiar to your reader. (See Prentice Hall, 55a.)
Plagiarized Paraphrase
In his book Cultural Literacy,
University of Virginia English professor and noted literacy theorist
E. D. Hirsch argues that literacy is more than a skill. It
is, instead, based upon what we know unconsciously
about language. By instinct, we are aware that we must know more
than the surface meaning of words; we must grasp the
situation too. We also have to have this background information
when we read and write. In other words, to understand the words
on a page, we must know more than what is written on a page
(3).
(The underlined words are lifted without change from the original
paragraph. Note that several phrases were taken in their entirety and
that elsewhere only minor changes were made.)
Correct Paraphrase
E. D. Hirsch, University of Virginia
Professor of English and noted literacy theorist, reaffirms in his
book Cultural Literacy that literacy is something other than
just a "skill." Instead, it involves some things that we all know
intuitively about the way words function. We realize that to decode
what is said to us we must know more than the dictionary definitions
of the individual words; in fact, we must also understand the
situation in which the communication takes place. In order to read
or write, we must be even more aware of the surrounding
circumstances. Consequently, we have to know things other than the
words themselves (3). Obviously, we need to consider many issues
when we process language.
Definition of a Direct Quotation
A direct quotation is an exact repeating of someone else's words as
he or she wrote or spoke them. (See Prentice Hall, 54d.)
Example of a Direct Quotation:
In Cultural Literacy, E. D. Hirsch,
University of Virginia English professor and noted literacy
theorist, persuasively argues that true literacy encompasses more
than just recognizing words; he reminds us that "to understand what
somebody is saying, we have to understand the context as well. The
need for background information applies all the more to reading and
writing. To grasp the words on a page we have to know a lot of
information that isn’t set down on the page" (3).
Definition of a Summary
A summary is simply a brief but accurate statement in your own words
of the main idea(s) of some borrowed information. Brevity is the
summary's reason for being, but a summary must give all of the main
idea, not just half of it.
Example of a Summary:
E. D. Hirsch, University of Virginia
English professor and noted literacy theorist, suggests in his
book Cultural Literary that a person must know more than
the dictionary meanings of words to be truly literate; he or she
must also understand significant information that precedes and
surrounds the communication (3).
Work Cited
Hirsch, E. D. Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs
to Know. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.
Incorporating Borrowed Material
Incorporating borrowed material into your own writing is not simply a
matter of avoiding plagiarism. You must also create smooth transitions
between your own words and ideas and those borrowed from other sources.
These transitions should introduce and identify your sources and should
evaluate the borrowed material. Frequently, inexperienced writers will
simply drop a summary or a quotation into the middle of their own
writing and rely on only a parenthetical citation to help the reader
make sense of it. The following is an example of such a situation:
Unclear Incorporation
The 1980s and 1990s spawned a large number
of books about the nature of communication. Some of these, like
Deborah Tannen’s You Just Don’t Understand, are concerned
with gender differences. Others, like Shirley Brice Heath’s Ways
With Words, deal with class and ethnicity. We must also remember
that different communication situations require different strategies
no matter what the gender, class, or ethnicity of the participants
may be. If people know each other, their conversations can be more
cryptic and not always simplistic. However, if they are unacquainted
and know nothing of each other’s background, they have to explain a
great deal to be understood (Hirsch 4).
While this citation gives credit to Hirsch for borrowed ideas and,
consequently, does not constitute plagiarism, it nevertheless creates
several difficulties for the reader. In the first place, the reader does
not know where the borrowing from Hirsch begins. A second problem is
that the reader knows practically nothing about Hirsch’s identity or his
credentials. Finally, the reader doesn’t know whether the writer is
agreeing with Hirsch or disagreeing.
Correct Incorporation
The 1980s and 1990s spawned a large number
of books about the nature of communication. Some of these, like
Deborah Tannen’s You Just Don’t Understand, are concerned
with gender differences. Others, like Shirley Brice Heath’s Ways
With Words, deal with class and ethnicity. However, gender,
class, and ethnicity are by no means the only factors to consider.
As University of Virginia English professor and noted literacy
theorist E. D. Hirsch persuasively reminds us in his book
Cultural Literacy, different communication situations require
different strategies. If people know each other, their conversations
can be more cryptic and not always simplistic. But, if they are
unacquainted and know nothing of each other’s background, they have
to explain a great deal to be understood (4).
Work Cited
Hirsch, E. D., Jr. Cultural Literacy: What Every
American Needs to Know. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
One of the most difficult tasks facing the writer of documented
papers is to distinguish clearly between his or her own voice and the
voices of the various authorities whose words and ideas are being
incorporated into the paper. In order to accomplish this goal, writers
should make sure that they do the following:
- Your source should always be introduced by name in the text
rather than just in the parenthetical citation. This procedure must
be followed when introducing quotations, but it is even more
important when introducing paraphrased or summarized material. With
quotations, the reader knows when the writer has begun to borrow
because all the material is set off by quotation marks or
indentation. With paraphrased or summarized material, only an
introductory citation of the source’s name will show the reader
where the borrowed material has begun.
- The first time a source is introduced by name, it is important
for the writer to identify this person, preferably by establishing
the source’s credentials as an authority on the subject under
discussion. Authors vary widely in their degree of expertise, and it
is up to you to justify to the reader your inclusion of a particular
source’s opinions. After the source has been identified once, it is
not necessary to cite the credentials of that same person in
subsequent references.
- Your paper may cite opinions on both sides of an issue: some you
will oppose; some you will endorse. If you are writing an argument,
it is absolutely crucial for the reader to know in which category
any of the borrowed material belongs. Often writers believe that
their position is obvious, but readers do not always find it to be.
One easy way to make the matter clear is to include an evaluative
adverb or other signal phrase in your introduction to the borrowed
material. For example, rather than saying, "Hirsch states," you
might say, "Hirsch persuasively argues," or "Hirsch unrealistically
claims." (For a list of frequently used signal phrases, see PH,
55b.)
Click here to print out this pledge on a separate sheet to turn in
to your instructor.
I have read this discussion and the appropriate sections in the
Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage and
understand that I am responsible for using borrowed material
correctly in my writing. I am also aware of the penalties for
plagiarism as stated in The Student Code of Conduct and on my
instructor's syllabus.
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