Beat the Block: Better Safe than Sorry

Plagiarism

When to use in-text citations

We are so lucky to have the technology we do to assist us. It is so much easier to find an answer to a question online than it is to have to go and find it in a book. I mean, imagine having to go to a library to do research for every paper or question you had. You’d be spending many more hours on your work than you do now. However, with great technology comes great responsibility.

Because we have access to so much, we have to be careful to provide proper credit where credit is due. Teachers and professors also have the same technology to ensure that all work is original. By now you are likely familiar with programs like Turnitin that will bring attention to any work that is unoriginal or resembles another piece of writing without the proper citations, and yes, sometimes that includes your friend’s paper that she turned in last semester. It does this by scanning your work and comparing it to works in the database. It searches for similarities between your work and other written works.

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism: (noun) the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

Submitting a paper that someone else wrote = plagiarism

Copying something from another article without proper citations = plagiarism

A direct quote from someone without credit = plagiarism

Paraphrasing work with proper citations = not plagiarism

Direct quotes with proper credit = not plagiarism

When in doubt cite it out

Whether you mean to do it or not, plagiarism is a serious offense, especially at the collegiate level. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to know how to credit your sources with citations and to paraphrase as much as possible. The biggest giveaways for plagiarism are direct quotes. I always tell my clients to avoid using direct quotes that are longer than one sentence. If you are using a lengthier quote, you should be paraphrasing. By paraphrasing, I mean writing a unique summary in your own words to describe what the source is saying. All direct quotes and all paraphrased summaries need to be followed with an in-text citation.

I have a free guide with an overview of proper APA citations and references available for download in the store. If you require further help or would like me to review your paper, book a session today!

-Erin Bitinaitis

M.S. Psychology

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