Students run into trouble with plagiarism usually when they are pressed for time. Gathering quotes and making sure citations are correct takes time so keep that in mind!
Remember, even if you have accidentaly forgotten a citation it is still plagiarism. Do the right thing and give credit.
The note-taking feature of noodle tools will save you lots of time. Remember, put only one fact per notecard. You might end up with a lot of notecards but you will easily be able to go back and find your information if you title the note correctly. You can then put each notecard that has to do with a particular topic into piles. Those piles can then become the different sections of your paper. If you have too much info on each card you will have to dig around and read through the entire card in order to find what you need.
This tab contains general citation information. For information specifically on Chicago Style Citation see the Chicago Style libguide.
A research paper involves lots of citation. Most people know that direct quotations require a citation. However, if you are paraphrasing or summarizing another person's work you also need to give them credit.
What is paraphrasing? It is a statement that says something that another person has said or written in a different way. You must give them credit, even if you have changed the wording!
You might be saying to yourself "Won't my whole paper be a string of quotes and paraphrases?" No! Your teacher wants to see your ideas too. The purpose of the quotations and paraphrasing is to back up your ideas. Therefore you want to use only the very best and most interesting quotations/paraphrases in your work. Direct quotations should only account for about 10% of your total paper. You weave these passages into your writing. This is a skill like any other and takes time to perfect!
When there is no author, use a shortened title instead of the author’s name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if available.
EXAMPLE: We see so many global warming hotspots in North America because this region has "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . ." ("Impact of Global Warming" 6).
You might wonder, what is the purpose of all this citation? It is not only the fear of being brought before Honor Council (although academic integrity is a very important concept and one that all students should honor!) It's also just the right thing to do. These are just some of the other reasons we cite:
Test your ability to identify plagiarism by taking this plagiarism quiz from Indiana University
See examples of how to incorporate citation into your writing. From the University of Southern Mississippi.
The Honor Council's definition of plagiarism includes accidental plagiarism as well as deliberate theft of someone else's ideas. From the Upper School Handbook:
The notetaking stage of research is where many students get into trouble with plagiarism. Be sure to distinguish what is a direct quote, paraphrase or what might be your own idea. Always keep track of the page number or source title so that you can go back and find the material again if you need it.
Don't cut and paste directly from your source into your papers (unless it is a direct quote) You might accidentaly forget to go back and add quotes or you might be doing things so fast that you loose track. It is so much easier to plagiarize when you are cutting and pasting. There should be three stages of research: reading the source, taking notes and extracting the information from the source, and formulating your notes and ideas into the body of your paper. Notetaking allows you to "digest" the information and get a deeper understanding.