63b. Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism
In a research paper, you will draw on the work of other writers, and you must document their contributions by citing your sources. Sources are cited for two reasons:
- to tell readers where your information comes from—so that they can assess its reliability and, if interested, find and read the original source
- to give credit to the writers from whom you have borrowed words and ideas
You must cite anything you borrow from a source, including direct quotations; statistics and other specific facts; visuals such as tables, graphs, and diagrams; and any ideas you present in a summary or paraphrase. Borrowing another writer’s language, sentence structures, or ideas without proper acknowledgment is a form of dishonesty known as plagiarism. The only exception is common knowledge—information that your readers may know or could easily locate in any number of reference sources.
Using the Chicago system for citing sources
Chicago citations consist of superscript numbers in the text of the paper that refer readers to notes with corresponding numbers either at the foot of the page (footnotes) or at the end of the paper (endnotes).
text
Governor John Andrew was not allowed to recruit black soldiers from out of state. “Ostensibly,” writes Peter Burchard, “no recruiting was done outside Massachusetts, but it was an open secret that Andrew’s agents were working far and wide.”1
note
1. Peter Burchard, One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment (New York: St. Martin’s, 1965), 85.
For detailed advice on using Chicago-style notes, see 63d. When you use footnotes or endnotes, you will usually need to provide a bibliography as well.
bibliography entry
Burchard, Peter. One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment. New York: St. Martin’s, 1965.
Avoiding plagiarism when quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing sources
Your research paper represents your ideas in conversation with the ideas in your sources. To be fair and responsible, you must acknowledge your debt to the writers of those sources. When you acknowledge your sources, you avoid plagiarism, a form of academic dishonesty.
Three different acts are considered plagiarism: (1) failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas, (2) failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks, or (3) failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words. Definitions of plagiarism may vary; it’s a good idea to find out how your school defines and addresses academic dishonesty.
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR HANDBOOK
When you use exact language from a source, you need to show that it is a quotation.
Quotation marks for direct quotations: 37a
Setting off long quotations: page 749
Citing quotations and borrowed ideas To indicate that you are using a source’s exact phrases or sentences, you must enclose them in quotation marks unless they have been set off from the text by indenting (see 63c). To omit the quotation marks is to claim—falsely—that the language is your own. Such an omission is plagiarism even if you have cited the source.
original source
For many Southerners it was psychologically impossible to see a black man bearing arms as anything but an incipient slave uprising complete with arson, murder, pillage, and rapine.
—Dudley Taylor Cornish, The Sable Arm, p. 158
plagiarism
According to Civil War historian Dudley Taylor Cornish, for many Southerners it was psychologically impossible to see a black man bearing arms as anything but an incipient slave uprising complete with arson, murder, pillage, and rapine.2
borrowed language in quotation marks
According to Civil War historian Dudley Taylor Cornish, “For many Southerners it was psychologically impossible to see a black man bearing arms as anything but an incipient slave uprising complete with arson, murder, pillage, and rapine.”2
Putting summaries and paraphrases in your own words Summaries and paraphrases are written in your own words. A summary condenses information; a paraphrase uses roughly the same number of words as in the original source to convey the information. When you summarize or paraphrase, it is not enough to name the source; you must restate the source’s meaning using your own language. (See also 51c.) You commit plagiarism if you patchwrite—half-copy the author’s sentences, either by mixing the author’s phrases with your own without using quotation marks or by plugging your own synonyms into the author’s sentence structure.
The first paraphrase of the following source is plagiarized—even though the source is cited—because too much of its language is borrowed from the original. The highlighted strings of words have been copied exactly (without quotation marks). In addition, the writer has closely followed the sentence structure of the original source, merely making a few substitutions (such as Fifty percent for Half and angered and perhaps frightened for enraged and perhaps terrified).
original source
Half of the force holding Fort Pillow were Negroes, former slaves now enrolled in the Union Army. Toward them Forrest’s troops had the fierce, bitter animosity of men who had been educated to regard the colored race as inferior and who for the first time had encountered that race armed and fighting against white men. The sight enraged and perhaps terrified many of the Confederates and aroused in them the ugly spirit of a lynching mob.
—Albert Castel, “The Fort Pillow Massacre,” pp. 46–47
plagiarism: unacceptable borrowing
Albert Castel suggests that much of the brutality at Fort Pillow can be traced to racial attitudes. Fifty percent of the troops holding Fort Pillow were Negroes, former slaves who had joined the Union Army. Toward them Forrest’s soldiers displayed the savage hatred of men who had been taught the inferiority of blacks and who for the first time had confronted them armed and fighting against white men. The vision angered and perhaps frightened the Confederates and aroused in them the ugly spirit of a lynching mob.3
To avoid plagiarizing an author’s language, resist the temptation to look at the source while you are summarizing or paraphrasing. After you have read the passage you want to paraphrase, set the source aside. Ask yourself, “What is the author’s meaning?” In your own words, state your understanding of the author’s basic point. Return to the source and check that you haven’t used the author’s language or sentence structure or misrepresented the author’s ideas. Following these steps will help you avoid plagiarizing the source. When you fully understand another writer’s meaning, you can more easily and accurately represent those ideas in your own words.
acceptable paraphrase
Albert Castel suggests that much of the brutality at Fort Pillow can be traced to racial attitudes. Fifty percent of the Union troops were blacks, men whom the Confederates had been raised to consider their inferiors. The shock and perhaps fear of facing armed ex-slaves in battle may well have unleashed the fury that led to the massacre.3
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- Researched writing > Exercises: Chicago papers: 63–3 to 63–7