Q&A for How to Avoid Plagiarism

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How do I quote a reference of a person who is quoted in another book?

Emily Listmann, MA
Academic Tutor and Life Coach
Emily Listmann is a Private Tutor and Life Coach in Santa Cruz, California. In 2018, she founded Mindful & Well, a natural healing and wellness coaching service. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. Emily also received her Wellness Coach Certificate from Cornell University and completed the Mindfulness Training by Mindful Schools.

Emily Listmann, MA

Academic Tutor and Life Coach

Expert Answer

The best thing to do is to get a hold of the original text with the quote, and then properly attribute the quote to that text by citing it.

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Question

I am doing a project where I have to write five or more sentences about something. How do I use the information I found on a website without plagiarizing?

Emily Listmann, MA
Academic Tutor and Life Coach
Emily Listmann is a Private Tutor and Life Coach in Santa Cruz, California. In 2018, she founded Mindful & Well, a natural healing and wellness coaching service. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. Emily also received her Wellness Coach Certificate from Cornell University and completed the Mindfulness Training by Mindful Schools.

Emily Listmann, MA

Academic Tutor and Life Coach

Expert Answer

If the website is appropriate to cite and use as evidence in your project, as stipulated by your teacher, then there should be no problem with citing is as evidence and quoting or paraphrasing parts of what you read.

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Question

Why do I have to write information in my own words even though I don't want to?

Community Answer

You have to write information in your own words in order to avoid plagiarism.

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Question

How can I prevent someone from plagiarizing my intellectual property?

Community Answer

You can't. All you can do is make clear to them that it is your intellectual property, and plagiarizing will be punished. Then take legal action after the fact if they still do it.

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Question

If I put quotation marks in a quote, but change a few words within the quotation and still cite the source properly, is that regarded as plagarism?

Alyssa Nembhard

Community Answer

If it is a quote, then it is not counted as plagiarism as long as you include the author or the book title and where it was found. It's okay if you change a few words, because that is not counted as plagiarism either way.

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Question

When we quote from a book, do we have to get permission from the author?

Community Answer

In an academic context, no. However, if you plan to publish your work to the general public, you would need the author's permission.

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Question

Is it sufficient to list books and websites as references at the back of the course?

Community Answer

It is fine as long as you make sure to use in-text citations. Those citations are to make sure you are not passing off the content in those books and websites as your own.

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Question

I am writing an outline but I am worried it's too similar to another story. How can I tell if I have plagiarized that story or not?

Community Answer

Plagiarism is when you pass off someone's work as your own. As long as you did not copy the story intentionally, then it isn't plagiarism. Sometimes, works are similar and that is okay. If you are still worried, try reading through your story and compare it to the other story. Change up some elements and hopefully that will set yours apart.

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Question

If I am repeating a class, can I resubmit assignments?

Community Answer

Don't resubmit your same assignments. Professors can tell if you have resubmitted a previously-used assignment. Do something original to show that you have a better understanding than before.

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Question

The concept of a short story which I wrote is a little bit similar to that of a comic, although the plot is completely different. Does it mean plagiarism?

Nico

Top Answerer

Plagiarism occurs when someone misrepresents the words, thoughts, ideas, or expressions of another author as their own. It isn't plagiarism if the plot differs significantly from the comic because you aren't borrowing the story's idea or plot.

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Question

If I paraphrase, do I still need to include citations?

Anderson Bridges

Community Answer

To avoid plagiarism completely, you should do that even if you don’t think it’s a big deal. It’s always better to add too many sources than too few.

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