How to avoid plagiarism
Other people's words and ideas
Can I use other people’s ideas?
YES! In most courses you NEED to use the ideas of other people in your work. As Chanock (2004, p1) explains:
Your writing is supposed to be your own original work, but that doesn’t mean that you have to produce facts that nobody else knows, and it doesn’t mean that nobody else’s ideas should be in your essay. They MUST be there, in fact, because university courses invite you to engage with other people’s ideas about the subjects you study. You have to read and respond to published sources; and you will be marked on your ability to understand and use these sources in your assignments.
Reference: Chanock, K. (2004). Using sources in Your Writing (PDF 49KB). Humanities Academic Skills Unit (Handout for students).
How can I use the ideas and words of another person?
You can quote another person’s ideas and / or words by:
- copying the words directly from the original source (A DIRECT QUOTE). We often use direct quotes when the original words are the best or only way to say something. It is sometimes very difficult to rewrite (paraphrase) very technical language or complex ideas. There are rules about how you must format direct quotes (e.g. short quotes are enclosed in “inverted commas”).
- rewriting the ideas in your own words (AN INDIRECT QUOTE / A PARAPHRASE). In an indirect the ideas are the same as the original. The way they are expressed is done in your own words to fit in with the sentence. If you can paraphrase something well, it shows that you’ve understood it.
- summarising the main ideas, usually in your own words (A SUMMARY). We use a summary when we want to outline just the main ideas from a source. Summaries are similar to paraphrases and both demonstrate that if you can find the main ideas, you've probably understood what you’ve read.
| Direct quotes | Indirect quotes/paraphrases | Summaries |
|---|---|---|
| Use the exact words of the original work | Rewrite the ideas in different words | Rewrite the ideas in different words. Give only the main points and main supporting ideas |
| Are exactly as long as the original text | Can be as long as the original text | Are shorter than the original text |
| Keep the original meaning | Keep the original meaning | Keep the original meaning |
| Give the source of original ideas (say where the ideas come from) | Give the source of original ideas (say where the ideas come from) | Give the source of original ideas (say where the ideas come from) |
Can you give some examples?
Imagine that we are writing about plagiarism and we want to use sections from La Trobe’s policy on Academic Integrity. We can use direct quotes, indirect quotes, or a combination of both.
In the left column below we use words that we have copied exactly from the source. These are direct quotes and they are enclosed in inverted commas ('xxx').
In the right column, we have paraphrased or rewritten these ideas in different words These are indirect quotes.
The original text and its corresponding paraphrase are highlighted.
| Original words – a direct quote | Paraphrase – an indirect quote |
|---|---|
La Trobe University ’s policy (2010, p.1) states that plagiarism includes 'direct copying of sentences, paragraphs or other extracts from someone else’s published work (including on the Internet and in software) without acknowledging the source' |
La Trobe University ’s policy (2010) states that plagiarism includes copying sentences or larger parts of published work (including electronic publications) and not giving the source. |
According to the Academic Integrity Policy (La Trobe University, 2010, p.1) 'paraphrasing someone else’s words without acknowledging the source' is a type of plagiarism. |
According to the Academic Integrity Policy (La Trobe University, 2010) plagiarism includes rewriting another person’s words without indicating where the information came from. |
Plagiarism includes 'producing assignments which should be the student’s own, independent work in collaboration with and/or using the work of other people (e.g. a student or tutor)'. (La Trobe University, 2010, p.1) . |
Plagiarism includes handing in assignments which are someone else’s work when they should have been done by you. (La Trobe University, 2010). |
| Reference: La Trobe University , 2010. Academic Itegrity - Guidelines for identifying and avoiding plagiarism, Academic Policies. Retrieved from www.latrobe.edu.au/policy | |
When paraphrasing, how much do I have to change?
It is often quite easy to see where students have made minor changes to an original text by substituting synonyms or changing sentence order. The sentence may not make complete sense or the idea may not fit in with what has come before or what follows.
Therefore when paraphrasing you should always:
- Make sure you understand the original
- Rewrite it in your own words (Don’t just rearrange a few words or sentences)
- Put the paraphrase into your text where it makes sense and is linked to ideas around it
- Say where the original idea comes from (You need to reference it)
Don’t try and paraphrase extremely specialised language or technical terms which have no exact equivalent - use direct quotes instead.
How to ‘give the source’ of the original ideas
In the examples above with BOTH the direct and indirect quotes we show where we got the information from (we acknowledge the source). We do this by using a REFERENCING system / style.
In these examples we have used an in-text referencing system.
Which referencing styles should I use?
There are a number of different styles. You need to find out which one is accepted by your area of study.
Your lecturer should give you a guide. The library is a good place to get a referencing style guide.Go to Library Skills Online and access subject guides with links to recommended referencing styles. Library Guides and Information Literacy
