PLAGIARISM

APA Formatting & Quotation Usage

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged and inappropriate use of the ideas or wording of another writer. Plagiarism undermines the intellectual collaborationthe exchange of ideasthat should mark academic discourse because it permits the writer to avoid any genuine involvement with the concepts or opinions of others. Because the false discourse of plagiarism corrupts values to which the university community is fundamentally committedthe pursuit of knowledge, intellectual honesty plagiarism is considered a grave violation of academic integrity and the sanctions against it are correspondingly severe.
(USC Student Affairs)

PLAGIARISM
As defined in the University Student Conduct Code (published in the current SCampus), plagiarism includes: "The submission of material authored by another person but represented as the student's own work, whether that material is paraphrased or copied in verbatim or near verbatim form;" "The submission of material subjected to editorial revision by another person that results in substantive changes in content or major alteration of writing style;" and "Improper acknowledgment of sources in essays or papers." (11.11)

PLAGIARISM
Self-plagiarism (yes, there is such a thing!) is the practice of presenting ones own previously published work as though it were new (APA, 2010, p. 170).

USC expects each paper that students submit to be original work, not an assignment previously submitted to another instructor, or for another course.

QUOTING VS. PARAPHRASING

Paraphrasing: Using your own language to discuss someone elses ideas. Advantages: 1. Paraphrasing forces writers to understand the topic about which theyre writing. 2. Paraphrasing demonstrates true understanding of a concept or theory to a reader (or instructor).

3. Paraphrasing is more aesthetically pleasing, since it avoids filling a page with quotation marks.

QUOTING VS. PARAPHRASING

Its fine to use a quote, but be sure that your quote serves a PURPOSE When considering whether to quote or paraphrase, consider the following: Do I need the exact language here (e.g. to apply a legal definition to something), or could I paraphrase this information in my own words? Is there something particularly eloquent about the language in the quote that I would lose if I tried to paraphrase? Is this quote from a famous person or well-known authority in his/her field? If so, using an exact quote from him/her might lend your paper credibility. If not, you might decide to paraphrase instead.

QUOTING VS. PARAPHRASING

Note that paraphrased material must still be cited!

QUOTING VS. PARAPHRASING

Original Text During the 1980s, CLT became such a dominant force that it guided the form and function of almost all conceivable components of language pedagogy. A steady stream of scholarly books appeared with the label communicative unfailingly stamped on the cover.
(Kumaravadivelu, 2006, p. 61).

Plagiarized Version

In the 1980s, CLT grew into a dominating force that led the structure and purpose of nearly all imaginable parts of language pedagogy. A regular flow of academic books appeared with the term communicative on their covers (Kumaravadivelu, 2006, p. 61).

QUOTING VS. PARAPHRASING

Original Text During the 1980s, CLT became such a dominant force that it guided the form and function of almost all conceivable components of language pedagogy. A steady stream of scholarly books appeared with the label communicative unfailingly stamped on the cover.
(Kumaravadivelu, 2006, p. 61).

Correctly Cited and Paraphrased Version

CLT played a critical role in the entire field of language teaching in the 1980s. So great was its influence, in fact, that a steady stream of scholarly books was produced with the imprimatur communicative (Kumaravadivelu, 2006, p. 61).

APA Formatting & Quotation Usage

INTEGRATING QUOTES

INTEGRATING QUOTES
Avoid floating quotations, those that are dropped into a paragraph without introduction or explanation. Here is an example: There is a genetic predisposition to language particular to the human race. Language is no more a cultural invention than is upright posture. It is not a manifestation of a general capacity to use symbols: a three-year-old is a grammatical genius, but is quite incompetent at the visual arts [and] religious iconography (Pinker, 2009, p.5). Language is a special intuitive ability.

Notice that the passage above does not introduce the author or provide context for the statement, making it feel disconnected and abrupt.

INTEGRATING QUOTES
Make each quotation a part of your writing by incorporating it into your own sentence. You might use a simple signal phrase like this: Language expert and Harvard professor of psychology Steven Pinker (2009) writes, Language is no more a cultural invention than is upright posture. It is not a manifestation of a general capacity to use symbols: a three-year-old is a grammatical genius, but is quite incompetent at the visual arts [and] religious iconography (p. 5). Or, you might provide more context and support by more fully integrating it into your sentence: Pinker (2009) explains that, contrary to conventional wisdom, [l]anguage is no more a cultural invention than is upright posture (p. 5).

INTEGRATING QUOTES
Generally speaking, do not begin or end a paragraph with a quotation.

Beginning a paragraph with a quotation doesnt allow you to set up the quote by weaving it into your own sentence or introducing the speaker (if necessary).

Ending a paragraph with a quotation doesnt allow you to explain its significance. Dont expect the reader will share your interpretation of quoted material, and dont make the reader do the thinking!

APA Formatting & Quotation Usage

FORMATTING QUOTES

FORMATTING QUOTES
If your quote is fewer than 40 words, incorporate it into your own sentence. Place double quotation marks around it. Do not punctuate before the closed quotation mark (unless you are quoting a question, and your material ends in a question mark). Instead, punctuate AFTER your parenthetical citation: Confusing this issue is the overlapping nature of roles in palliative care, whereby medical needs are met by those in the medical disciplines; nonmedical needs may be addressed by anyone on the team (Csikai & Chaitin, 2006, p. 112).

FORMATTING QUOTES
If your quotation is 40 words or longer, use block format to set it apart from the paragraph so that your reader can clearly see where the quotation begins and ends. Begin the quotation on a new line. Indent the entire quotation half an inch (the same indent as a new paragraph) from the left margin. Keep the block quote double-spaced. Do NOT use quotation marks around the block quote. Cite the source, year, and pg # in parentheses at the end of the quotation.

FORMATTING QUOTES
Example: World renowned language expert and Harvard professor Steven Pinker (2009) turns our intuitive understanding of language on its head with his assertion that language is programmed into our DNA, just as much as is breathing or sleeping: Once you begin to look at language not as the ineffable essence of human uniqueness but as a biological adaptation to communicate information, it is no longer as tempting to see language as an insidious shaper of thought, and, we shall see, it is not. Moreover, seeing language as one of natures engineering marvels [] gives us new respect for your ordinary Joe and the much-maligned English language. (pp. 5-6)

FORMATTING QUOTES
In order to make your quotation fit more smoothly into your sentences and to avoid quoting superfluous text, you might need to omit or alter particular words. Use an ellipses surrounded by brackets to indicate omission: While many people intuitively feel that language is purely the product of conscious human design, language is [] not a manifestation of a general capacity to use symbols (Pinker, 2009, p. 5).

FORMATTING QUOTES
Use single quotation marks to indicate a quote within your quoted material.

E.g. Language expert and Harvard professor of psychology Steven Pinker (2009) writes, Language is not, as Chomsky claims, a mere cultural invention. It is not a manifestation of a general capacity to use symbols (p. 5).

FORMATTING QUOTES
Use sic (italicized and bracketed) immediately after an error in quoted material. This signals to your reader that you have copied an error that was originally in the textnot that you have made a mistake or typo yourself. (Its also a way to show youre smart because (a) you caught the error and identified it with sic, and (b) you know how to use certain Latin terms.) E.g. Hessing (2010) notes that many of the participants were unable to complete there [sic] surveys (p. 316).

FORMATTING QUOTES
You can also change a word or two to make the quotation consistent with the tense or subject position of your sentence. In the following example, I is changed to he and serve to serves:

Pinker (2009) admits that [he] want[s] to debauch your mind with learning, to make these natural gifts seem strange (p. 8).

Notice that these changes never alter or distort the meaning of the quotation.

CITATIONS
APA Formatting & Quotation Usage

CITATIONS
The sources of all information and ideas that are not your own must be cited.

All citations must include the author or organizations name, and the year of publication.
If the date is unknown or unavailable, use n.d.

This information can be given as part of your own sentence. Whatever information is not part of your own writing must be given parenthetically at the end of the sentence.

CITATIONS
In 2003, Kesslers study of epidemiological samples showed that

Early onset results in a more persistent and severe course (Kessler, 2003).
Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological samples

These examples are all from the APA Publication Manual, 6th Ed.

CITATIONS
When using a direct quotation, you must provide the page number of published material.

For online sources (or when a page number is not available), give a paragraph number:
In their study, Verbunt, Pernot, and Smeets (2008) found that the level of perceived disability in patients with fibromyalgia seemed best explained by their mental health condition and less by their physical condition (para. 4).

CITATIONS
If page numbers and paragraph numbers are not visible, cite the heading and paragraph number so that a reader can find the quote: In their study, Verbunt, Pernot, and Smeets (2008) found that the level of perceived disability in patients with fibromyalgia seemed best explained by their mental health condition and less by their physical condition (Discussion section, para. 1).

Example from the APA Publication Manual, 6th Ed.

CITATIONS
For information that is not a direct quote, a page or paragraph number is optional. (However, providing this information makes it easier for a reader to check your reference if (s)he chooses.) The order of parenthetical information is author, year, page number. E.g. (Golan, Kucher, & Krissof, 2007, pp. 319-320)

Note that commas, not periods, separate the three pieces of information.

CITATIONS
Note that the author or organization should be cited, not the name of a particular website or study.

Right: (UNICEF, 2011) Wrong: (http://www.unicefusa.org/news/news-from-thefield/south-africa-neonatal-care-initiative.html, 2011) Wrong: (In South Africa, a neonatal care initiative builds health and saves lives, 2011)

CITATIONS
Secondary Sources
Use secondary sources when the original source is not accessible, out of print, or unavailable in English. In your reference list, give the secondary source (that is, the work you actually read). In your paper, name the original work and cite the secondary source.

CITATIONS
Secondary Sources
For example, if you read Jacoby & Meyers 2003 article, and their work cited Flauberts journal, you would write something like this:

According to Flaubert (as cited in Jacoby & Meyers, 2003), the sand of Egypt looks so white that one would swear its snow.

APA Formatting & Quotation Usage

COMMON ERRORS

PLEASE DONT
Dont use large chunks of quotations (especially block quotations) just to fill space.

(No one in graduate school is fooled by this trick. We have seen it before, and find it neither clever nor amusing.)

PLEASE DONT
Dont cite after every sentence in a paragraph if all the citations are from the same source.
Teachers interact by taking classes into the community or bringing in stakeholders who represent civic, career, adult processes and procedures, leading to a better understanding for students of the community and careers (Darmody, personal communication, April 3, 2011). The school functions as part of the larger community. For instance, students artwork is regularly displayed at a local artisans gallery on a regular basis (Darmody, personal communication, April 3, 2011). In addition, the school theatre group picks cast members from the general population and provides full performances and teasers inside and outside the high school (Darmody, personal communication, April 3, 2011). Some teachers and administrators are members of local community groups and staff members are encouraged to participate in community activities (Darmody, personal communication, April 3, 2011). The chief administrator (referring to himself, the principal) lives in town, serves on two community boards, and represents the high school at community events (Darmody, personal communication, April 3, 2011).

PLEASE DONT
Instead, write the paragraph in such a way that the reader can tell that youve used the same source. (Certainly cite the first instance of a source. Its also a good idea to cite at the end of a paragraph to signal that the whole paragraph came from one source.)
Principal Darmody maintained that teachers interact by taking classes into the community or bringing in stakeholders who represent civic, career, adult processes and procedures, leading to a better understanding for students of the community and careers (personal communication, April 3, 2011). The school, he continued, functions as part of the larger community. For instance, students artwork is regularly displayed at a local artisans gallery on a regular basis. In addition, his school theatre group picks cast members from the general population and provides full performances and teasers inside and outside the high school (Darmody, personal communication, April 3, 2011).

PLEASE DONT
Dont avoid to punctuate a quote because your interviewee did not pause.

She continued, The reason that many of our staff feel overwhelmed is that they are under enormous pressure to help as many patients as possible at the same time the resources that they receive from administration are severely limited and this combination of a high workload and limited support from administration has created a high-stress work environment which only serves to exacerbate an already difficult situation I hope that in the future we can resolve these issues.

PLEASE DONT
Dont include every um and uh in a transcription of an interview or session with a client.

She went on to explain the situation at her school site, So then the principal ummm, he was likeuhhhhh, ummmm, he was like against the ideas we had proposed, but uhhhh, I dont know why uhhhh, why he would have shot them down so quicklyespecially because ummmm our ideas seemed really ummmmreally well conceived and organized.

COLONS
A complete sentence must precede a colon used to introduce a list.

Right: There are several uses for the colon: to introduce a list, to show a ratio, and to separate the hour from the minutes when noting a time (e.g. 8:30). Wrong: The uses for the colon are: to introduce a list, to show a ratio, and to separate the hour from the minutes when noting a time (e.g. 8:30).

COLONS
A complete sentence must precede a colon used to introduce a list.

Right: Types of mens shoes include the following: oxfords, loafers, driving moccasins, and tuxedo slippers.

Wrong: Types of mens shoes include: oxfords, loafers, driving moccasins, and tuxedo slippers.

NUMBERS
Use numerals to express Numbers 10+

Numbers immediately before a unit of measurement:

13 cm; 7.5 years Percentages, ratios, and percentiles: less than 7%; the 99th percentile Numbers that represent time, dates, ages, and scores: 1 hr 38 min; at 4:15 p.m.; 5-year-olds

NUMBERS
Use numbers typed out as words to express Any number that begins a sentence, title, or heading

Forty-eight percent of the sample showed an increase; 2% showed no change.

Twenty-three students improved, and 15 students did not improve. Common fractions

two-thirds majority; one fifth of the class

Numbers zero to nine.