How to Succeed at Two Things: 1) No Plagiarism or “Half-Copy” Plagiarism and 2) Quotation Changes Revealed Clearly

Think of this as coaching on how to meet this requirement. If you need for me to talk with you about this, just ask.

 

When you use the links on this webpage, you remain on this page. The reason for putting the two things together on one page is because they share the same simple remedy (a brain trick) and the same Basic Concepts on Plagiarism and “Half-Copy” Plagiarism. 

 

You can scroll down or click to go to these parts of this page:

How to Succeed at Two Things and the Brain Trick That Makes Success Easy (At Least Easier)

1) No Plagiarism or “Half-Copy” Plagiarism or “Patchwriting”

2) Quotation Changes Revealed Clearly

The Brain Trick to Succeed with Both 1) and 2)

Basic Concepts on Plagiarism and “Half-Copy” Plagiarism and “Patchwriting”—and Citation

How Citation and Quotation Marks Fits Together with Facts in Your Own Words and Facts in the Author’s Words

If You Are Confused about What Words in the Author’s Textbook Require Quotation Marks in Your Writing

If You Are Puzzled about Plagiarism or “Half-copy” Plagiarism or “Patchwriting” Being Marked in the Rubric

Caution about Plagiarism and “Half-copy” Plagiarism and Survival in the Workplace and in Personal Decision-Making

How to Succeed at Two Things and the Brain Trick That Makes Success Easy (At Least Easier)

1) No Plagiarism or “Half-Copy” Plagiarism or “Patchwriting”[1]

You must follow common standards to reveal to your reader who created the words and/or found the facts you are using in your writing. This is a requirement in courses and in some jobs.

Reminder: one form of plagiarism is copying words but not using quotation marks (“”) as required. Another form is covered in the syllabus. To quote the syllabus, plagiarism and cheating include use of unauthorized books or notes, securing help in a test, or copying tests or assignments; they will result in a failing grade for the assignment. If any portion of a writing assignment is copied from the Internet or another source, the result will be an F (0) on the assignment.

 

Before you worry about quoting something, make sure that what you want to quote helps your content.

 

If it does help your content, then make sure you understand two things:

1.     Click the basics of facts and citations and quotation marks so you know how these two things work together.

·         Citations = How you show exactly where the reader can find the fact that you use.
Exactly means a specific page in a document or equivalent that is verifiable.

·         Quotation marks = How you show who created (and owns) what words.

2.     You also need to understand both:

·         That copying the author’s phrases or unique uses of words without quotation marks (“”) and copying the author’s structure can be what The Bedford Handbook calls “half-copy” plagiarism

·         That quotation marks (“”) are not required for proper nouns (such as the Mississippi River) or common nouns (such as river). Click here for examples.

 

Once you are sure you want to quote (to use the author’s exact words) and understand those basics above, then use the brain trick (below).

 

2) Quotation Changes Revealed Clearly

You must follow common standards to reveal any changes you made to the author’s words. This may not be just a punctuation error. You may be misleading your reader about the evidence.

 

The rules for showing what you have taken out (…) of the author’s words or put in ([ ]) are complex and for most of us they are not worth learning.  In this course, you also may not:

·         Change the author’s meaning

·         Make the author’s sentences look grammatically incorrect.

You can avoid both of those problems by following the brain trick (below). Once you are sure you want to quote (to use the author’s exact words) and understand those basics above, then use the brain trick (below).

Do make sure to build double checking into your habits. What is to double check? It is to check something that has already been checked.  (This section is repeated in the prevention link available from Good Habits for Evidence 3 about how to double-check when you have used quotations.)

 

For some people, it helps to use another sense (such as touching or hearing) to help yourself spot your own errors:

1.     With citations, by touching. You touch the fact in the source and then in your paper (or in your list of what you plan to write in your paper). This method shows how to use another sense (tactile) to help your brain pay attention.
 

2.     With quotations, by touching and saying each syllable distinctly. You not only touch each letter in the source and in your paper, but also say each syllable aloud. Increasing numbers of students are making themselves (or the authors they are quoting) sound illiterate. When you read things aloud, your ear tells you what your inexperience with language and your eye can’t recognize.

Example:
The textbook stated: “By a vote of seven to one in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the justices upheld the Louisiana law and by implication, the principle of segregation. “

The student wrote: The Supreme Court vote[d] of seven to one. (I have made the “” larger here and below to make them easier to see.) – Read every syllable aloud and you will know that of in orange does not belong in the sentence that the student wrote. If you don’t know why, I’ll be glad to explain.

 

What could the student have done?  Followed the Brain Trick in this link, and quoted a smaller section and changed only his own words—the only ones he had a right to change. The student could have written several versions. The one shown is the simplest.

The student could have safely written: The Supreme Court voted seven to one.

 

Don’t fail at something uselessly fancy when you could succeed with something simple. Consider this:

·         When you try something fancy when you don’t know how to do it, you lose credibility.

·         When you do something simple correctly, you gain credibility.

 

 

The Brain Trick to Succeed with Both 1) and 2)

To repeat, The rules for showing what you have taken out (…) of the author’s words or put in ([ ]) are complex and for most of us they are not worth learning.

 

This brain trick lets you be accurate but avoid learning those rules:

  1. Choose 3 to 6 words to quote and change nothing (not an ing or an ed, not a comma, nothing) between the first and the last word.

  2. Put abefore the first word and a after the last word.

  3. Place those words with the “ ”within your sentence.

 

  1. If something sounds awkward about your sentences, then change your own words—the only words you have a right to change.

 

  1. Look at all of the words in the source. Be sure the meaning of the source remains in your quotation.

 

 

 

Basic Concepts on Plagiarism and “Half-Copy” Plagiarism and “Patchwriting”—and Citation

This section was developed as I worked with students. I’d find out that many did not understand something and—over the years--I’d finally found a way to present it where they did understand. As I tried to help, I found these simple tables (things I first sketched on their notebook paper at first) worked best.

 

How Citation and Quotation Marks Fits Together with Facts in Your Own Words and Facts in the Author’s Words

If you use a fact in the author’s words, citation is not enough; you must also use quotation marks.


What are the rules for citation and use of quotation marks? The rules vary depending upon whether you are writing:

·         A fact from the source in your own words

·         A fact in the author’s words (in other words, you are quoting):

 

They have the same requirements for citation (although your professor may choose not to require it for an assignment). They have different requirements for quotation marks.

 

What Kind of Fact Are You Using

Do You Need Citation (Page # etc.)?

Do You Need Quotation Marks (“”)?

A fact in your own words

Yes

No <Notice this.

A fact in the author’s words

Yes

 

Yes <Notice this.

 

Specifics about this course:

·         If you use the author’s words, you must use quotation marks. In this course, you may not plagiarize or “half-copy” plagiarize.

·         If you quote, you also must use the rules for quoting. The Brain Trick (above) is your best way out. If you still have questions, please ask.

 

If You Are Confused about What Words in the Author’s Textbook Require Quotation Marks in Your Writing

These examples deal with whether you would need quotation marks on these four uses of an author’s words in a paragraph in your paper. What you do depends:

·         on what words the author wrote

·         on what words you want to write

 

What the Author Wrote

What Words You Want to Write

Do You Need Quotation Marks (“”)? and Why

the Mississippi River

the Mississippi River

No – Proper nouns (like Mississippi River) belong to all of us.

the green, roaring river

the river

No – Common nouns (like river) belong to all of us.

the green, roaring Mississippi River

the roaring Mississippi River

Yes

 

These are the author’s unique string of words so you identify his words, with the “” made larger below so you can see them:

Trade was harder because of the roaring Mississippi River.

 

roaring

Yes

 

This is the author’s labeling of a condition and it is easier to be clear by using the words, with the “” made larger below so you can see them:

 

The author explained that the roaringriver made trade more difficult.

 

If You Are Puzzled about Plagiarism or “Half-copy” Plagiarism or “Patchwriting” Being Marked in the Rubric

Students are usually puzzled about plagiarism or “half-plagiarism” or “patchwriting” being marked because they lack some basic information.

 

Here are the basics.

 

1.     The submission of a paper with words from an author without citation and/or without quotation marks can be the professor's evidence that you plagiarized.
Some professors may not notice, but some may call it plagiarism and act accordingly.

Do not assume that past responses by professors guarantee what future professors (future bosses) will want.

2.     If you do things in bullets below, some professors may label your work as “half-copy” plagiarism  or “patchwriting” (terms from The Bedford Handbook, page 746) if you:

·         Either copy an author’s phrases without quotation marks (“”)

·         And/or use the author’s sentence structure and just swap a few words with what you think are synonyms

 

Do not assume that past responses by professors guarantee what future professors (future bosses) will want.

Caution about Plagiarism and “Half-copy” Plagiarism and Survival in the Workplace and in Personal Decision-Making

I have found this information helps some students:

·         In my life, I never saw a safe decision made with anything but careful reading.

·         In my life in varied industries, I never saw a job that paid for “half-copy” plagiarism and never saw a job that paid well for passive reading.
I did see some people demoted to a lesser job because they did not read correctly.
I do not know for sure, but my guess is that some were fired.

·         In my life in some industries, I saw some employees

o    Who knew and understood all company documents

o    Whose job meant they carefully selected words from company documents to use in their communication with customers.

Copying carefully selected words from company documents is not plagiarism if you are doing that for the company. It is a company employee using company documents for the company’s business.

Caution: It is, however, plagiarism (and perhaps theft) if you copy company documents to use in your own business.
Reminder: It is also plagiarism if you copied a paper (or parts of a paper) from the Internet and submitted it to this class as though you wrote it.

·         In my life after returning to teaching in the community college, I have seen only 2 adult students in 13 years (and that is working with over 5,000 students) who were in fields where they made a living copying words from one place to another.

 

 

Copyright C. J. Bibus, Ed.D. 2003-2019

 

 

WCJC Department:

History – Dr. Bibus

Contact Information:

281.239.1577 or bibusc@wcjc.edu

Last Updated:

2019

WCJC Home:

http://www.wcjc.edu/

 

 

 



[1]  The quoted terms of "half-copy" plagiarism and "patchwriting" are explained on page 746 in the ninth edition of The Bedford Handbook by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers.