Cite Sources | MCTC

Information Literacy

    6. Cite Sources

    According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online, plagiarism is the act of taking the writings of another person and passing them off as one's own. The fraudulence is closely related to forgery and piracy practices generally in violation of copyright laws.

     

    The most important thing to remember when writing a research paper is to AVOID PLAGIARISM!


    Plagiarism.org states:

    All of the following are considered plagiarism:

    • turning in someone's work as your own

    • copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit

    • failing to put a quotation in quotation marks

    • giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation

    • changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit

    • copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see "fair use" rules)

     

     

     

    Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources.

    Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you need to acknowledge their source. The following situations almost always require citation:

    • whenever you use direct quotes

    • whenever you paraphrase sentences or words.

    • whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed

    • whenever you make specific reference to the work of another

    • whenever someone's work has been critical in developing your own ideas.

    --excerpt from Plagiarism.org

     

     

     

    KCTCS Student Code of Conduct: Section 2.1 Academic Honesty

     

     

    Examples of MLA Citation

     

    for more examples, click here:MCTC Library MLA Examples

     

     

    Book with One Author

    Tatar, Maria. Off with Their Heads! Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood. Princeton: PrincetonUP,1992. Print.

    Article in a Reference Book

    Ginsburg, Ruth Bader. Who's Who in America. 62nd ed. 2008. Print.

    Article on the Web only

    Utah Mine Rescue Funeral. CNN.com. Cable News Network, 21 Aug. 2007. Web. 21 Aug. 2007.

    Article from Subscription Database (i.e. Proquest, Academic Search Premier)

    Miller, Steven, and Sara Guyer. Literature and the Right to Marriage. Diacritics 35.4 (2006).

    1-24.ProQuest.Web. 12 Mar 2007.

     

    Roseburg, Mark. Something Old, Something New. Canadian Journal on Aging 26.2

    (2007): 81-83.AcademicSearch Premier