Plagiarism - Ethics for the Information Age - page 496

. Paraphrase the words of another without citing the source
. Incorporate the figures or drawings of another person without crediting the source
. Include facts that are not common knowledge without citing the source
. Use another person's ideas or theories without giving that person credit
Guidelines for Citing Sources
Common knowledge means information that is available in many places and known to
a large number of people. For example, it is common knowledge that Delaware was the
first state to ratify the United States Constitution. You do not have to cite a source when
presenting common knowledge.
However, you should cite a source when you present facts that are not common
knowledge. For example, it is not common knowledge that the percentage of college
freshmen in the United States interested in majoring in computer science dropped by
more than 60 percent between 2000 and 2004 [6].
You must cite a source if you present another person's interpretation of the facts,
whether or not you acknowledge the person by name. For example, Cass Sunstein argues
that information technology may weaken democracy by allowing people to filter out
news that contradicts their view of the world [7]. If you repeat someone else's idea, you
must cite where you found it.
How to Avoid Plagiarism
Always put quotation marks around text you have obtained from another source, and
write down enough information about the source that you can cite it properly. Do this
when you are collecting your notes, so that when you are writing your paper, you will
not forget that the words are a direct quotation or whom you are quoting.
When you are paraphrasing the work of another, read over the material, then put it
aside before you begin writing. That will help ensure you are using your own words to
express the ideas. Check your paraphrase against the source document. Make sure you
have not distorted the original meaning. Whenever you have used a phrase from another
person's work, you must put the phrase in quotation marks. Always cite the source of the
ideas you are paraphrasing, even if there are no direct quotations.
Finally, remember to cite the sources of illustrations and figures that you reproduce.
Misuse of Sources
The WPA definition of plagiarism emphasizes that it is the deliberate attempt to conceal
the source of the words or ideas. This aligns with our definition of ethics as being focused
on the voluntary moral choices people make. If a person has no intention of deceiving,