According to Writing in the Works, attributing sources gives writing credibility. (I’m currently hyper-aware of the fact that I’m paraphrasing, and it’s giving me anxiety.) When you consult other resources in your research, they must receive credit; if they do not you are plagiarizing. The punishments for plagiarism are really, really scary. I’ll be reading this chapter very closely.
How to avoid plagiarism: take careful notes, use quotation marks, write down citation. Reading this is giving me flashbacks of high school research papers and those dreaded bibliography notecards.
“The ethics of research demand absolute honesty in reporting information from your sources” (Blau and Burak 504). This means that along with avoiding plagiarism, you must also make sure your quotations are completely accurate.
To document or not to document? Quotations, yes. Intellectual property, yes. Music, yes. General knowledge, no. Historical facts, commonly accepted opinions, information found in many reference sources, and commonly known proverbs all fit under umbrella.
Once you’ve done your research, you must decide how to write about it. Too little citations and your work isn’t credible; too many and you’ve done no original thinking. The key is to find the balance using the three ways of using information: quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. All are ways to incorporate research into your writing, and all need citations. When in doubt, cite.
Com 201 