Avoiding Plagiarism: From Notes to Analogy and Paraphrase

© Bill Stifler, 2004 One problem students have with plagiarism occurs because they are having trouble understanding what they are reading. Often students can identify what is significant, important, relevant, or valuable in a source but, because of a lack of background, have trouble translating what they are reading into their own words. So instead of doing that, students copy the original into their own paper with very little change. Unfortunately, this is plagiarism.

So how do students do it right? Ultimately, the student has to at least gain a basic understanding of what he or she is reading. This can only be done through more research. When a student finds something he or she does not understand, this should generate a question for further research. For instance, a student writing a process paper on how a telephone works was having trouble figuring out the role of the electromagnet in the process. The reason for the student's difficulty was that he didn't know what an electromagnet was. Researching the question, "What is an electromagnet?" provided him with the necessary understanding to write his process paper on how a telephone works.

Another tool that students should use is analogy. An analogy is a comparison between two things where the writer is seeking to explain one thing by indicating its resemblance to something more readily understood. Scientists often use analogy to help them explain or describe things that are very technical. So, early scientists describing the structure of the atom compared it to a minature solar system or to a raisin pudding. A student explaining the DNA molecule might liken it to a spiral staircase where each step is made up of four colored tiles. While these aren't perfect models, they get across a central idea and point of resemblance that can help the reader understand.

In addition to using analogies to explain a complex topic, a student can also incorporate bits of quotation from the original source to round out his or her explanation. In other words, instead of just copying the information with little or no change, the student can paraphrase the facts and translate the key idea, supporting the translation with quotations from the original source.

Here is a passage explaning Brownian movement:

Original: " . . . a phenomenon first observed by the Scottish botanist Robert Brown in 1827. Brown had reported that tiny particles, such as dust particles, move about with a rapid and random zigzag motion when suspended in a liquid." ("Albert Einstein," Notable Scientists, par. 9).
This is taken from the following source:

"Albert Einstein." Notable Scientists: From 1900 to the Present. Gale Group,

2001. Biography Resource Center. Gale Group. Kolwyck Library,

Chattanooga. 9 Mar. 2004 <http://galenet.galegroup.com>.

To paraphrase this information, a student might follow these steps:

Begin by extracting key nouns from the original: 1827, Scottish botanist, Robert Brown, particles, liquid

Identify the key idea--usually tied to the verb action: "move about with a rapid and random zigzag motion"

Write the paraphrase using any of these approaches:
- Use key nouns with a partial quote to express idea: In 1827, Scottish botanist Robert Brown found that particles in a liquid "move about with a rapid and random zigzag motion" ("Albert Einstein," Notable Scientists, par. 9).
- Use key nouns with a translation of the key idea coupled with quotes of a few key words: In 1827, Scottish botanist Robert Brown described the motion of particles in a fluid as "rapid" and a "random zigzag motion" ("Albert Einstein," Notable Scientists, par. 9).
- Use key nouns with a translation of the key idea: In 1827, Scottish botanist Robert Brown found particles move quickly in liquids but not in straight lines or following any pattern ("Albert Einstein," Notable Scientists, par. 9).

All of these examples would be appropriate paraphrases because they do not mimic the sentence structure of the original but correctly present the idea and give credit for both the idea and any words taken from the original. However, the last two examples are preferred because they are less dependent on quotations. If a student's paper is too dependent on quotations, it will feel like a cut-and-paste job and suggests that the student has not sufficiently processed the information that he or she is presenting.