Unit 2: Plagiarism

1. Last summer, my family and I traveled to Chicago, which was quite different from the rural area I grew up in. We saw the dinosaur Sue at the Field Museum, and ate pizza at Gino's East.

Does not require a citation

2. Americans want to create a more perfect union; they also want to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for everybody.

This is a paraphrase and therefore needs to have it's source documented.

3. I find it ridiculous that 57% of high school students think their teachers assign too much homework.

The source of the statistic needs to be quoted.

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You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.

4. Martin Luther King was certain that nobody would want to be contented with a surface type of social analysis that concerns itself only with effects and doesn't deal with root causes.

This is just re-writing Dr. Kings words. It would need to be cited. 

5. Martin Luther King wrote that the city of Birmingham's "white power structure" left African-Americans there "no alternative" but to demonstrate ("Letter from the Birmingham Jail" para. 5).

this looks fine to me

6. In "Letter from the Birmingham Jail," King writes to fellow clergy saying that although they "deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham, your statement fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations."

no additional citation should be needed
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7. My friend Kara told me that she loves living so close to the ocean.

this does not need to be cited.

8. Americans are guaranteed the right to freely gather for peaceful meetings.

should probably cite the part of the constitution that guarantees this right.

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 Most would agree that plagiarism is wrong and will try to avoid including copied materials in their papers. However, it's not always easy to know when you are plagiarizing someone else's words. If you read an article and then summarize what you've read, even in your own words, you are guilty of plagiarizing. In order to prevent plagiarism in your papers, be sure to include the source for any words, thoughts or ideas that are not your own. Referring to a style manual is a great way to check and see if you need a citation and how to properly format it. When all else fails and you still have doubts whether or not something needs to be cited, check with a librarian or your instructor.