UNLV Writing Center Plagiarism and the Responsible Use of Sources: MLA The inclusion of words or ideas that are not yours without properly attributing their source constitutes plagiarism. Whether your paper directly quotes, paraphrases, or summarizes a source, it must always be cited; otherwise, it’s considered plagiarism. The purpose of consulting outside sources is to enhance your own knowledge of the conversation you’re entering. Acknowledging the perspectives and research of scholars before or contemporary to you enhances your credibility as a writer and scholar; in short, research makes a paper stronger. Whether you utilize a source to agree with it, build upon it, question it, or rebuke it, the inclusion of other voices bolsters your own point of view because it demonstrates an authorial knowledge of context. While the consultation and incorporation of outside sources enhances a paper’s credibility, there is such a thing as too much research. Generally, no more than ten percent (10%) of your paper should be cited material – this is because you are the author of your paper. If a significant portion (and certainly a majority) of your writing is the regurgitation of others’ ideas, you jeopardize your own credibility. A reader may think, “Does this author really have anything to say?” There are different methods of appropriately incorporating research into your writing. These include:
Direct quotes – the use of another author’s words verbatim (word-for-word) in “quotation marks” and cited Paraphrase – the use of another author’s ideas rephrased in your own words (but still cited) Summary – the main points of another author’s work rephrased in your own words (but still cited)
Let’s look at examples of each to identify what is and isn’t plagiarism according to MLA style. Remember, the core elements of in-text citations for MLA style include author last name and page number. Original text – Wines drunk at Greek tables did not always come from Greece itself. The wine snobbery of the time extolled the merits of wines from the slopes of Mount Lebanon, from Palestine, Egypt and Magna Graecia-Greater Greece; i.e., southern Italy. The ten liters a day drunk by the famous wrestler Milo of Croton was a wine famous in Calabria, where Milo lived; this wine, Ciro, is still made.* OK! Direct quote – The ancient Greeks recognized great wine, regardless of its source. As ToussaintSamat writes, “The wine snobbery of the time extolled the merits of wines from the slopes of Mount Lebanon, from Palestine, Egypt and Magna Graecia-Greater Greece, i.e., southern Italy” (263). This is okay because the author has been credited and their actual words are in quotation marks. OK! Paraphrase – Although Greeks were fussy about their wine, they enjoyed wine from outside Greece. Upstanding Greeks enjoyed wine from many of Greece’s local trading partners – including Palestine, Egypt and southern Italy. One story tells of the famous wrestler Milo of Croton, who consumed ten liters of foreign wine daily (Toussaint-Samat 263). This is okay because the idea has been rephrased in the author’s own words but is still cited. Revised by Kayla Miller for the UNLV Writing Center 2016
1
UNLV Writing Center Plagiarism and the Responsible Use of Sources: MLA OK! Summary – Toussaint-Samat describes the variety of wines consumed in ancient Greece, including the Grecian notion that many quality wines came from foreign countries (263). This is okay because the main point has been summarized in the author’s own words and cited. STOP! Plagiarism – The ten liters a day drunk by the famous wrestler Milo of Croton was a wine famous in Calabria, where Milo lived: this wine, Ciro, is still made. This is plagiarism because the text is a direct copy from the original with no reference. STOP! Plagiarism – The ten liters a day consumed by the famous wrestler Milo of Croton was a wine well known in Calabria, where Milo resided; this wine, Ciro, is still manufactured. This is plagiarism because some words have been changed to make the text look different, but the statement still has the same information and style as the original source. It has also not been cited. This is an example of patchwriting, or making small changes to present source information as if is paraphrased, though it still too closely resembles the original. STOP! Plagiarism – Experts say that the ten liters a day drunk by the famous wrestler Milo of Croton was a wine famous in Calabria, where Milo lived: this wine, Ciro, is still made (Toussaint-Samat 263). This is plagiarism because, although the text has been cited correctly, it is not a paraphrase – the writer’s verbatim language has been presented as a rephrasing. Quotation marks are required.
*Text source: Toussaint-Samat, Maguelone. A History of Food. Blackwell, 1992. *Image sources: openclipart.org/detail/195669/green-traffic-light openclipart.org/detail/167093/stop-sign
Revised by Kayla Miller for the UNLV Writing Center 2016
2
