Plagiarism and Paraphrasing
Rebecca Beck
Walden University

Plagiarism and Paraphrasing According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, to “plagiarize” is “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own, to use (another's production) without crediting the source, to commit literary theft, to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source” (p. 946) and to “paraphrase” is “a restatement of a text, passage, or work giving the meaning in another form, the use or process of paraphrasing in studying or teaching composition” (p. 899). One can write in a scholarly voice while maintaining academic integrity through conscientious and meticulous efforts. Effective paraphrasing, proper citation of sources, and citation of one’s self are three ways students can insure their academic integrity.
Paraphrasing isn’t simply changing a few words in the information you are trying to convey. To paraphrase effectively, one must restate the information in such a way that it is in your own words. Sometimes, you may have to borrow words or phrases because the author worded them in such a way that you can’t really convey the message without using them. It is okay to do this as long as you give proper credit to the author and their work. Using quotation marks will show that you took that information directly from the original piece of work, and properly citing the information will give credibility to your writing while giving credit to the original author.
Properly citing information is another way to avoid plagiarism. When you take information from another piece of work and use it in your own, that information needs to be properly cited to show you haven’t tried to take credit for another’s work. Even when paraphrasing, proper citation needs to occur. The APA Publication Manual says that one should include page numbers when paraphrasing another’s work. This will allow for the reader to locate the original information if they choose to do so (p. 171, section 6.04
Reusing one’s own work is also a form of plagiarism. Self-plagiarism is taken just as seriously as improper paraphrasing and citing. Even though the information used is your own, if it has been previously published or submitted, you must properly quote and cite yourself in your work.
Recognizing plagiarism can be difficult. But there are some ways we can recognize it, even if it is unintentional, so that it can be rectified. One way is to submit your paper to the tutor’s for feedback through their paper review service. They look over your papers and will make suggestions as to how you can improve your work. Another way is to use the software program, Turnitin. This resource is available to Walden students through the library’s writing center website. The Turnitin program is designed to assist students maintain academic integrity by scanning documents for plagiarism and improper citations and it is encouraged for students to take advantage of this resource.
Two sentences that appear to be plagiarized to me are 1) But it is hard to know if a conflict of interest between doctors, researchers, and the drug company stockholders has tainted the results. 2) Biomedical researchers incorporate strict rules of science into their work, which is examined by peers. I think I would just use the direct quote and then cite the work. According to Crossen (1994), “it is very difficult to discover and virtually impossible to prove that a piece of biomedical research has been tainted by conflict of interest” (p. 167). Crossen (1994) continues to point out, “Although biomedical research incorporates rigorous scientific rules and is often critically scrutinized by peers, the information can nevertheless be warped” (p. 167).
One way I try to avoid plagiarism in my work is by reading and understanding the material I am writing about. I then try to explain in my own words what I read, essentially owning the thoughts. I also have the APA Publication Manual handy to refer to. I’ve also been taking the webinars the library writing center offers. It has been so long since I’ve really had to write that all the resources available through the Walden library have helped. I see my writing abilities improve daily.
O’Conner (2003) argued that a good writer is so because they can convey their thoughts clearly through pen. A writer must use language of their audience to insure the reader gets the message, they best way to do this is to be concise. If the reader can’t understand the writer, then the work is not well written. Some writers will try to make their work appear to me more complex than it is, simply to stump the reader and make their work appear to be more scholarly written. They do this to cover the fact that they don’t really know what they are writing about. One of my favorite quotes is by Albert Einstein who said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
This was a great exercise in plagiarism and paraphrasing! I feel more confident in my writing today than I did yesterday and the day before. I should have done this assignment earlier in the week so my discussion papers would reflect the knowledge I gained from this assignment. I will continue to take an active role in my writing ability by continuing to participate in the writing center’s webinars and reading the information they have on their website.

References
Albert Einstein. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved September 28, 2012, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/albert_einstein.html
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (12th ed.). (2012). Springfield, A: Merriam-Webster.