A quick guide on plagiarism and MLA citations for students enrolled in freshmen English courses.

1. Rules for Writers
A quick guide to help you avoid plagiarism

2. What is plagiarism?
 Plagiarism is a form of  Avoid plagiarism by
academic dishonesty. always citing the
Like cheating on a test, information sources
plagiarism involves using that you use in your
someone else’s paper.
knowledge without
crediting the source or
creator of the
information.

3. When do I need to cite a source?
o If you….
o Quote it
o Paraphrase it
o Summarize it CITE IT!
Word to the wise…
Don’t be tempted to add your citations later, enter them as you write
your paper.
There is no such thing as “borrowing” someone’s ideas in academic
writing. Avoid plagiarism by citing your sources.

4. Quoting
 A quote is a line or Example from The Hunger
section from a work Games:
that is written verbatim “What do they do all day,
as it appears in the these people in the
original work. Capitol, besides
decorating their bodies
 You MUST cite
and waiting around for a
new shipment of tributes
quotations. to roll in and die for their
entertainment?” (Collins
65).

5. Paraphrasing
 When you paraphrase, Example:
you are restating part of Katniss wonders what
a work in YOUR own the citizens of the
words. Capitol do with their
 You MUST still cite the time, other than find
original source when frivolous ways to
you paraphrase. entertain themselves
(Collins 65).

6. Summarizing
 A summary presents the Example :
main idea of a work or
section in a work. In The Hunger Games,
 A summary is written in Katniss Everdeen’s actions
YOUR own words, but challenge the values and
the ideas are drawn from beliefs held by the citizens
another source. of the Capitol (Collins).
 You do not always have
to cite a summary
(although it is advised),
but you should include the
source on your Works
Cited page.

7. Works Cited
 Any sources that you Example:
cite in the text, MUST
be included on your Works Cited
Works Cited page.
Collins, Suzanne. The
Hunger Games. New
York: Scholastic Press,
2008. Print.

8. How to Cite Sources
o First, find out which documentation style your professor
wants you to use.
In English and humanities courses, you will use MLA style.
o Next, find the right style guide.
Style guides and manuals are available on the Library’s Ready Reference
shelf.
Or check out the following online guides:
 the Library’s Style & Citation Guides page
 Diana Hacker’s Research & Documentation Online
 The OWL at Purdue

9. RefWorks
o A great way to organize, track, and save your
reference information.
o Setting up a RefWorks account:
o Visit the Library’s E-Research page
o Click on RefWorks
o Getting Started:
o Set-up Account at Library
o Create Folders
o Import Citations
o Place Citations in Folders
o Print Bibliographies

10. Presented by
Gricel Dominguez
St. Thomas University Library
July 2012