ESTC35 - Guide to searching Canadian Media

Visit the UTSC Writing Centre's MLA 8 Style Guide for a brief introduction on how to create in-text citations and reference lists.

For a more detailed guide, visit the Excelsior OWL site at detailing which gives details about using the guide's principles: MLA Formatting and Style Guide.

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Plagiarism is defined as "the wrongful appropriation and purloining, and publication as one's own, of the ideas, or the expression of the ideas ... of another." Broadly speaking, plagiarism is failing to give credit for any ideas or expressions of ideas that are not your own.

Plagiarism includes:

• Direct plagiarism: Copying entire sentences or paragraphs from another source without crediting the source.
• Mosaic plagiarism: Blending copied words, phrases or ideas in with your own writing without crediting the source.
• Improper paraphrasing or summarizing: Putting an author's ideas into your own words without crediting the source.

Here are three wrong ways and one right way to use a source:

Source paragraph:

"The title of the poem "The Game between the Jews and Indians is Tied Going into the Bottom of the Ninth Inning," suggests that Alexie sees Jews and Indians as similar, both historically oppressed minorities and victims of ethnic violence. There is common ground between the two ethnic groups, as Alexie acknowledges that 'we are both survivors and children / and grandchildren of survivors.'" (Grassian 53).

Grassian, Daniel. Understanding Sherman Alexie. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 2005. 

Direct plagiarism:

It is evident that Alexie frequently associates Indians with other minorities that have been oppressed. The title of the poem "The Game between the Jews and Indians is Tied Going into the Bottom of the Ninth Inning," suggests that Alexie sees Jews and Indians as similar, both historically oppressed minorities and victims of ethnic violence. There is common ground between the two ethnic groups, as Alexie acknowledges that 'we are both survivors and children / and grandchildren of survivors.

In this example, the writer uses half of the source paragraph verbatim without crediting the author, Daniel Grassian.

Mosaic plagiarism:

It is evident that Alexie frequently associates Indians with other minorities that have been oppressed, as his poem "The Game between the Jews and Indians is Tied Going into the Bottom of the Ninth Inning," suggests that Alexie sees Jews and Indians as similar, both historically oppressed minorities and victims of ethnic violence, demonstrating that both groups have had similar marginalising experiences. 

In this example, the writer blends copied ideas and phrases without properly citing the author.

Improper paraphrase:

It is evident that Alexie frequently associates Indians with other minorities that have been oppressed. His poem "The Game between the Jews and Indians is Tied Going into the Bottom of the Ninth Inning," implies that Alexie views Jews and Indians as comparable, historically oppressed groups and victims of ethnic violence. 

In this example, although the writer does not use Grassian's words, s/he uses his idea without attribution. 

Proper use of source material:

It is evident that Alexie frequently associates Indians with other minorities that have been oppressed. Grassian, in his Understanding Sherman Alexie, argues that his poem, "The Game between the Jews and Indians is Tied Going into the Bottom of the Ninth Inning," suggests that Alexie sees Jews and Indians as similar, both historically oppressed minorities and victims of ethnic violence. There is common ground between the two ethnic groups, as Alexie acknowledges that 'we are both survivors and children / and grandchildren of survivors. (53).

In this example, the writer introduces Grassian's argument, gives credit to Grassian for the concept and properly quotes a particular line from the source paragraph.

Plagiarism is a serious offence. Watch this video in order to get a better idea how to avoid it.

The UTSC Library has several print editions of the APA Publication Manual: