Foundations of Reasoning

How Do I Cite?
You should cite both within your paper and at the end of your paper. You should cite according to the citation style (e.g., MLA, Chicago, APA) recommended by your instructor or common to your field.

Within your paper: use an in-text citation immediately following the quote, summary, or paraphrase. Depending on the citation style you use, an in-text citation may include the author’s last name, page number, and/or year of publication. Alternatively, some style guides recommend the use of footnotes.

At the end of your paper: list all sources you used in your paper. Each listing should include the complete citation information (author, title, year of publication, place of publication, etc.). Your instructor will tell you whether this should include only sources you directly cited within your paper (“Works Cited” page), or a list of all sources you researched, even if you did not cite them directly (“Bibliography” or “Works Consulted” page).

What Are Citation Styles?
A citation style is a set of agreed-upon rules for presenting citations in a standard format. Among other things, a citation style tell you whether or not titles should be capitalized, where to list the date of publication, and how to cite a webpage. When everyone uses the same format, it makes it easier to understand citations accurately. Different academic fields use different styles, so ask your instructor which one you should use. Some examples of common citation styles are MLA, APA, and Chicago.

Source: "Citation & Style Guide", Middlebury Libraries, https://middlebury.libguides.com/citation/cite

We might worry that if we cite too often, it may seem like we don’t have any ideas of our own. In actuality, a paper using citations correctly proves we’ve done enough research to make credible arguments. It also shows our experience with scholarly standards. By citing your sources, your ideas will be taken more seriously by other scholars (including your professor!).

Give Credit
Giving credit to the original source rewards other scholars for the hard work and creativity they contribute to advancements in their fields. Recognition inspires us to reach new heights. In some fields, citations even lead to career advancement.

Establish Your Credibility
The more you know about your topic, the more credible your arguments become. By citing your sources, you prove that you have researched existing information and multiple viewpoints. In turn, readers will see that your theories and ideas are well-supported.

Help Your Readers
Citations are like a roadmap to your sources. Sometimes seeing a quote in its original context helps readers understand it better. Citations can also guide your readers to more information about your topic.

Participate in an Academic Conversation
No scholar works in isolation. We develop our ideas by learning about the work of others and researching existing information. In turn, your work contributes to this ongoing intellectual conversation and supports new research. When you cite your sources, you show how your work fits into your field of study.

Source: "Citation & Style Guide", Middlebury Libraries, https://middlebury.libguides.com/citation/cite

Plagiarism is presenting another's words, analysis, interpretation or other work as your own. It is intellectual theft, academically dishonest, compromises your reputation and jeopardizes your college career. 

Plagiarism is not the same thing as copyright violation. Violating copyright is a legal concept, plagiarism is an ethical concept; you can commit plagiarism without violating copyright and, you can violate copyright without committing plagiarism. 

Forms of Plagiarism

• Quoting without attribution
• Paraphrasing or rephrasing without attribution
• Presenting an interpretation, ideas or opinions without attribution
• Using graphs, statistics, art, music that are not considered to be common knowledge without attribution
• Self plagiarism, including reusing the same paper for multiple classes.

Examples:

Ideas:  

• Plagiarized idea: If you take away all other forms of government people will natural create a democracy.
• Attributed: According to Thomas Paine, in the absence of any other form of government people would create a democracy.

Quotations:

• Plagiarized quote: Thomas Paine said that he offered simple fact, plain arguments and common sense. 
• Attributed:  Thomas Paine said that he "offered simple fact, plain arguments and common sense."

Paraphrasing:

• Original text: "Europe is too thickly planted with kingdoms to be long at peace, and whenever a war breaks out between England and any foreign power, the trade of America goes to ruin, because of her connection to England." (Source, Thomas Paine's Common Sense)  
• Plagiarism through paraphrase:  Because Europe has so many kingdoms when England is at war with one of them American trade is ruined because of her connection with England.  

Interpretation: 

• Plagiarized interpretation: The first modern journalist was Thomas Paine because of the way he used media.
• Attributed: According to Katz, Thomas Paine can be considered the first modern journalist because of his effective use of media (print) against a power structure (monarchy). Jon Katz The Age of Paine Wired 3.05 May 1995 

Self-Plagiarism

Reuse of your own content such as text, charts or graphs, without attribution. This is considered plagiarism because it does not credit the original source and misleads readers into believing this new, original, content.

Source: "What Is Plagiarism," University of Notre Dame Libraries, https://libguides.library.nd.edu/plagiarism

Digital content makes it easy to accidently plagiarize by using copy/paste then forgetting to provide attribution. Organizing your research will not only help you complete your assignments, it will help you avoid plagiarism. 

• Use a citation manager such as RefWorks or Zotero so you know what sources you've consulted and plan to use.
• Keep copies of the articles you plan to cite in a folder (electronic or paper) and make a note of how this article relates to your research such as 'supports my position that chocolate is culturally associated with women' or 'I have to refute this article's position that chocolate should be banned in public schools.' 
• Start a rough outline and include quotes AS quotes along with a note on why that quote is important to your argument.
• DO NOT copy and paste large chunks of text as a start to your paper.  

Adapted from "Avoiding Plagiarism," University of Notre Dame Libraries, https://libguides.library.nd.edu/plagiarism