As noted in the Honors Program plagiarism guide, there exist some tips and tricks to avoid unknowingly committing plagiarism. They’ve been excerpted below:
Remember: quote, paraphrase or summarize!
Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.
To quote our passage from Alvin Kernan’s book on Shakespeare: According to Alvin Kernan, “From time to time this submerged or latent theater in Hamlet becomes almost overt. It is close to the surface in Hamlet's pretense of madness, the ‘antic disposition’ he puts on to protect himself and prevent his antagonists from plucking out the heart of his mystery” (102). Then add, in your own words, why this passage is important to your argument.
Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a segment of the source and condensing it slightly.
To paraphrase our passage:
Alvin Kernan argues that Shakespeare’s critique of theater emerges in Hamlet’s Peculiar behavior (102). Then add, in your own words, why this is important to your argument.
Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.
To summarize our passage:
In The Playwright as Magician, Alvin Kernan shows that Shakespeare’s Hamlet is not about the intricacies of Hamlet’s own life, but about the theater itself. Then add, in your own words, why this is important to your argument.
Adapted from: Driscoll, Dana Lynn and Allen Brizee, Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing. Purdue OWL. Web.
6 Nov. 2014. <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/563/>