This is part three of the material I embed in my apologetics syllabus used at Trans-Africa Theological College in Kitwe, Zambia. It attempts to communicate expectations around academic integrity and to encourage the internalization of academic integrity values and goals within students.
———————————— part 3 ————————————-
Citing Sources (and Avoiding Plagiarism): A Biblical View
Scholars acquire and use knowledge; we build on the facts, information, ideas, and opinions of others. As someone has said, “we stand on the shoulders of giants”. As users of facts and ideas, we need to let our readers know where we got them. We do this by referencing or citing our sources (the words referencing and citing refer to the same thing).
Citing (referencing) serves a number of purposes:
Scholars acquire and use knowledge; we build on the facts, information, ideas, and opinions of others. As someone has said, “we stand on the shoulders of giants”. As users of facts and ideas, we need to let our readers know where we got them. We do this by referencing or citing our sources (the words referencing and citing refer to the same thing).
Citing (referencing) serves a number of purposes:
- It lets the reader know what sources we have identified in our research — it helps us get good grades.
- It strengthens our argument by providing evidence and/or authority for our assertions — this makes us good, careful scholars (and again helps us get a good grade!).
- It ensures that the originators and authors of facts, information, and ideas receive due recognition — it is a way for us to “give honor where honor is due”; it is a way to pay a debt of recognition (Rom 3:17-8).
d. It helps ensure we do not misrepresent someone else’s ideas or writings as our own — this helps us to be “truth-tellers” (Psa. 51:6, Col. 3:9, Eph. 4:15) and to avoid bearing false witness (Ex. 20:16).
e. It ensures we do not unfairly get credit for the work of others (1 Cor. 10:15). It thus ensures a level playing field (Proverbs 11:1) for all students competing for good grades.
e. It ensures we do not unfairly get credit for the work of others (1 Cor. 10:15). It thus ensures a level playing field (Proverbs 11:1) for all students competing for good grades.
Plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or words of another — whether an established author or another student — as your own. You can even self-plagiarize by submitting for academic credit something you have written previously for academic credit. Failure to cite sources adequately can result in charges of plagiarism.
The original meaning of plagiarism is kidnapping, or stealing, but the actual meaning today is often more subtle. It often has more to do with bearing false witness, presenting something as your own original work when it is not. If undetected, it creates an unfairness, where a student may get undeserved credit for work that is really not his or her own. It means that a debt of recognition to original authors goes unpaid. Moreover, it means that the purpose of the academic assignment — to build your critical thinking and critical writing skills — is short-circuited or frustrated. You fail to develop the very skills you are at college to develop.
For all these good reasons, TTC is strongly for proper citation of sources and strongly against plagiarism.
TTC Citation Standards
TTC follows the MLA standard for referencing, or citing. Citation has two main components. The first is a Works Cited page at the end of your paper. An entry should look something like this:
Ball, Richard. Apologetics Syllabus. Kitwe, Zambia: TTC, 2012.
The second is in-text parenthetical citations. Author-page entries would look like this:
According to Ball, we are supposed to cite our sources following MLA format (3), or,
Ball says we are supposed to cite our sources following MLA format (3), or,
We are supposed to cite our sources following MLA format (Ball, 3).
For details, consult TTC MLA resources in the library. An online tutorial is available at http:// owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/.
How to Cite Sources
1. The first rule is to include every work you have consulted and used (i.e., your sources) in your
Reference (or Works Cited) List. There is no acceptable excuse for not doing this.
2. The second rule is to adequately and accurately acknowledge your sources in the body of your work. You do this by in-text parenthetical citations. Here are some further guidelines.
3. The third rule is this: when in doubt, cite.
Quoting. Quoting refers to the accurate use of the exact words or phrases of others. Quotes can provide evidence and authority for your argument; you can even use quotes of those who would disagree with your position or view. But don’t over-use direct quotes. Writing specialists suggest that only about 10% of our citations should be direct quotations (but I’m flexible on this). Other ways of using a source are paraphrasing and summarizing.
a. If you are using words directly, wrap them in “quotation marks” followed by an in-text citation.
The original meaning of plagiarism is kidnapping, or stealing, but the actual meaning today is often more subtle. It often has more to do with bearing false witness, presenting something as your own original work when it is not. If undetected, it creates an unfairness, where a student may get undeserved credit for work that is really not his or her own. It means that a debt of recognition to original authors goes unpaid. Moreover, it means that the purpose of the academic assignment — to build your critical thinking and critical writing skills — is short-circuited or frustrated. You fail to develop the very skills you are at college to develop.
For all these good reasons, TTC is strongly for proper citation of sources and strongly against plagiarism.
TTC Citation Standards
TTC follows the MLA standard for referencing, or citing. Citation has two main components. The first is a Works Cited page at the end of your paper. An entry should look something like this:
Ball, Richard. Apologetics Syllabus. Kitwe, Zambia: TTC, 2012.
The second is in-text parenthetical citations. Author-page entries would look like this:
According to Ball, we are supposed to cite our sources following MLA format (3), or,
Ball says we are supposed to cite our sources following MLA format (3), or,
We are supposed to cite our sources following MLA format (Ball, 3).
For details, consult TTC MLA resources in the library. An online tutorial is available at http:// owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/.
How to Cite Sources
1. The first rule is to include every work you have consulted and used (i.e., your sources) in your
Reference (or Works Cited) List. There is no acceptable excuse for not doing this.
2. The second rule is to adequately and accurately acknowledge your sources in the body of your work. You do this by in-text parenthetical citations. Here are some further guidelines.
3. The third rule is this: when in doubt, cite.
Quoting. Quoting refers to the accurate use of the exact words or phrases of others. Quotes can provide evidence and authority for your argument; you can even use quotes of those who would disagree with your position or view. But don’t over-use direct quotes. Writing specialists suggest that only about 10% of our citations should be direct quotations (but I’m flexible on this). Other ways of using a source are paraphrasing and summarizing.
a. If you are using words directly, wrap them in “quotation marks” followed by an in-text citation.
b. If the quotation is four lines or more, use an indented block quote, without quotation marks, like this:
Here is a bad, unacceptable paraphrase of the above paragraph:
“Paraphrasing entails considerably re-doing what the author has said, re-stating it in your own words. You do not produce a paraphrase by going to a book of synonyms and altering a few words here and there! Put the source down, think about it, and then re-write the ideas in your own words.”
Here is a good, acceptable paraphrase of the above paragraph:
“Paraphrasing must be more than a few cosmetic changes made by substituting synonymous words; it must be a substantial re-working and re-writing of the original author’s ideas in the present author’s own words.”
Paraphrasing is a skill; it takes practice; it is hard work. It is one of the skills of the tribe! And remember, when you paraphrase, you still need to cite.
Summarizing: A paraphrase is usually about the same size as the original text; a summary is much shorter. You can summarize a book or article’s main ideas in a page, or a paragraph, even! However, when you summarize, you still need to cite.
For more on quotes, paraphrases, and summaries, refer to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/ 563/.
An Exception to the Rule: Common Knowledge.
Material that is considered common knowledge does not have to be cited. For example, in a Christian theological context one could say, “Paul the apostle preached salvation by faith alone” without providing a citation as evidence; it is common knowledge. However, if someone has come up with a particularly memorable way of saying this, such as, “Paul preached salvation by grace alone, by faith alone, and by Christ alone”, and you used this, you would need to cite it, because it is a distinctive expression and you need to acknowledge the source.
Some Common Misconceptions.
“If it’s on the internet, it’s public information and does not need to be cited”. Not true. Regardless of where you got it, you need to cite it. (And, if it’s on the internet, you should make sure it’s a solid, reliable source before using and citing it!)
Failure to cite sources adequately can result in charges of plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or words of another — whether an established author or another student — as your own. You can even self-plagiarize by re-submitting something you have written previously for academic credit (Ball, 9).Paraphrasing. Paraphrasing entails substantially re-working what the author has said, re-expressing it in your own words. The size of a paraphrase will be roughly the same as the original. You do not produce an adequate paraphrase by consulting a thesaurus and changing a few words here and there. Put the book down, think about it, and re-express the ideas in your own words.
Here is a bad, unacceptable paraphrase of the above paragraph:
“Paraphrasing entails considerably re-doing what the author has said, re-stating it in your own words. You do not produce a paraphrase by going to a book of synonyms and altering a few words here and there! Put the source down, think about it, and then re-write the ideas in your own words.”
Here is a good, acceptable paraphrase of the above paragraph:
“Paraphrasing must be more than a few cosmetic changes made by substituting synonymous words; it must be a substantial re-working and re-writing of the original author’s ideas in the present author’s own words.”
Paraphrasing is a skill; it takes practice; it is hard work. It is one of the skills of the tribe! And remember, when you paraphrase, you still need to cite.
Summarizing: A paraphrase is usually about the same size as the original text; a summary is much shorter. You can summarize a book or article’s main ideas in a page, or a paragraph, even! However, when you summarize, you still need to cite.
For more on quotes, paraphrases, and summaries, refer to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/ 563/.
An Exception to the Rule: Common Knowledge.
Material that is considered common knowledge does not have to be cited. For example, in a Christian theological context one could say, “Paul the apostle preached salvation by faith alone” without providing a citation as evidence; it is common knowledge. However, if someone has come up with a particularly memorable way of saying this, such as, “Paul preached salvation by grace alone, by faith alone, and by Christ alone”, and you used this, you would need to cite it, because it is a distinctive expression and you need to acknowledge the source.
Some Common Misconceptions.
“If it’s on the internet, it’s public information and does not need to be cited”. Not true. Regardless of where you got it, you need to cite it. (And, if it’s on the internet, you should make sure it’s a solid, reliable source before using and citing it!)
“If I include it in my Reference List I don’t need to cite it in my paper”. Not true. A citation always stands on two legs: the in-text citation, and the Reference List citation. To remind you of these two aspects, think of what it means “2cite”.
“Once I have an in-text citation for a source, I can use the source from then on and without cite it again”. Wrong. You can’t just cite a source once and then keep using it as you write. Each time you use a source in the body of your paper, you need to acknowledge it via citation.
“It’s OK to use another student’s study notes or paper as long as I change it around a bit, maybe change the font if I’m typing it ”. Wrong. First, how are you going to develop your own critical thinking and writing skills if you rely on someone else’s work? Second, you’re submitting it for academic credit and presenting it as your own work, when it is not.
“It’s OK to take something I’ve done for one class and use it in another class”. Wrong again! You cannot re-submit a paper, even a re-worked paper, for credit in another course. This negates the purpose of the assignment, which is that you do fresh research and writing.
“It’s OK to use material without citing it if a) I’m short of time, b) I’m not particularly interested in the subject matter, or c) I don’t understand it”. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
“It’s OK to use material without citing it if my English is poor and this is the only way I can get a passing grade”. I sympathize with you, but, again, the answer is no. Rather than copy and material without citing it, go to either Mrs. Kerr or the Librarian John Kalambo and discuss ways to develop your English skills. It is always better to submit something that is your own work with errors than to use another author’s faultless work without citing it.
As your instructor I will work with you in this area. One of the best ways of learning how to write is to learn how to read. By this I mean learn to observe the grammar, vocabulary, style, and citation practices of the authors you are reading.
“I only need to worry about citing sources if I think the instructor will catch me if I don’t”. Wrong — are you sure you belong in a theological college?
Summary:
It is unacceptable to copy something out of a book, newspaper, journal or any other printed or online
source without citing it.
It is important that the reader of your paper can tell what is yours, and what is someone else's.
For short quotes, use quotation marks in the sentence. For a longer quote, indent it.
Paraphrasing is fine, but it must be a good paraphrase, and you still need to cite.
Summarizing is fine, but you still need to cite.
If you need assistance with the writing of English, and/or with academic writing in general or the rules of citation in particular, seek help.
If in doubt, ask your instructor.
“Once I have an in-text citation for a source, I can use the source from then on and without cite it again”. Wrong. You can’t just cite a source once and then keep using it as you write. Each time you use a source in the body of your paper, you need to acknowledge it via citation.
“It’s OK to use another student’s study notes or paper as long as I change it around a bit, maybe change the font if I’m typing it ”. Wrong. First, how are you going to develop your own critical thinking and writing skills if you rely on someone else’s work? Second, you’re submitting it for academic credit and presenting it as your own work, when it is not.
“It’s OK to take something I’ve done for one class and use it in another class”. Wrong again! You cannot re-submit a paper, even a re-worked paper, for credit in another course. This negates the purpose of the assignment, which is that you do fresh research and writing.
“It’s OK to use material without citing it if a) I’m short of time, b) I’m not particularly interested in the subject matter, or c) I don’t understand it”. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
“It’s OK to use material without citing it if my English is poor and this is the only way I can get a passing grade”. I sympathize with you, but, again, the answer is no. Rather than copy and material without citing it, go to either Mrs. Kerr or the Librarian John Kalambo and discuss ways to develop your English skills. It is always better to submit something that is your own work with errors than to use another author’s faultless work without citing it.
As your instructor I will work with you in this area. One of the best ways of learning how to write is to learn how to read. By this I mean learn to observe the grammar, vocabulary, style, and citation practices of the authors you are reading.
“I only need to worry about citing sources if I think the instructor will catch me if I don’t”. Wrong — are you sure you belong in a theological college?
Summary:
It is unacceptable to copy something out of a book, newspaper, journal or any other printed or online
source without citing it.
It is important that the reader of your paper can tell what is yours, and what is someone else's.
For short quotes, use quotation marks in the sentence. For a longer quote, indent it.
Paraphrasing is fine, but it must be a good paraphrase, and you still need to cite.
Summarizing is fine, but you still need to cite.
If you need assistance with the writing of English, and/or with academic writing in general or the rules of citation in particular, seek help.
If in doubt, ask your instructor.
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