by

Karl Weber, M.A.

Study Guide

Roslyn Heights, New York

Video Aided Instruction, Inc.
Plagiarism & Other Pitfalls
Writing a Great Research Paper:
#VAI-S1949
v1.0

This study guide should be used along with a program published by Video Aided Instruction, Inc. For more information, call 1-800 -238-1512 or visit us online at videoaidedinstruction.com.
 For more information, call 1-800 -238-1512 or visit us online at videoaidedinstruction.com.
This study guide should be used along with the follow-
ing program published by Video Aided Instruction. The Writing a Great Research Paper:
instructor works through the exercises found in this
guide – and much, much more – during the course of the
Plagiarism & Other Pitfalls
actual program. Study Guide
Writing a Great Research Paper:
Plagiarism & Other Pitfalls
1 DVD · 1 hr. y mins.
item #VAI-1949 · price $49.95 Introduction
isbn 1-57385-194 -9 · upc 600459194994
With today’s busy schedules and tight deadlines,
Copyright © 2007 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. sometimes even the best scholars can be tempted to
To all users of the Video Aided Instruction publication cut corners! This timely program teaches students to
named above, permission is hereby granted to create appreciate and demonstrate academic integrity when
one (1) paper imprint of this document per person. In writing research papers. You’ll learn how to evaluate
addition, teachers and librarians may reproduce paper materials, reference sources appropriately, and avoid
imprints of this document in quantities not to exceed
one hundred (100) imprints annually. All imprints and inadvertent plagiarism and other common scholar-
reproductions made must retain all copyright notices ship mistakes.
contained herein. This authorization is granted for this
specific document only, and only when the document is For easier studying and maximum success, we recom-
used along with the publication named above.
mend that you view the program over a number of
Any reproduction or distribution of this electronic short sessions: don’t try to absorb too much at one
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from an Internet server, a disc, or an email message – is as many times as you find necessary in order to mas-
strictly prohibited. In addition, no part of this document
ter the material.

This study guide should be used along with a program published by Video Aided Instruction, Inc.
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About Your Instructor

Complete
English Grammar Series Karl Weber, M.A., is an educator, editor, and bestsell-
10 programs on 10 DVDs ing author in fields ranging from business to politics
to test preparation. He has worked on books with
such noted figures as management guru Adrian
Slywotzky, Loews Hotels CEO Jonathan M. Tisch, and
President Jimmy Carter.
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 Writing a Great Research Paper: Plagiarism & Other Pitfalls
Part 1: Selecting Sources: Whom Can You Trust?
One of the major traps that students fall into when writing a research paper is trusting an untrustworthy
source. This could be a book that simply has its facts wrong, a periodical article that is biased for or against

For more information, call 1-800 -238-1512 or visit us online at videoaidedinstruction.com.

its subject, a website that seems objective but has a hidden agenda, or a newspaper story whose author
has a known penchant for distorting the truth. Whenever you’re evaluting a source, consider all of the fol-
lowing criteria:
• Comprehensibility
• Timeliness
• Reputation of the author
• Reputation of the periodical or the book publisher
• Apparent bias
• Nature of the work
• What others say

Part 2: The Perils of Plagiarism

Remember, your research paper must present an original approach to the topic — in other words, you must
come up with your own way of looking at the topic rather than simply echoing a point of view that you
found somewhere else. And you must cite sources in a scholarly fashion, which means following standard
rules and procedures to explain where you found the facts and ideas you are borrowing.

To learn about various techniques for incorporating your research into your writing effectively, consult a
different program in this series: Writing a Great Research Paper: Quoting, Citing, & Paraphrasing. And for
information on parenthetical references, footnotes, and bibliographies, consult: Writing a Great Research
Paper: Formatting Your Paper.
3
Part 3: Types of Plagiarism

This study guide should be used along with a program published by Video Aided Instruction, Inc.
Plagiarism includes all of the following:
• Buying, borrowing, or reusing a paper
• Claiming as your own a piece of writing from a published source
• Quoting words, sentences, paragraphs, or pages from another writer’s work without
giving that writer credit
• Copying another writer’s sequence of ideas without giving that writer credit

Part 4: Other Rules of Academic Integrity

Additional rules of scholarly behavior that are also important to follow include:
• Resist the temptation to fake research.
• Don’t misrepresent, distort, or “spin” the contents of someone else’s work.

Additional Advice
As you’ve learned, many books, articles, etc. include references and/or bibliographies that can be invalu-
able tools for exploring additional research sources. But don’t make the very common error of citing
sources you’ve only read about — as opposed to sources you’ve actually read! Sometimes an “intermediary”
source adds its own subtle layer of interpretation, so verify that the sources you’re going to refer to in your
research paper actually contain the relevant information. Misattributing information — be they facts or
ideas (interpretations, opinions, analyses, or theories) — is a serious academic “mistake” that you should be
careful to avoid.

Copyright © 2007 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Writing a Great Research Paper: Plagiarism & Other Pitfalls
Also, when you’re paraphrasing the words of another writer, be especially cautious about plagiarism. Don’t
just condense the phrasing, reorder the clauses, or change an occasional word here and there! Thoroughly
rewrite the wording from your source material. If the language is powerful and you want it to use it in
your paper, don’t paraphrase it: Quote it directly. And, whenever you include a direct quotation in your

For more information, call 1-800 -238-1512 or visit us online at videoaidedinstruction.com.

notes, be sure to use quotation marks — so you’ll remember it was a quote later on!

Be aware that cutting-and-pasting from the Internet has advantages and disadvantages: it can make it
easier to capture complex web page addresses and long passages, but it can also make it easier to “use”
another writer’s words without giving that person due credit.

A final note: Modern software tools and web search engines make detecting plagiarism easier than ever.
Even a single inadvertent mistake or omission in your references can “smell” like plagiarism, so be extra
careful to cite every last one of your sources accurately.

Keep all of these issues in mind when you begin taking notes and later when you write your paper!

This study guide should be used along with a program published by Video Aided Instruction, Inc.

Copyright © 2007 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. All Rights Reserved