7t
h Edition
Avoiding Plagiarism Guide
There are two common types of plagiarism: (a) improper use of someone else’s words and (b) improper use
of someone else’s ideas. Both forms of plagiarism involve using someone else’s words or ideas without
appropriately acknowledging the author or source.
Word plagiarism occurs when you
use another author’s exact words or
phrases without quotation marks.
• Whenever possible, paraphrase sources in your
own words rather than directly quoting them.
Paraphrasing helps you to synthesize ideas and
integrate them into the context of your paper.
• Use direct quotes sparingly and only when it is
important to reproduce both what was said and
how it was said.
• If you use an author’s words directly, even your
own words from a previous paper, you must use
quotation marks (in addition to an in-text citation)
to let readers know that these are not your
original words.
• The most blatant form of word plagiarism occurs
when students copy an author’s exact words and
knowingly do not use quotation marks or include
an in-text citation.
• A more common type of word plagiarism is when
students think they can use an author’s exact (or
very similar words) and include only an in-text
citation. (The citation gives the author credit for
the ideas, but the quotation marks give the author
credit for the wording of the idea.) If you use an
author’s exact words, quotation marks and
location information must accompany the in-text
citation.
• Another common type of word plagiarism occurs
when students mistakenly think they have
paraphrased an author’s words because they
added or removed a few words or replaced some
of the words with synonyms. This is called
patchwriting. If your wording has a similar
sentence structure and uses the same words and
phrases of the original author, you are
patchwriting. (See the example next.) Paraphrase
the idea in your own words instead.
Example passage from Ward et al. (2006): Findings
indicate that media content is not uniformly negative.
Information about sexual health, risks, and thoughtful
decision-making is sometimes present.
Plagiarized (patchwritten) example: According to
Ward et al. (2006), media content is not all negative,
and information is sometimes present concerning
sexual health, risks, and thoughtful decision-making.
Avoiding Word Plagiarism
• It is important to paraphrase other authors’ works in
your own words.
• When reading a description of an idea or study,
it can be hard to represent that idea or nding as
clearly and succinctly as the author did without
plagiarizing. The easiest way to avoid repeating
sentence structure or lifting phrases is to read a
section of a work, and then put the work down and
write notes in your own words.
• As a general rule, paraphrase when taking notes on
a source. Do not write the author’s words verbatim
without putting them in quotation marks and
including the source location in your notes.
• Always attribute every idea, fact, or nding you put
in your paper when you write it.
Idea plagiarism occurs when
you present an idea from another
source without citing the author
and year.
• Any time you write about a concept or idea in a
paper without including an in-text citation (or clearly
linking it to a previous sentence containing an in-text
citation), you are claiming the idea as your own (if it
is not, that is plagiarism). For examples, see
Sections 8.1 and 8.24 in the seventh edition
Publication Manual
on appropriate level of citation
and long paraphrases.
• The most blatant form of idea plagiarism occurs
when students see a good argument or idea in a
paper and then represent that argument or idea as
their own.
• A more common form of idea plagiarism is when
students cite a source incorrectly because they
do not follow proper in-text citation guidelines, as
described in Chapter 8 of the
Publication Manual.
For example, they may write a whole paragraph
about a study and then cite the study’s author and
year in the last sentence in parentheses, thinking
that citation covers the previous sentences. Instead,
the in-text citation should appear at the beginning
of the paraphrased passage, to establish its origin at
the outset.
• Another common form of idea plagiarism is when
students remember a fact they learned in class
and put it in their paper without citing it or when
they write about a fact they heard somewhere and
mistakenly assume it is common knowledge.
Avoiding Idea Plagiarism
• To avoid idea plagiarism, use (a) signal phrases (e.g.,
“I believe that”) to designate your own idea, or
(b) include an in-text citation to a source to signal
someone else’s idea.
• Most important, always search the literature to nd a
source for any ideas, facts, or ndings that you put in
your paper.
• See Chapter 8 of the
Publication Manual
and the
In-Text Citations and Instructional Aids pages of the
APA Style website for more information on creating
in-text citations, integrating source material, and
paraphrasing and quoting from a work.
More information on avoiding plagiarism and self-plagiarism
can be found in Sections 8.2 and 8.3 of both the
Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association
(7th ed.) and
the
Concise Guide to APA Style
(7th ed.).
SOURCE: American Psychological Association. (2020).
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association
(7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
CREDIT: TRACI GIULIANO, SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Last updated 11/15/2021
