Chapter 12 Seminar
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Seminar: Avoiding plagiarism
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Giving credit where credit is due is a polite thing to do. (Owens, 2013) When you
are writing, you may remember that someone else wrote a similar idea or said a
related thing that goes well with your ideas. If you want to use someone else’s
words or ideas, you have to say where you got the ideas from. It is not enough to
say ‘a wise man said...’. It is required to specify
who
said it and
when
they made it
public. This is the correct way of giving credit to a thinker or a writer.
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Giving credit to the owner of an idea is important for academic purposes and for
human relations. When we give credit to the owner or originator of an idea, we are
showing that we recognise that person. We are showing our appreciation for that
idea. Appreciation is good for human relations. It is also good for academic work.
The use of another person’s words or ideas shows that you have done some research.
It shows that you are familiar with other work in your field, that you are building a
knowledge base. It is also a way to support your ideas, to show that others have
similar ideas.
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Use the citation system when you take any words or ideas from another source. You
must be able to know the difference between ideas you have read and the ideas you
have thought up by yourself. Knowing the difference is a key sign of intelligence.
Making the citation clear is a required writing skill. Completing the citation with a
reference is the accepted practice among academics. Join the club.