1. All quotations, summaries, and paraphrases taken from
Barnet, Silvan, et.al. A Short Guide to College Writing.

2. What is Plagiarism?
 Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s
thoughts, ideas, or words without clearly
identifying that they are from an outside
source (205).
 Plagiarism essentially is trying to “pass off
someone else’s work as your own” (205).
 Plagiarism can be both intentional and
unintentional, which means that just
“forgetting” to cite a source is considered
plagiarism.

3. Consequences of
Plagiarism
 College policy states that “incidents of cheating and
plagiarism may result in any of a variety of sanctions
and penalties, which may range from a failing grade
on the particular examination, paper, project, or
assignment in question to a failing grade in the
course” (Reedley College Catalog 46)
 In English 1A, any assignment which is found to be
plagiarized will receive an automatic failing grade. Any
portfolio found with plagiarized material will result in
automatic failure of the course. Multiple instances of
plagiarism will be reported to the college.

4. What needs to be cited?
 You should always cite when:
 You quote directly from a work, or
 You paraphrase or summarize someone’s
words (the words of your paraphrase or
summary are your own, but the ideas are
not), or
 You use an idea that isn’t common
knowledge, or
 You use a picture, graph, or image from a
source (205).

5. Quotes and Citing
 A quote is the use of a source’s direct language
and is set apart from the essay by enclosing it in
quotation marks.
 The Rule of Three: A quote can vary in
length, but, in general, the use of three consecutive
words or more from a source should be considered
a quote.
 A quote should duplicate the source exactly.
However, if you do need to make changes due to
diction (like verb tense, changing a pronoun to a
proper noun, etc.) enclose such changes in
brackets [ ].

6. Summaries and Citing
 A summary is usually a brief review of a
large chunk of outside information in your
own words. However, because the ideas
are not your own, a summary needs to be
cited.
 Summaries should be cited with the use of
a signal phrase as well as with a
parenthetical citation placed at the end of
the summary.
 A summary needs to be entirely in your
own words. Remember the “Rule of Three.”

7. Paraphrases and Citing
 A paraphrase is restating a source’s idea or thought
in your own words. Unlike a summary, a paraphrase
is usually focused on a single passage.
 A paraphrase should always be cited with a signal
phrase and a parenthetical citation. Again, the words
may be yours, but the idea is not. Thus it needs to be
cited.
 Just like a summary, the paraphrase needs to be in
your own words, but it also needs to be syntactically
different from the original as well. This means that
you can’t just substitute words or phrases, you need
to completely rewrite the source’s passage.

8. A Final Thought
 As a general rule if you are in doubt
about whether or not you need to cite
something; cite it. It’s better to be safe
than sorry.
 As always you are free to ask me for
help with correctly citing sources.