Even if you're the cleverest person
in the world,
you still need to refer
to other people's work
when writing assignments.
And you need to acknowledge
the source.
You can't let the
reader think these words
and ideas came from you.
That would be plagiarism,
which is bad news.
So, let's imagine you've found
some really good sources.
What next?
How do you use these sources
in your work?
Most importantly,
you always need to reference the source.
You do this whether quoting,
paraphrasing
or summarising.
We'll look at those in a moment.
But first off,
how do you reference
someone else's work
in your writing?
You can give
a short reference in the main text,
like this,
including the author's name and
the year the
source was published.
And at the end of the essay
you include more information
about the source material.
For example:
author's name,
year of publication,
title and chapter of the book or journal,
publisher,
place of publication.
What to write varies among
different institutions, so check
your own requirements.
Now, we're referencing
economist Adam Smith's book
The Wealth of Nations.
He originally wrote this:
"The rich consume little
more than the poor,
and in spite of their natural selfishness
and rapacity…
they divide with the poor
the produce of all their improvements..."
Quite long isn't it?
And complicated.
So we can summarise it.
We take only the main ideas
and express them
in a shorter form.
"… and thus, without intending it,
without knowing it,
advance the interests
of the society,
and afford means
to the multiplication of the species."
A related skill is paraphrasing.
Here, you take a short section
and rewrite it in your
own words.
Let's look at Adam Smith again.
Take a good look at this:
"The rich are led
by an invisible hand
to make nearly the same distribution
of the necessaries
of life… among all its inhabitants."
We can paraphrase like this:
"Smith (1776) believes
an unseen force
guides the wealthy,
which ensures wealth is shared
out almost equally in society."
See how the words changed?
And we also changed the grammar.
For example, from passive voice
to active.
Remember, your writing should
always be as clear as possible.
What about quoting?
Well, Adam Smith's theory
is best known as
the 'invisible hand' theory.
It would be strange
to paraphrase this to
the 'unseen force' theory.
So when the source
material has expressed something
in a particularly interesting
or convincing way,
we often prefer
to quote directly.
For example:
"Adam Smith's view is
that the wealthy
"are led by an invisible hand",
which ensures their
wealth is shared out
through society."
But be careful not
to rely on quotes too much.
You should use them to
back up your point,
not to make the argument.
Remember to use
your own words
to express the main point, and
then use the quote as evidence.
And, if you're being asked
to discuss, evaluate
or compare,
remember to include alternative
points of view.
There we go.
Follow these tips
to help you write strong essays
and avoid plagiarism.
After all,
you are the
cleverest person in the world.