The three-step process of paraphrasing consists of interpreting an author’s original passage, rephrasing it (i.e., putting it into your own words), and citing (i.e., giving credit to) the author. In order to paraphrase correctly, you must consider the difference between the original text and the re-wording while still maintaining the original author’s meaning. In contrast to paraphrasing, the academic crime of plagiarism occurs when a second writer presents an original author’s work as his or her own without the use of quotation marks and a citation.

You need to understand that plagiarism occurs not only when someone directly copies an author’s work without using both quotation marks and a citation, but also when someone uses an author’s original idea, concept, or even bibliography without properly citing the original author’s work.

Even unintentional, accidental plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity for academics throughout the world. In addition to a damaged reputation, the consequences of plagiarism may include the loss of one’s diploma and employment.

While research suggests that students in the United States continue to struggle with plagiarism, international students may face additional challenges. For example, cultures that place a high value on group collaboration and group achievement may not know about the American and European rules of intellectual property rights for independent authors.

To prepare:

Carefully consider the comments above. Then, pick one of the following articles to read based on your area of interest:

• Charles Lindblom (1959) article on incremental change in public policy and administration called “The science of “muddling through”.”
• Jaramillo, Nixon and Sams (2005) article on law enforcement called “The effect of law enforcement stress on organizational commitment.”
• John Bryson (2010) article on non-profit management called “The future of public and nonprofit strategic planning in the United States.”

Assignment:

write a 100- to 150- word paraphrase with the citation and reference list in a Word document. Please remember that the goal is to paraphrase (and there are many good examples in the article you picked to read) and not a summary.