1、How to Write a DissertationIn English Introduction11.1Defining plagiarism11.2The temptation to plagiarize11.3The cost of plagiarism11.4Chapter 11Writing(4):Avoiding PlagiarismParaphrasing vs plagiarism11.5How to avoid plagiarism11.6Summary11.7Exercises11.811.1 IntroductionHow to write a dissertation
2、 in English As we pointed out in Chapter 9,in academic writing,quoting other peoples ideas and paraphrasing and summarizing existing ideas is a necessary and important step.Without referring to the existing literature,we are not able to demonstrate that we are familiar with the research situation an
3、d it is not easy for us to justify the focus of our research.Therefore,knowing how to quote,summarize and paraphrase is part of knowing how to do research and how to write a research paper or a dissertation.If you are lacking in skills needed for such activities,you may run into the risk of committi
4、ng plagiarism.In this chapter,we will first of all explain what plagiarism is and then advise on how to avoid it in your academic writing.11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.2 Defining plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in EnglishWhat is plagiarism?Plagiarism is“the use of another persons ideas or
5、 wording without giving appropriate credit”(Slade 2000:55).Generally speaking,there are two broad types of plagiarism:(1)intentional,(2)unintentional.Intentional plagiarism means that the writer knows that he is copying other peoples ideas,opinions,or language deliberately without thinking of giving
6、 acknowledgements.Thus,he purposefully hides the fact that the words or ideas he presents are those of someone elses.This type of plagiarism is an intentional form of stealing,which is very serious.By contrast,unintentional plagiarism typically occurs when the writer does not cite the source correct
7、ly.This practice may be unconscious or accidental.In other words,if you do not indicate your source of information correctly or appropriately,you may face the11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.2 Defining plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in Englishrisk of being accused of plagiarism.Although uni
8、ntentional plagiarism is not as serious as intentional plagiarism,it is still a kind of plagiarism.That is why it is important for you to learn how to avoid plagiarism by learning how to cite the source correctly.11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.3 The temptation to plagiarizeHow to write a dissert
9、ation in English As we know,taking existing ideas and wording from the literature is much easier than organizing and proposing your ideas and writing in your own words.Sometimes you sit there for a whole day without having found any new ideas or writing a single paragraph.Sometimes you work very har
10、d for a long time but you still cannot produce a piece of work that you are satisfied with.When you are in this stage of your research,you are likely to be tempted to plagiarize because using or taking other peoples ideas and language is comparatively easier.When you have a deadline to meet and espe
11、cially when you cannot meet the deadline,there is always the temptation to plagiarize because this can easily solve your problem.For example,when a student has to submit an assignment,a term paper,a project or dissertation before the deadline,he is most likely to be tempted to plagiarize(if he canno
12、t do the work by himself)because cutting and pasting is easier than doing11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.3 The temptation to plagiarizeHow to write a dissertation in Englishanything else.Another practice commonly conducted by students is that they synthesize a number of papers on the same topic a
13、nd the result becomes their own writing.In so doing,they may have changed the language here and there,but the ideas presented in the writing are not their own.Thus,the synthesis will lead to plagiarism.Nowadays we can easily find,on the Internet,working papers or papers published in foreign countrie
14、s whose authors are not stated.Some students may think that these papers belong to no one and can be used freely by anyone.If you have this idea,then you will be tempted to credit these writings as your own.If you do so,you will be accused of plagiarizing.A more serious practice of plagiarism is tha
15、t you buy research papers or dissertations from others who have stolen ideas and wording from other people and now sell them to11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.3 The temptation to plagiarizeHow to write a dissertation in Englishyou.If the product they sell is a result of plagiarism,you will not ha
16、ve the chance to blame anyone but yourself and you alone will have to take the responsibility.11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.4 The cost of plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in English The cost of plagiarism is not measurable because it may ruin a persons career or reputation or even his life
17、.If a student commits plagiarism,he may be suspended or dismissed from the university,depending on how serious the case is.If a university professor plagiarizes in his publications,he may lose his established reputation and intellectual integrity,or even lose his job.In fact,there are more serious r
18、esults with regard to plagiarism.The terrible consequence is that once you commit an act of plagiarism,the effect will always be with you.It will be noticed and remembered publicly,forever.There are other serious outcomes for those who are believed to plagiarize.Indeed there are people around us who
19、 become discredited because they are accused of committing plagiarism.Thus,we must learn how to avoid plagiarism in our academic writing.11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.5 Paraphrasing vs plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in English As we showed in Chapter 9,there are a number of ways of refer
20、ring to other peoples work.If you need to quote or summarize or paraphrase other peoples ideas or words,do this selectively,appropriately and wisely.Let us look at an example,which we used in Section 9.4:11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.8(1a)In recent years,linguists and language teachers alike have b
21、ecome much more interested in language as it is used in communication and not just in language as the abstract formal system.The organization of language teaching along functional lines reflects the increased interest in language as and for communication.However,to organize language teaching functio
22、nally does not necessarily make the teaching communicative or encourage the communicative use of the language.(70 words)11.5 Paraphrasing vs plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in English This passage can be re-written in different ways.Below is a re-written version of this paragraph,which has mor
23、e or less the same number of words.Compare the two versions and see whether there are any major differences between the two.11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.8(1b)In recent years,both linguists and language teachers have become more interested in regarding language as a tool in communication and not ju
24、st as an abstract formal system.The arrangement of language teaching according to functional principles shows the increased interest in teaching language as and for communication.However,to make language teaching functionally organized may not make the teaching communicative or encourage people to u
25、se language communicatively.(68 words)11.5 Paraphrasing vs plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in English Obviously,both(1a)and(1b)have the same skeleton,and there is not much change in(1b)in terms of grammatical structure and propositional meaning.Now let us look atanother rewritten version,which
26、 has the same number of words as that in(1a):11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.8(1c)Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in both linguists and language teachers in regarding language as a tool in daily communication rather than as a formal system in the mind.This growing interest has encourag
27、ed applied linguists,course designers,materials writers and teachers to organize teaching along the functional line.However,this does not mean that the teaching becomes communicative automatically or that communicative use of language is suggested.(70 words)11.5 Paraphrasing vs plagiarismHow to writ
28、e a dissertation in English A first glance will suggest that(1c)is a paraphrase of(1a)although the grammatical structures of the two versions are not so similar in comparison with those in(1a)and(1b).If we compare(1b)with(1c),we can see that the latter is a better version.However,the ideas presented
29、 in both(1b)and(1c)are those that are given in(1a).In this respect,(1b)and(1c)are the same.If you use either(1b)or(1c)without giving credit to the original authors,you are still committing plagiarism.One may argue that the ideas presented in(1a)are common ideas which are used by people every day.To
30、a certain extent,this is true.Therefore,if you use any single sentence in(1c)without referring to anyones writing,you are unlikely to be accused of committing plagiarism.However,if you use(1b)or(1c)as a paragraph,people can identify the similarities between(1a)and(1b)&(1c)and they will know the sour
31、ce of both(1b)and(1c).11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.6 How to avoid plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in English In order to avoid plagiarism,we must always remember to tell the reader the source of each quoted idea,fact,information or wording.One simple way of giving the source of the messa
32、ge is to use an introductory clause or phrase to introduce other peoples ideas or wording,as is shown in the following examples:11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.8As Liu et al.(1990:312)point out/observe/assume/say/write/argue/indicate,As is pointed out/observed/assumed/said/written/argued/indicated by
33、 Liu et al.(1990:312),Liu et al.(1990:312)point out/observe/assume/say/write/argue/indicate,that According to Liu et al.(1990:312),11.6 How to avoid plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in English11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.8(1d)As is observed by Liu et al.(1990:312),recent years have witnessed
34、a growing interest in both linguists and language teachers in regarding language as a tool in daily communication rather than as a formal system in the mind,and this growing interest has encouraged applied linguists,course designers,materials writers and teachers to organize teaching along the funct
35、ional line.However,as Liu et al rightly say,this does not mean that the teaching becomes communicative automatically or that communicative use of language is suggested.11.6 How to avoid plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in EnglishAlthough the body of(1d)and that of(1c)are the same,(1d)is a bette
36、r and appropriate version because the source of the information is clearly indicated by the use of the introductory clause As is observed by Liu et al.(1990:312),thus avoiding presenting ideas of others as our own.There are a number of specific points that help make(1d)an improved version.For exampl
37、e,it gives due credit to the authors,and provides all the necessary information about the source of the ideas.The writer,using his own language,has successfully integrated the ideas into an appropriate context by paraphrasing.In order to avoid plagiarism,we need to learn how to indicate the source o
38、f the idea correctly and appropriately.Here is a quotation from Widdowsons paper“Course design and discourse process”(in Widdowson,H.G.Explorations in Applied Linguistics 2,Oxford:Oxford University Press,1984):11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.6 How to avoid plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in
39、 English(2)“In Chomskys original formulation,the term competence refers to the language users knowledge of rules for the composition of sentences.”(Widdowson 1984:229)We can quote Widdowsons interpretation in one of the following ways:(2a)According to Widdowson(1984:229),“In Chomskys original formul
40、ation,the term competence refers to the language users knowledge of rules for the composition of sentences.”11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.6 How to avoid plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in English(2b)According to Widdowsons(1984:229)interpretation,“In Chomskys original formulation,the term
41、 competence refers to the language users knowledge of rules for the composition of sentences.”(2c)As Widdowson(1984:229)interprets it/explains it/,“In Chomskys original formulation,the term competence refers to the language users knowledge of rules for the composition of sentences.”The above three v
42、ersions all quote Widdowson(1984)directly.We can also quote him indirectly or paraphrase his interpretation:11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.6 How to avoid plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in English (2d)The term competence in Chomskys theory of grammar“refers to the language users knowledge
43、of rules for the composition of sentences”(Widdowson 1984:229).(2e)Following Widdowson(1984:229),we assume that the term competence in Chomskys definition is concerned with“the language users knowledge of rules for the composition of sentences”.(2f)Chomskys original formulation of the concept of com
44、petence is understood as“the language users knowledge of rules for the composition of sentences”(Widdowson 1984:229).11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.6 How to avoid plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in English (2g)The term competence in Chomskys theory of language should be interpreted as“the
45、language users knowledge of rules for the composition of sentences”(Widdowson 1984:229).Obviously,there are many other ways,which can help us indicate the source for the interpretation of Chomskys idea of competence.However,if you use(2h)below(cf.(2g)above),you are likely to be accused of committing
46、 plagiarism.(2h)The term competence in Chomskys theory of language should be interpreted as the language users knowledge of rules for the composition of sentences.11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.6 How to avoid plagiarismHow to write a dissertation in English The above examples are just some ways
47、of referring to other peoples work.The choice of one way over another is very often a personal one.There are,of course,other ways of presenting someone elses ideas and indicating the source of information.So long as you know how to indicate your source correctly,you will not run into the trouble of
48、being accused of plagiarism.11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.811.7 SummaryHow to write a dissertation in English11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.8 In this chapter we have discussed issues concerning plagiarism,which should always be avoided.Whether you plagiarize intentionally or unintentionally,you wil
49、l not be leading a peaceful life once you are accused of committing plagiarism.It is therefore necessary to learn how to avoid plagiarism and to indicate the source of other peoples ideas correctly and appropriately.With regard to avoiding plagiarism,here are two pieces of advice:(1)Quote other peop
50、les ideas if you need to or have to,but always do so properly,selectively and wisely;(2)Never try to pretend that you are not aware of the existing literature and existing ideas(if you have already come across them).The original passage below was taken from Geoff Thompsons(1996:28)Introducing Functi
