Plagiarism--the unacknowledged borrowing of materials from another source--usually happens when we quote or paraphrase from a source, which are the two main ways to use sources in our writing.

Quotation Strategies
It’s easy to avoid problems when quoting a source. Simply make sure that you (1) introduce who is speaking, (2) bracket the exact words in quotation marks, and (3) add a citation.

For example, here is an original passage from :

Sarah Graham, who wrote in Scientific American (April, 2004)

To use this quotation in a paper, we add a signal phrase (“Graham reports") and bracket the author's exact words with quotation marks, then add the citation information called for by the style guide we are using (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)

Graham (2004) reports, “Breast cancer is the type of cancer most closely linked with women in the public consciousness, but lung cancer has now surpassed it as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women” (p. 12).

Paraphrase Strategies
However, as you know, it is important to limit the number of direct quotations that you employ in your writing. Paraphrasing lets you use information from a source without quoting it directly.

A paraphrase means translating the quote into your own phrases. A paraphrase doesn’t mean putting a quotation entirely in your own words. When using the passage from Graham, for example, you will most likely have to repeat certain key words like “breast cancer,” "lung cancer," and “women.” Also, some words are so common you cannot help but use them: “the” “of” “but” and so forth.

So the key to a successful paraphrase is to translate the quotation into your own way of writing or speaking. For example:

Although the public may think breast cancer is more prevalent, actually lung cancer is the number one cancer killer of women (Graham, 2004).

As you see, although we repeated some key words like “public” “women” “breast cancer” and “lung cancer,” we successfully translated the original passage into our own way of saying it, then added a citation.

Don't Forget the Citation
To avoid plagiarism, you must cite any information acquired from a source, whether you quote it directly or whether you paraphrase it.

Remember that basic rule and you will be able to make good use of source material in your writing.