Incomplete Paraphrases are Plagiarism

Using an author’s exact words without quotation marks and a citation is called plagiarism.

One way to avoid plagiarism is to paraphrase, or restate, the author’s ideas in your own words and give a citation.

When paraphrasing, it’s important to completely restate the author’s ideas in your own words. Even if some words have been changed from the original text, an incomplete paraphrase is still plagiarism.

Here's an example:

Original Quote

“But it isn’t only candy bars he makes. Oh, dear me, no! He has some really fantastic inventions up his sleeve, Mr. Willy Wonka has!”

From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Plagiarism

Grandpa Joe explains to Charlie that Willy Wonka has a few really amazing inventions up his sleeve (Dahl 9).

Even though some words have been changed, the bold text is still plagiarism because it repeats the phrase “inventions up his sleeve” and the order of words is the same as the original quote.

Paraphrase

Grandpa Joe explains to Charlie that Willy Wonka not simply a great chocolate maker, but also a skilled inventor (Dahl 9).

This is a successful paraphrase because all of the words have been changed from the original text.

Tip!

Keep an eye out for any chunks of 2–3 words that are the same as in the original text. If you have to use more than 3 of the author’s original words in a row, it’s probably best to use a quotation.