The discussion of plagiarism is prompting me to post my "10 Commandments of Paper Writing." I find that putting everything in black and UP FRONT prevents a lot of difficulty on the back end. i..e., preventing plagiarism is easier than dealing with it after tyhe fact. Please feel free to use the following as you see fit. You also have permission to modify it as you see fit. It is not copyrighted ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Office (610)436-2945 Professor and Chairperson Home (610)363-1939 Department of Psychology FAX (610)436-2846 West Chester University [EMAIL PROTECTED] West Chester, PA 19383 www.wcupa.edu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Husband, father, biopsychologist and bluegrass fiddler........... not necessarily in order of importance. AAFOUF#0064 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The 10 Commandments of Paper Writing I. Though shalt not cite directly a paper thou hast not read. Neither shalt thou include in thy reference section any paper that thou hast not read nor any paper which has not been cited in the body of thy paper. Such practices constitute the padding of thy reference section. They are an abomination. II. When paraphrasing part of an article, thou must significantly rewrite the relevant material. Failure to paraphrase constitutes plagiarism for which you will be cut down. III. Excessive quotations are to be avoided. If thou canst not paraphrase a thing, thou dost not understand that thing. If thou dost not understand a thing, study it until thou dost understand it and by that understanding, are able to paraphrase it. Excessive quotes are naught more than filler material used by slothful students who do not have enough material to write a decent paper. IV. In the rare case that thou must use a quotation thou must know that short quotations shalt always be enclosed within quotation marks. Quotations longer than one or two sentences shall be indented. All quotations must be followed by both the reference and the relevant page number (e.g., Pollak, 1974, p.322). Thou shalt include page numbers only for quotations. For paraphrased material though shalt cite only the author(s) and date. V. Thou shalt use APA style in all things. Thou shalt consult the APA style manual or any current issue of the American Psychologist. APA style means that thou shalt use few (if any) footnotes and that all references will be cited in the body of the paper (e.g., Pollak, 1974). Thou shalt not use numbered references. They are an abomination. VI. Thou shalt avoid long, flowery, complex sentences in favor of a crisp, telegraphic style. VII. Thou shalt include an abstract at the beginning of thy paper. An abstract is a summary of thy paper. It is not an introduction to thy paper. VIII. Thou shalt use only those sources that come from scholarly journals and books. Psychology Today and other popular magazines are not scholarly journals. Neither are internet sources and encyclopedias appropriate for college-level papers. These things are an abomination before our eyes. IX. Thou must know that many of thy resources will not be contained within the library of West Chester University and must be sought elsewhere or must be ordered through inter-library loan. Therefore I say unto thee, verily must thou begin thy research at the earliest possible time lest the day of judgment approach and thou art found wanting before thy professor. X. Thy professor is a gentle and gracious professor. Thou shalt consult with thy professor at any and all stages of the research and writing process that thou might not fall into error. Thy professor shalt treat thy inquiries with helpfulness and charity even unto reading an early draft of thy work. If thou dost listen to my words and do these things that I command, thou will be found worthy and thy grade point average will prosper even unto summa cum laude. ----------------
