How to make sure you don’t plagiarize - The art of rendering unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s [Voice-over] Thursday morning. While working on her term paper, Anna has come to realize that, in general, the sentences she likes and finds intelligent have always been written by someone else. And now, Anna has just come across a very nice quotation. And she’s reminded of how unfair it is that it’s always the same people who have the good ideas. [Dialogues] Anna: OK, Jules, here's the game. This was written by Jacques Monod. We change it, keep the idea, and make it seem like it's mine. Jules: That’s what they call plagiarism. Anna: pfff, roo Fred: Is this Mr. Monod famous? Anna: Well... he won... the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Jules: Just a Nobel. But we don't have a choice. We'll go word by word. It's what I call French-to-French translation . Anna: That’s good. Jules: No, it's not. Jules: We can do better. Jules: I don't buy it. Jules: Not bad. Anna: Keep going? Anna: It's good. Jules: No, it sucks. Jules: This doesn't work. Anna: You're not too good with words. Jules: Ahh! Sorry. Jules: We need a synonym for… for adversaries. Anna: Nemesises Anna, [laughing]: That was almost right. Jules: No. Anna: Yes? Jules: Not too elegant. Jules: No, that's right. Jules: Any day now... Anna: This is good. Jules: Yeah, that's it. Anna: It's perfect. Jules: What… what was the original sentence? Anna: Let’s see, "Dominant désormais son environnement, l’Homme n’avait plus devant soi d’adversaire sérieux que lui-même". [Voice-over] Ah yes, the temptation can be great not to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s… But you’re not going to succumb to the temptation, Anna. You’re going to resist copying and pasting. As you know, all academic work rests on and takes its inspiration from existing sources; it never appears ex nihilo, out of nothing. To construct your argument, you will have to build on existing work. Your work has to both integrate the ideas of the researchers who have gone before you and include your own ideas. Keep in mind that this is not a simple exercise of copying and pasting. Reformulating and rewriting form an integral part of a student’s work. That is how science moves forward, advances and grows. It can only be built on the basis of the principles of integrity and intellectual honesty. Remember that your paper will be read by others. You have to give them a way to clearly distinguish your work from what you have borrowed from others. That is why, when you write a paper in which you incorporate ideas, passages or illustrations that are not your own, you absolutely must cite your sources. Otherwise, you could find yourself committing an act of plagiarism. Some advice on how to construct your own arguments while incorporating the ideas of others: • Systematically note down the complete references for sources as soon as you have found them. (You can do this by using reference management software if you wish.) • Reformulate the words of an author, explicitly stating that you have borrowed the idea. • Choose your sources carefully. Your paper will be more favorably evaluated if you’re able to find and cite relevant, varied and high-quality sources. [Dialogues] Jules: So, Anna, do you get it? Words belong to their author. Same goes for ideas. They belong to their inventor. Anna: Yeah, OK. So I’m never going to get a free ride, am I? Jules: Well, no, you’re not. Except on a bike. Anna: Oh, you found your bike? Awesome!