Is it legal to leave out a citation for a paraphrase of facts that I got from a source? How would one cite a paraphrase? Is citation always necessary? Even on tests or talking about something with a friend five years after you learned the fact?
When is it actually legal to quote a source?
I am
so frustrated! It seems I’ll have to fail all my classes to avoid sinning by breaking plagiarism and copyright law!
If you are paraphrasing, you are putting it into your own words. No in text citation is necessary.
Citations are not necessary on test as a general rule.
If you are talking about a subject with a friend after you learned the fact, you do not need to cite sources!! When have you EVER heard people citing sources during a friendly conversation? People may say, “I heard on the news that …” Five years later, you might be saying, “Remember that class with Mr. Jones and that paper we wrote on puppies biting their tails? That was so interesting. My dog does not bite his tail at all.” You would not have to cite your sources on where you got information on puppies biting their tales during your conversation.
You MUST talk to your teachers. Have you taken a writing class? If not, please do so. Also, discuss this scrupulosity with your confessor.
See below for examples:
Here is the original article:
*33 whales shot in New Zealand after rescues failed
Associated Press – 1 hr 52 mins ago
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Conservation staff in New Zealand have put down 33 stranded whales after several attempts to refloat them failed. The pilot whales shot Thursday were the last of 99 that stranded themselves Monday on Farewell Spit on the South Island. Department of Conservation area manager John Mason says staff and hundreds of volunteers had tried all week to get the whales refloated. He says they thought they were successful Wednesday when they got the whales into deep water — but were saddened Thursday to find that they had swum back ashore. He says the condition of the whales had significantly deteriorated.
As well as the 33 whales that were shot, 36 had died naturally since Monday and 17 were successfully refloated. Thirteen remain unaccounted for.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright © 2012 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. | Yahoo! - ABC News Network | / *
If I wrote this in a paper, I would have to cite my source:
“Conservation staff in New Zealand have put down 33 stranded whales after several attempts to refloat them failed.” I would have to attribute it to the Yahoo cite.
news.yahoo.com/33-whales-shot-zealand-rescues-failed-013504738.html
If I paraphrased and wrote it like this, I am putting it in my own words:
“Several people working with wildlife in New Zealand had to euthanize 33 pilot whales that were stranded and were not able to be rescued.” That is not plagiarism, but generally at the end of papers, you write a bibliography. You would include the source there.
If you met with a friend and said, “Hey, did you hear about those whales in New Zealand? 33 had to be euthanized,” you might mention you read it on Yahoo, but you would not have to recite the exact web address.
If on a test, a question was “Write what you know about stranded whales in New Zealand,” you would write what you know. You might say, “I read in a Yahoo new article that whales were stranded and euthanized.” You again would not need to cite the exact address on a test. No teacher is going to expect you to have memorized the exact source details.
