Citing the Source: PLAGIARISM ALERT!

             You’re Expelled! These are two words that I never want to hear. In The Transition to College Writing by Keith Hjortshoj, Hjortshoj explains how to properly cite sources to avoid getting caught in the plagiarism trap. I know that only in extreme copyright cases would a student ever get expelled for plagiarism, but any type of plagiarism can land a student in trouble and this trouble is easy to avoid if you cite properly. Citing properly and knowing when exactly to cite has been an issue of mine since high school. I do not know why I find it so hard to distinguish between what needs to be cited and what does not. Not citing properly can earn me a reduce letter grade, to a failing one on my paper and a trip to the Dean's office, which can be avoided.

Hjortshoj has wonderful citation wisdom, which includes, “A citation at the end of a paragraph does not authorize all uses of the source in previous sentences” (145). What Hjortshoj means, is that when students use multiple ideas from a single source, many students, including me, think that it is okay to just use one citation to denote the author at the end of the paragraph. This is NOT correct.  Each sentence needs to be cited properly, and also using just one source to support an argument in a paragraph of a paper is not sufficient evidence most times to prove the point of that section. The point is that multiple sources should be used  to make the argument stronger and then students never have to worry about using a single citation for a lot of evidence. 

As a result, to avoid all these plagiarism pitfalls, I have a tendency to over-cite in my papers, because I am so afraid of being accused of stealing another author’s ideas.  Over-citing can become detrimental to a paper because then it is just a collection of other writer's thoughts and ideas and none of mine, the paper's author.  Teachers want to hear what I have to say and not just already established voices on the subjects and topics. My voice is lost in the paper and Hjortshoj explains this phenomenon in detail. He says:

“Using you voice as the writer to introduce and integrate sources, you must take charge of your writing and responsibility for it, as all students and scholars must.  This kind of writing isn’t just about “what other writers said” but about what you choose to tell us about the subject, including the words and ideas of other authors you choose to include. When you take responsibility for telling your own story about the subject, you gain tremendous freedom to use the work of other writers to help you tell this story well” (150).

            
            I have to overcome this citation problem to exceed now in college. My professor will not be happy if I just reiterate what others have said and not analyze it or support the evidence with my own voice throughout the paper. I can get so determined at proving my point with sufficient evidence that I forget about my own voice on the subject. It will be a difficult challenge for me to overcome!