Humanities & Social Sciences

Examples Humsoc

Example 1a for Humanities & Social Sciences

In the box there is an excerpt from page 5 from the book:
Lebo, H. (1997). The Godfather Legacy. New York: Fireside.

After that you can see how a student has integrated information from the excerpt into his own text. Please notice that the reference list is not included in the example. It should contain the complete reference for the source, in this example according to the Harvard-style.

Excerpt

Superficially, The Godfather was a pulp novel about sex, violence, and crime in America’s gangland underworld. But at its core were solid storytelling and vivid characters.

Student text
The Godfather seemed to be a pulp novel about sex, violence, and crime in the American mafia. On a deeper level, the novel is a tightly woven epic story of life with dynamic characters.

Is this a correct paraphrase?
No, this paraphrase is plagiarism. The writer of this paraphrase only changed a few words and phrases, but did not synthesize the original paragraph or change it into his own words. Furthermore, a portion of the paraphrase is a direct quote and should be within quotation marks. The writer also failed to cite the original source.

Example 1b for Humanities & Social Sciences

In the box there is an excerpt from page 1 from the book:
Wiegand, W. A. (1998). Introduction: theoretical foundations for analyzing print culture as agency and practice in diverse modern America. In Danky, J. & Wiegand, W. (Eds.), Print Culture in a Diverse America. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press, pp. 1-16.

After that you can see how a student has integrated information from the excerpt into his own text. Please notice that the reference list is not included in the example. It should contain the complete reference for the source, in this example according to the IEEE-style.

Excerpt

For the past five hundred years, most of humankind has been informed by print. In the United States, for example, all people in the America’s multicultural and multiclass society have for two centuries used or been influenced by print.

Student text
People worldwide have been influenced by print for more than five hundred years. For more than two hundred years in the United States, “America’s multicultural and multiclass society” has been informed by print (Wiegand, 1998, p. 1).

Is this a correct paraphrase?
Yes, this time, the writer used his own words. The ideas presented in the original passage remain, but the words are now his own. The part that is taken verbatim from the source is marked with quotation marks. The original author is given credit with a text reference.

Example 2 for Humanities & Social Sciences

In the box there is an excerpt from page 1 from the book:
Abrams, M.H., (ed.) (1962) The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 1. New York : W.W. Norton & Co.

After that you can see how two students have integrated information from the excerpt into his own text. Please notice that the reference list is not included in the example. It should contain the complete reference for the source, in this example according to the IEEE-style.

Excerpt

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon in April (probably April 23), 1564. His father was a citizen of some prominence who became an alderman and bailiff, but who later suffered financial reverses. Shakespeare presumably attended the Stratford grammar school, where he could have acquired a respectable knowledge of Latin, but he did not proceed to Oxford or Cambridge. There are legends about Shakespeare’s youth but no documented facts.

Student text 1
William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon. His father was a prominent citizen who suffered financial losses after becoming an alderman and bailiff. Shakespeare may have attended the Stratford grammar school and learned Latin, but he did not go on to Oxford or Cambridge. There are no documented facts about Shakespeare’s youth so scholars have to rely on legend.

Is this a correct paraphrase?
No, this paraphrase is plagiarism. The writer of this paraphrase changed a few words and phrases, but did not synthesize the original paragraph or change it into her own words. The writer used the structure of the original paragraph with minor changes, and failed to cite the original source.

Student text 2
William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon. His father was an affluent member of the community. At one time a well-known and respected alderman and bailiff, he later lost his financial security. Experts suspect that Shakespeare went to the Stratford grammar school where he probably obtained a command of the Latin language, however, since there are no documented facts about his childhood, scholars rely on rumours and stories believed to be historically accurate. They do know that he did not continue his education at Oxford or Cambridge (Abrams, 1962, p. 629).

Is this a correct paraphrase?
Yes, this time, the author has written the paraphrase in her own words, changing it significantly from the original passage. The ideas presented in the original passage remain, but the words are now her own. She has also given the original author credit.