To safeguard yourself against inadvertent plagiarism, inadequate/incorrect documentation, or ineffective use of sources, use the following as a checklist during the final editing stages.
Document any direct quotation, any idea that has come from someone else's work, an any fact or statistic that is not widely known.
Enclose all direct quotations in quotation marks.
Make sure that paraphrases are in your own words but still accurately reflect the content of the original material.
Make sure that every source cited in the paper has an entry in the bibliography.
Alphabetize the bibliography and utilize MLA style for each entry.
Use the same documentation system throughout the paper.
Provide accurate and complete information for all citations (no misspellings, incomplete citations, missing pages numbers, etc.).
Integrate your quotations smoothly into your paper (remember, they cannot stand by themselves). Also, vary the way you introduce quotations and paraphrases.
When relevant, identify the individuals you cite (for example, "According to Jane Thompson, president of the American Medical Association, nurses are overworked and underpaid.") Only do so, however, if it adds relevance and authority to your citation.
If in doubt about whether to document a source, be safe and document it. Overdocumentation is poor style and cumbersome, but plagiarism is illegal and grounds for failure
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