In this chapter, we’ve stressed the necessity of giving yourself plenty of time. One of the most commonly cited excuses students give for plagiarism is that they didn’t have enough time to do the research. Allow yourself enough time to research the assignment.When you are in the workplace and the “real world,” you’ll be expected to think for yourself, so you might as well start learning this skill now. One of the goals of a public speaking class is to develop skills that you’ll use in the world outside academia. Do your own work, and use your own words.In a very helpful book called Avoiding Plagiarism: A Student Guide to Writing Your Own Work, Menager-Beeley and Paulos provide a list of twelve strategies for avoiding plagiarism (Menager-Beeley & Paulos, 2009):
You must provide correct citations for all your sources within the speech as well. Having the citation listed on a bibliography or reference page is only half of the correct citation. Here are two examples using the examples above:įirst, and foremost, if the idea isn’t yours, you need to cite where the information came from during your speech.
Instead, help them make the connections you want them to make. Do not let your audience draw their own conclusions about the quotation or paraphrase. Instead, take the time to explain the quotation or paraphrase to put into the context of your speech. One of the biggest mistakes of novice public speakers (and research writers) is that they include a source citation and then do nothing with the citation at all. The final step in correct source citation within a speech is the explanation. Notice that the same basic pattern for citing sources was followed in both cases. In her book The Elements of Library Research: What Every Student Needs to Know, Mary George, senior reference librarian at Princeton University’s library, tells us that insight is likely to come unexpectedly during the research process it will be an “aha!” moment when we suddenly have a clear vision of the point we want to make. In her book The Elements of Library Research: What Every Student Needs to Know, Mary George, senior reference librarian at Princeton University’s library, defines insight as something that “occurs at an unpredictable point in the research process and leads to the formulation of a thesis statement and argument. To paraphrase is to take a source’s basic idea and condense it using your own words. A direct quotation is when you cite the actual words from a source with no changes. Second, you want to deliver the source whether it is a direct quotation or a paraphrase of information from a source doesn’t matter at this point. Here’s an example: “Workplace bullying is becoming an increasing problem for US organizations.” Notice that this statement doesn’t provide a specific citation yet, but the statement introduces the basic topic. The setup is one or two sentences that are general statements that lead to the specific information you are going to discuss from your source. Citing sources within a speech is a three-step process: set up the citation, give the citation, and explain the citation.įirst, you want to set up your audience for the citation. In this section, we’re going to quickly talk about using your research effectively within your speeches. Once you have decided what sources best help you explain important terms and ideas in your speech or help you build your arguments, it’s time to place them into your speech. The seventh edition provides considerable guidance for citing online sources and new media such as graphic narratives. In March 2009, the Modern Language Association published the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Modern Language Association, 2009) ( ). The second common reference style your teacher may ask for is MLA. The seventh edition provides considerable guidance on working with and citing Internet sources.
As of October 2019, the American Psychological Association published the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association ( ). The first common reference style your teacher may ask for is APA.