Avoiding Plagiarism

Example 1: Plagiarize the original text by copying portions of it word-for-word.

The estimates of value-added and other “growth models,” which attempt to isolate the “true effect” of an individual teacher through his or her students’ test scores, are alarmingly error-prone in any given year. The average “margin of error” of a New York City teacher was plus or minus 28 points.

Example 2: Plagiarize the original text by paraphrasing its structure too closely, without copying it word-for-word.

The ways in which teachers are evaluated in New York City and Houston have an average margin of error of plus or minus 28 points. For example, if some teachers ranked in the 43rd percentile were compared with other teachers, they may be as low as the 15th percentile or as high as the 71st.

Example 3: Plagiarize the original text by paraphrasing its structure too closely, and include a citation. Even though you cited it, paraphrasing too closely is still plagiarism.

The ways in which teachers are evaluated in New York City and Houston have an average margin of error of plus or minus 28 points. For example, if some teachers ranked in the 43rd percentile were compared with other teachers, they may be as low as the 15th percentile or as high as the 71st (Ravitch 270-71)

Example 4: Properly paraphrase from the original text by restating the author’s ideas in different words and phrases, and include a citation to the original source.

There are inherent errors found in how teacher performance is measured that are so large these measure can be seen as ineffective and unreliable. In some places, ranges of up to 28 points of difference in how these teachers are tested on their adequacy can be found. Thus, the question arises, how can these measure be trusted if there is such a high degree of variability in the results (Ravitch 270-71)?

Example 5: Properly paraphrase from the original text by restating the author’s ideas in different words and phrases, add a direct quote, and include a citation to the original source.

In looking at the ways in which teacher performance is measured, one can’t help but see that there are certain unreliable aspects to the methods. In a study performed by an economist at NYU, Sean Corcoran, “He found that the average “margin of error” of [the measure of] a New York City teacher was plus or minus 28 points”(Ravitch 270-71). In addition to the level of variability on every test, the performance of the teachers changed each year. These two factors provide the basis for why this measure of the performance of teachers in quite unreliable (Ravitch 270-71).