Recognizing the Difference Between
Paraphrasing and Plagiarizing

In this example, borrowed from the 6th edition of Diana Hacker's A Writer's Reference handbook, I have transcribed a couple of examples that demonstrate problems with borrowing.

Here is an original source:

Without adequate discipline, the World Wide Web can be a tremendous time sink; no other medium comes close to matching the internet's depth of materials, interactivity, and sheer distractive potential.
                                (Frederick Lane, The Naked Employee, page 142)

Here's an attempt to borrow from it:

Frederick Lane points out that if people do not have adequate discipline, the World Wide Web can be a tremendous time sink; no other medium comes close to matching the internet's depth of materials, interactivity, and sheer distractive potential (142).

Sometimes, the borrowing occurs in chunks but if it's not cited, it's still plagiarism. Do you see this here?

Here's another source:

In earlier times, surveillance was limited to the information that a supervisor could observe and record firsthand and to primitive counting devices. In the computer age, surveillance can be instantaneous, unblinking, cheap, and, maybe most importantly, easy.
                               (Carl Botan and Mihaela Vorvoreanu, "What Do Employees Think about Electronic Surveillance at Work?" p. 126)

And, in an attempt to borrow, look at what the writer did:

Scholars Carl Botan and Mihaela Vorvoreanu argue that in earlier times monitoring of employees was restricted to the information that a supervisor could observe and record firsthand. In the modern era, monitoring can be instantaneous, inexpensive, and most importantly, easy (126).

Do you see the problem? Even these fragments need citation because (and this is key) these are not your words but the source's! In addition, any time you keep the order (and especially the general syntax) of the original, you are likely borrowing and must give proper credit.

As author Diana Hacker notes, "To avoid plagiarizing an author's language, resist the temptation to look at the source while you are summarizing or paraphrasing. Close the book, write from memory, and then open the book to check for accuracy. This technique prevents you from being captivated by the words on the page" (361).