Research

The road to knowledge and the cure for plagiarism is excellent research.

Step 1: Get to know your primary source

Close reading is a kind of research that uses only the primary source (i.e., the film, visual, or piece of writing you were assigned): you begin your inquiry by asking questions of the text, then scan the text for clues and evidence, and eventually synthesize your knowledge in a critical response to text (whether in bullet points, a short paragraph, or a full-blown essay).

Always always always ensure that you do close reading and take notes before you even think about consulting secondary sources. It's especially easy (and dangerous) to do this when casually consulting sites like SparkNotes, Cliffnotes, or Shmoop - resist the urge and use them responsibly (i.e., reason #1 below only)! In fact, in most instances, you won't need to consult any secondary sources and can stop at step 1.

Step 2: Consult secondary sources as needed

Consulting secondary sources is appropriate when:

1. You want to confirm whether your interpretation is accurate.
2. You've come across an allusion and need to look it up to increase your understanding.
3. You need to better understand the historical and cultural context of your source text.
4. You are creating your own text (whether with words, images, sounds, or video).
5. You have a genuine line of inquiry or curiosity you want to pursue!

Any text that is not your primary source for interpretation or created by you is considered a secondary source - this includes words, images, sounds, and video.