Heads up: Your final paper (Assignment 3) is due in 15 days, on Monday, December 13th, by 11:59 pm, to email, using the same provided template you used for your first assignment. No pdfs please!)
This is our last module, but the course isn’t over! Power through the last bit with your final paper and other courses. Hang in there, and ask for help when you need it!
Here’s what you need to do this week (1.5 – 2 hours):
– Read from the JTC:
> “Plagiarism and Academic Integrity,” by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz (pp. 183-188)
> “Organizing your Ideas,” by Lisa Blankenship (pp. 195-199)
– Take my Zotero tutorial for help automatising references and bibliography and saving time when you write your final paper.
– In the comments below, please answer the following questions:
1. What did the text about plagiarism clarify for you? Often, in the early stages of our academic writing journey, we hesitate as to what needs acknowledging and what doesn’t. Can you explain this difference in your own words now?
2. Do you identify as an instinctive writer (you just go with the flow and figure out what you mean as you write) or a anticipative writer (you plan as much as possible and figure out most of what you want to say before you actually write? Please describe your approach in at least 3 sentences.
3. (This one is more of a checklist question for yourself, you do not need to write your answer in the comments, unless you are in doubt and need others to weigh in). Are you certain that your sources are reliable? Do you have your peer-reviewed sources? Are you sure you know how to quote, paraphrase, and insert references + bibliography correctly? Failure to reference a source may be considered plagiarism in some cases.
If you’re in doubt:
The ultimate guide to most referencing styles and how to avoid plagiarism
Last-but-one Friday meeting (we are still meeting on Friday, December 10th, please see the schedule)
– We’ll discuss readings and responses.
– We’ll talk more about the editing process: referencing (Purdue Owl, manually and with Zotero), Word editing with spell and grammar check + read-aloud feature, and proofreading (share-screen demo).
– I’ll answer any questions about the final paper. Please take note of any questions you have and bring them to the meeting.
Congratulations on completing the last module of this course! Thank you for your effort and contribution to the class, and good luck with the last few days of the semester 🙂
1. What this text about plagiarism clarified for me was that we tend to use plagiarism more than what I thought. What I think we do is that when we look something up and we read and write what is learned we mostly think that we are just writing something in general that does not need to explain who says it or who discovered. People are not sure when to claim he author of the ideas or theories that they used, I can relate myself to this.
2. I describe myself as a n instinctive writer. I tend to let the ideas flow and write what I believe I need to. I like letting my ideas flow and using my reasoning when I write.
3. I am still working out with my sources.
1.The text underlines that unintentional plagiarism can be avoided in an essay if the writer makes an effort to directly tell the reader where the information was derived from, to avoid copying the original author of an article’s work. Also, attentively reading an institution’s academic integrity policy can allow students to know what can and cannot be accepted in an essay in order to prevent themselves from re-stating another person’s work. I believe the difference in what needs acknowledging and what doesn’t is that we don’t need to cite information that is general knowledge but rather include citations for information that were researched, deducted/ analyzed, and explained in someone else’s words. .
2. I consider myself an anticipative writer because I like to jot down bullet points of what I can say about a given text and then turn my ideas into sentences. Planning something before I write enables me to convey all of my thoughts about a text and can prevent me from having writer’s block. However, in cases where I have to answer a short-response question or an impromptu writing task, I can be an instinctive writer and try to figure out what to write as I go along the process but I prefer to plan ahead before I write.
3. I am certain with my sources but I will reach out to you, Professor, with any questions.
1. The text clarified the different types of plagiarism that may happen and how to not make these issues such as sourcing when using the author’s words but not overdoing it where every sentence is cited. The difference between what needs acknowledging and what doesn’t is that information or general sentences that form an article do not need to be cited because it is not directly coming from that article. When we are using information from the author’s words then we must cite our sources.
2. I am more of an instinctive writer as I like to go with the flow while writing the essay. Since college I have tried to become a anticipative writer because I believe this will help me better group my ideas for my essay but even when I use this technique I still go with the flow of the writing. I think it depends on the type of essay I am writing.
Excellent – becoming a more anticipative writer is one of the learning goals in college!
Also, just to clarify, about question 1: you do need to acknowledge a source when you are referring to it in your own words, because the idea is still taken from the source and belong to its author(s). But you’re right that a general truth does not need to be acknowledged.
1. What this text showed me was that at times we all tend to deliever information in ways that we previously saw elsewhere. We must be careful because not many know that there are different ways to plagerize but we could avoid. So you should make sure to always source when you give information to avoid it. I believe the difference would be that certain information do need citation like the author’s direct statements rather then something that the readers already know.
2. As much as I try to be an anticipative writer, I tend to be more of an instinctive writer because I go with the flow and expand as I write. Especially now, since entering my college years I wanted to jot and keep notes while writing essays. However, I feel like I will keep on being an instinctive because I do work better by figuring it out as I continue to write.
3. I’ll say my sources are reliable and I am sure that I know how to quote, paraphrase, and insert references + bibliography correctly. If anything, I will reach out.
Thank you for continuing to comment despite the tiredness at this stage!
1. For me, the text about plagiarism clarified that it’s important to clearly indicate our source so that we aren’t plagiarizing someone else’s piece of work. I do think that sometimes we do have a habit of paraphrasing a piece of evidence without properly crediting our sources, so i understand why the text about plagiarism would stress the importance of clearly indicating the sources we use.
2. I would identify myself as an instinctive writer, which I want to change because when you plan out what you think you should write, the entire writing process definitely goes much faster. If I was asked this question in high-school, I would probably describe myself as an anticipative writer. I always had a plan for each and every paper i was assigned, which benefited me. Being an instinctive writer does have its pros but in my opinion, having a plan for what you intend to write seems like a much better idea instead of just going with the flow of things.
1. The text clarified for me how important it is to acknowledge plagiarism and how plagiarism can sometimes be unintentional. It is important for us to cite our sources appropriately based on what we are using the citation for. I also realized that sometimes even though we cite evidence in our text, it still might be formatted wrong and we might have to go back, acknowledge and fix our mistakes.
2. I am an instinctive writer for the most part. I usually figure out the topic I want to write about and then move towards finding evidence to support my claim. I then let my ideas take me from paragraph to paragraph. It all seems to work out in the end but I am interested in changing the way I write. I would like work towards becoming an anticipative writer as it would help me structure my ideas and help deliver my messages better.
1. The text opened my eyes n the matter of plagiarism and how to recognize it even when it seems like it’s was an accident or very unintentional. For example when citing something on Wikipedia then actual info s from Wikipedia itself but from other sources and the text is saying make sure to double check on who you are citing so that you can give them the credit that they should earn.
2. I more of a instinctive writer. As said before I like to write at the heat of the moment planning on how to write just creates too much overthinking and might reduce my efficiency when writing about something, whether that be an essay or anything else. Going with the flow could overall help my skills as a writer grow and in many beneficial ways too.
1.I tend to stress and worry about whether I unintentionally plagiarize in my work and oftentimes I add an excess amount of in-text citations. The text about plagiarism clarified that the over usage of citations is not necessary. Instead, I need to be more careful and try my best to cite the sources I have used. I think it’s important to acknowledge information directly taken from an external source, even if you put it in your own words. I think your own thoughts, ideas, and analysis of external sources do not need to be acknowledged because they are original.
2.I would identify myself as an anticipative writer because I like to plan before I write my essays. Before I start an essay, I first need to jot down my ideas and organize the information I am going to use. Organizing my thoughts and ideas allows me to better understand the direction my writing is taking and gives me more control over the end result. I feel my writing is more clear and coherent when I create an outline and build off of it.
1. The text made me realize how to recognize plagiarism, even when it seems unintentional. It also cleared up that there isnt a need to keep using many citation, overdo-ing it. I think that the difference is figuring out which things need to be quotes and which things can be rephrased into our own words.
2. I believe I am more of an anticipative writer because I like to plan out what I will say. I usually write down the main ideas that I want to talk about, put them in bullet points, then build off of them. After I have these points down, I start writing based off of those ideas, then at the end I put them all together to make it flow.
After reading the text, i guess I can say that I do understand how to figure out if something is a form of plagiarism a little easier. I know I personally used to have problems with citations and paraphrasing and such. Not that I didn’t know how to do it, but just the fact that I wasn’t correctly siting the source, and if I had the same mistakes as before it would be really bad now.
I am 100% an instinctive writer. i try to outline what I want to write in my head, and usually it starts off really good but even if I try to write down what was in my head it turns out much different than what I wanted it to be and almost not as good as the original. That’s why i tend to go with the flow because If I have to change something drastic it will be much easier to fix it. I have the foundation in my head, but every little detail is developed as the construction of my paper goes.
I’m sure they are reliable, as many of them are similar sources to what I’ve seen in the past before actually writing this paper. i know how to source correctly, but If I do have trouble id love to ask for help if possible.
1. After I read the text I realized that it is a lot easier to plagiarize than I originally had thought. You are responsible for giving credit for even the vague usage of someone else’s work. You also need to give credit for having someone else help you, for example if a friend gives you an idea for a writing piece you have the credit them.
2. I definitely think I am an instinctive writer. I like to get my ideas down first, then go back and fix my errors and make everything sound better. Most of the time when I try to plan I lose a lot of ideas which I originally had. I also find myself forgetting to refer back to my plans and I will just improvise regardless.
3. Yes I am sure my sources are reliable.
1. It cleared up for me my workflow and what I should be doing. For example like looking over my work to make sure it’s not exactly like my references.
2. I would say im an instinctive writer as I write what comes to me. That could be a big issue with plagrisim and I would not even know it.
3. I have not actually thought about my sources being 100% authentic or reliable, I think I assume they are. I definitely need to work on bibliographies.
1. I’ve heard that a there was a once a person that plagiarized because she read a book and then unintentionally plagiarized. That is something that I’m always worried about. I learned to track the resources. I also learned that there are certain things that I wouldn’t need to quote from, such as common knowledge. And I should quote to things that are less known.
2. I consider myself as a instinctive writer, I like to start writing and add stuff along the way. There is always certain ideas that pop up in my head as I write. But I also like to plan a little bit ahead of time so I can be a little more organized. First I would try to provide an outline. And in this outline I sometimes would add things that I’m thinking of. Then I would start writing, but as I write their may be things that I would want to address that I didn’t realize. So I would add stuff along the way.
3. I know that some of the sources I use should be authentic, because I would research the author and look for the tone of the author to identify if he is reliable. But there could be cases when some one sounds reliable but could be totally wrong.