Plagiarism: Online Resources

When you’re unsure about what something is, looking at examples is a good way to dispel any confusion.  Examples are so successful at making complex things clear that it is now standard to see examples in instruction manuals detailing exactly how to complete each step of whatever process is being explained.  Why should learning about plagiarism be any different?

The internet is teeming with examples of a great many things (e.g., how to eat a lobster, how to draw manga/anime, how to write and speak Klingon) and plagiarism is no exception.  The following links are to videos and documents online that define plagiarism, why it should be avoided, and how to avoid it. 

 

Avoiding Plagiarism in Paraphrasing	This video shows you step by step how to paraphrase the correct way. Remember, paraphrasing too closely to the original source still counts as plagiarism.
Information Literacy: Plagiarism and Citation Styles	Dr. Baker lectures on what exactly plagiarism is and how best to avoid it.  The video ends with a brief overview of citation styles.
A Quick Guide to Plagiarism	SEA DEVIL TV gives students a quick run-down of the various types of plagiarism. Even if you're well versed in the ins and outs of plagiarism, watch this video just for its entertainment factor.
Plagiarism: Pernicious Plague or Preventable Pest?	This video lets you in on why instructors do what they do (hint: it prevents plagiarism!)
A Student's Guide to Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism	An informative guide (complete with examples) about each type of plagiarism. Work your way through each type and make sure you understand how and why each example constitutes plagiarism.

 

These links are by no means the only resources online about plagiarism.  These are just the examples that I’ve found (through trial-and-error) work best for illustrating the topic in detail without putting everyone to sleep. 

Until I get around to writing the most comprehensive, captivating guide on plagiarism, use my list of links as a starting point for your own online research about plagiarism.

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Happy Holidays!

Many, many apologies for taking a “break” from blogging.  I had research papers to grade, final exam essays to grade, and grades to calculate and post.  Thankfully, this semester has finally come to an end so I now have more time to devote to blogging.  (I know – I’m a dork.)

While I get to work on the next installment of my “How NOT to Plagiarize” postings, enjoy this absolutely adorable picture of Malachi by Robert Francis I found on Flickr.  (Malachi looks JUST like one of my own doggies!)

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Plagiarism: An Introduction

Recently in class I asked my students to write down the process they use when writing essays.  I told them to be as honest as possible and to not be afraid of disappointing me.  Pages filled with “I freewrite about the essay topic for 5 minutes and then write an outline” would be gratifying, sure, but unless I know what my students are really doing when they write their essays, I won’t know how to help them. 

The answers I received were frightening. 

The majority of students turn to the internet immediately after getting the essay prompt and start researching.  One student wrote “I turn to the internet and look up the topic and read, read, read.”  Another wrote “I look for essays online (since it’s [the topic] been written about before for sure) to see the right way to write my essay.”

Answers like the ones above scare me because jumping straight into the research phase of an essay before thinking about what your own knowledge of and opinions about the topic are is a sure-fire way of setting yourself up to accidentally plagiarize. 

What Plagiarism Is

Every institution of higher learning will have plagiarism defined explicitly in the student handbook.  If you’re currently enrolled in classes and haven’t yet read through what constitutes academic dishonesty in the student handbook, read the policy NOW.  “I didn’t know” is not a valid excuse if you accidentally plagiarize because all students are expected to have read and agreed to the policies laid out in the student handbook before attending classes. 

If you’re not currently enrolled in school, an informal definition of plagiarism is “the representation of someone else’s words or ideas as your own.”  It doesn’t matter whether you committed plagiarism intentionally or unintentionally either.  Plagiarism is plagiarism.

How to Avoid Plagiarizing

The easiest way to avoid plagiarizing is to write down everything you know about the essay topic BEFORE you research it.  That way, you’ll know to cite any and all new information that you acquire as a result of your online or offline research.  You should also write down your ideas, opinions, and arguments for or against the topic before you research so you know which thoughts originated with you. 

Once you start reading other people’s interpretations of the topic, it’s next to impossible NOT to think about their points and arguments when trying to develop your own argument in an essay.  I’ve been there too and I know how difficult it is to figure out whether or not you would have thought up the compelling argument you just read had you not just read it. 

If you absolutely have to look at a sample essay because you want to model your own paper after one that is well written, look for a well written essay that is NOT about the topic you were assigned to write about.  That way, you have an example to follow for how to set up the different sections of an essay appropriately, and you’re not muddying your ideas with someone else’s.

More to Follow

The next few posts will deal primarily with plagiarism and how to cite material properly so you will never be accused of having plagiarized.  If you’re not yet familiar with the difference between summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting, look those terms up! I’ll be writing about each later, but don’t wait for me to get to them before you know the differences.  If you are at all doubtful of whether or not you have plagiarized, intentionally or unintentionally, run a search for “what is plagiarism” in the search engine of your choice.

Remember, ignorance is not an excuse.

 

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The Importance of Taking Notes

For some reason, college students (at least the ones in my class) don’t seem to be taking notes anymore.  I could go on for pages about how self-defeating not taking notes in class is, but I’m more concerned with the reasons for WHY students don’t feel the need to take notes.

Some people, I believe, think they will remember what is being said in class without having to write it down.  I should probably include a discussion one of these days in class about what memory is and how memories are made.  Not many people fully understand that a memory needs to be reinforced in order for it to be stored long-term.

Perhaps students don’t think this skill is directly applicable to “real life” work.  I hate to burst their bubbles, but…

Taking notes is as important out of the classroom as it is in it.

 

Employers do not want to have to repeat themselves every time you need to do a complex task just because you’re too lazy to write the instructions down.  Taking note of important procedures and routine tasks is a mark of an efficient, hard-working employee.  When I worked as a secretary for a (very) small business, I had to use Quicken to create invoices, enter billing information, and update the inventory – all things I had never done before.  I wrote down step by step instructions for how to do each task and pasted them all on the wall by my desk so that I wouldn’t have to bother my boss for help each time I needed to enter something into the computer.  Not only was he impressed, he said that no previous secretary had ever done that before. 

The very thing that made me look hard-working actually made my job SO much easier.  I completed tasks much faster than when I first started out and had to try to recall the different procedural steps by memory.  Even if you have no desire to appear assiduous, taking notes makes your life easier – something I’m sure you can appreciate.

What? Your job doesn’t require any complex procedures, you say? Take notes at meetings, then.  Not because you’ll be quizzed on the materials, but because you’ll appear attentive and interested.  Getting ahead in the “real world” very often depends on who you know and who you make an impression on.  Being able to discuss meeting points with a supervisor while you’re hanging out by the water cooler is an opportunity to shine that you don’t want to miss. 

Ultimately, I’d like you to take notes not for appearance’s sake, but because you’re honestly interested by points other people make.  If you’ve ever been to a convention (scholarly or not), you’ll have seen people taking careful notes during panel discussions.  Again, there is no test at the end of the convention that all attendees must pass.  They’re taking notes because they have a real interest in the topic of discussion and want to be able to remember things that were said and/or look up resources mentioned on their own. 

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Research Papers Don’t Have to be Boring

I can’t speak for every teacher, but I’m fairly sure I’m not the only instructor out there who dreads reading research papers.  It’s not the extra time that goes into commenting on and grading research papers that I have a problem with (although that’s certainly a factor). No, what really makes me want to put off looking at those stacks of essays for as long as humanly possible is how mind-numbingly dull most of the paper topics are. 

Somehow we’ve become indoctrinated with the idea that research papers have to be boring.

When did we learn that a dry, un-engaging writing style was a necessary requirement of academic writing?  I’d like to place the blame solely on high school, but I’m afraid that even the professional journals we refer our students to in college perpetuate this misperception of what an academic paper should sound like. 

Looking at my stack of research paper proposals, I have 8 papers on global warming and 5 on illegal immigration to look forward to… in just one of my classes.  Maybe 2 or 3 of those students feel passionately about those topics, but I’m willing to bet that not all 15 students care about (or are even particularly interested in) those issues.  So…

Why do students choose boring topics?

• They think the topic will guarantee they get a good grade.

Actually, the more interested you are in an issue, the better you will write about that issue.  Interest alone doesn’t guarantee good writing, but it makes the process of researching and writing about a topic much easier and more enjoyable.  Let’s face it – when you couldn’t care less about an essay topic, you’re not going to feel inclined to invest much effort in it. 

While it is true that you could be disinterested in a topic and still craft a beautiful essay about it, the process of writing that paper would probably have been less than enjoyable.  College students in this day and age have so many demands on their time that they have to be selective about how they spend it.  Writing a research paper on a topic that you aren’t passionate about or don’t want to learn more about is painful for both you and your teacher.

We’re all about multitasking in the 21th century;  let your essays do double duty too. 

• They can’t think of anything else to write about.

When you choose a run-of-the-mill topic just because it’s common (e.g., global warming, health care reform, illegal immigration), you’re actually doing yourself a disservice.  It would be much easier on everyone (including the teacher) if the essay topic were assigned.  The instructor makes you come up with your own, though, for a reason. 

Employers don’t stand behind you looking over your shoulder while you’re on the job.  They may if you’re in training, but after that period is over, you’re on your own.  You’ll be given a task and told to complete it but very rarely will you be told step-by-step exactly how to go about completing your assignment.  It’s inefficient to have an employee who needs their hand held in order to get anything done. 

As valuable as being a self-starter is to employers, the ability to come up with innovative ideas for improving the company is just as important.  Coming up with a research paper topic is supposed to be challenging because it’s an exercise in intellectual independence. 

How to choose a good topic:

Choose something you’re interested in.  That’s it.  That’s the secret essay topic choosing technique passed down by nerds for centuries.  If you like your paper, your paper will like you back. 

Unless you’re used to filling out those “50 Random Things About Myself” memes all the time, chances are it’s been a while since the last time you sat down and thought about what it is that interests you.  No worries – the way to figure out your interests (for those who have no idea what they like) is to take stock of what you DO. 

When you get together with your friends, what do you usually talk about?  Is there a t.v. show you like watching?  Do you have any hobbies?  Do you (or anyone in your family) have a special ability/quirk  that you could hone in on as a possible paper topic?

Take me, for example.  My twin and I love watching horror movies.  Good ones, bad ones, high budget ones, low budget ones…we’ve seen them all.  That affinity for horror movies has great potential when it comes to essay topics.  Do good horror movies have anything in common? Do the bad ones share a common denominator as well?  Is there a position I can take about what factors need to be present in a horror movie for it to be good/profitable (or what shouldn’t be included in a horror movie)?  All the evidence I need to back up my claims are at the local Blockbuster and online.

I like comic books too.  They’re a veritable trove when it comes to controversial topics for an essay. Just earlier this year the way Batman was killed off was a mockery of everything that made him Batman! Grrr! I could go on for pages about how wrong his death was… stick a few citations here and there and I’d have a persuasive research paper.  

Try and think about what topics make you stand up on a soapbox.  Not only will you have a better chance of writing well, you’ll also be doing yourself a favor when it comes to essay length.  When you don’t know anything about a topic and don’t want to  know anything about it, it’s awfully difficult to meet those paper length requirements. 

 

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The 4 Types of Evidence

Evidence is the information that helps in the formation of a conclusion or judgment.  Whether you know it or not, you provide evidence in most of your conversations – they’re all the things you say to try and support your claims.  For example, when you leave a movie theater, turn to your friend, and say “That movie was awesome! Did you see those fight scenes?! Unreal!”, you have just made a claim and backed it up. 

Most people think of “evidence” as numbers and quotes from famous people.  While those are valid types of evidence, there are more to choose from than just statistics and quotes, though.  There are four types, to be exact:

• Statistical Evidence
• Testimonial Evidence
• Anecdotal Evidence
• Analogical Evidence

1. Statistical Evidence

Statistical evidence is the kind of data people tend to look for first when trying to prove a point.  That’s not surprising when you consider how prevalent it is in today’s society.   Remember those McDonald’s signs that said “Over 1 billion served”? How about those Trident chewing gum commercials that say “4 out of 5 dentists recommend chewing sugarless gum”? Every time you use numbers to support a main point, you’re relying on statistical evidence to carry your argument. 

2. Testimonial Evidence

Testimonial evidence is another type of evidence that is commonly turned to by people trying to prove a point.  Commercials that use spokespersons to testify about the quality of a company’s product, lawyers who rely on eye-witness accounts  to win a case, and students who quote an authority in their essays are all using testimonial evidence. 

3. Anecdotal Evidence

Often dismissed as untrustworthy and meaningless, anecdotal evidence is one of the more underutilized types of evidence.  Anecdotal evidence is evidence that is based on a person’s observations of the world.   It can actually be very useful for disproving generalizations because all you need is one example that contradicts a claim. 

Be careful when using this type of evidence to try and support your claims.  One example of a non-native English speaker who has perfect grammar does NOT prove that ALL non-native English speakers have perfect grammar.  All the anecdote can do is disprove the claim that all immigrants who are non-native English speakers have terrible grammar. 

You CAN use this type of evidence to support claims, though, if you use it in conjunction with other types of evidence.  Personal observations can serve as wonderful examples to introduce a topic and build it up – just make sure you include statistical evidence so the reader of your paper doesn’t question whether your examples are just isolated incidents. 

4. Analogical Evidence

The last type of evidence is called analogical evidence.  It is also underutilized, but this time for a reason.  Analogies are mainly useful when dealing with a topic that is under-researched.  If you are on the cutting edge of an issue, you’re the person breaking new ground.  When you don’t have statistics to refer to or other authorities on the matter to quote, you have to get your evidence from somewhere.  Analogical evidence steps in to save the day.

Take the following example: You work for a company that is considering turning some land into a theme park. On that land there happens to be a river that your bosses think would make a great white-water rafting ride.  They’ve called on you to assess whether or not that ride would be a good idea. 

Since the land in question is as yet undeveloped, you have no casualty reports or statistics to refer to.  In this case, you can look to other rivers with the same general shape to them, altitude, etc.  and see if any white-water rafting casualties have occurred on those rivers.  Although the rivers are different, the similarities between them should be strong enough to give credibility to your research.  Realtors use the same type of analogical evidence when determining the value of a home. 

When you use analogies to support your claims, always remember their power. 

 

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The Power of an Analogy

Analogies can be very powerful things.  They are, after all, one of the four basic types of evidence.  They can provide support for a main point all on their own.  It’s important to keep one thing in mind:

With great power comes great responsibility.

 

To properly understand how analogies can be abused, we have to look back to the definition of an analogy.  SIL International has the following to say about analogies:

An analogy is a comparison of certain similarities between things which are otherwise unlike.

The important part to remember is that there must be some similarity between the two (or more) things, places, or people you are comparing, or the analogy falls apart.

For example, it’s not uncommon to hear jicama called the apple of Latin America.  That’s because jícama is similar to apples in texture, shape, and taste.  If someone were to call it the banana of Latin America…well, then there’d be a problem with the analogy.  Although a banana and a jícama do have a shared similarity – they both taste like fruit – that’s where the similarities end. 

When you try to link two things that aren’t similar enough to be linked, you’ve done more than just abuse the power of an analogy; you’ve committed a logical fallacy.  This fallacy is called a “weak analogy.”

When it comes to analogies, there is no “right” or “wrong” because, if you search hard enough, some kind of similarity can be found between two things that link them – even if it’s something as remote as “they’re both made of atoms.” 

Analogies are weighed on a scale of weak to strong.  Because of this leeway, analogies can be abused.  One such example of a comparison stretched to its limits comes from Orly Taitz, a staunch supporter of the Birther movement.  In several interviews on and off t.v., she has compared the Obama administration to Nazi Germany.  She even said that “We are getting another Stalin” when commenting on Obama’s presidency.  Here’s a link to the interview she gave on the Colbert Report: Orly Taitz on the Colbert Report

You can either like or dislike Obama, but compare him to a man who organized the deaths of millions of people as he “purged” his country of dissenters?  Wow. 

The following Doonesbury cartoon is an example of what happens when people notice how ridiculously weak your analogies are:

 

So next time you think about using an analogy, make sure that the similarities that exist between the two items are strong, otherwise you might end up being made fun of in the Sunday comics. 

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