Academic Integrity Evaluation Paraphrasing O\'Conner

¶ … Academic Integrity Evaluation

Paraphrasing

O'Conner (2003) argued that it is the writer's fault when writing is not clear and understandable, which causes readers to get intimidated by what they cannot understand. Complex ideas can be written in with clarity and in ways that simplifies the understanding. Writing in clear ways avoids confusion to the reader in what the writer is saying. In order to create clarity in writing, thinking patterns are required to be clear as well. The clarity and understanding in writing has to be in conjunction with the clear ways of thinking.

O'Connor, P. (2003). Woe is I: The grammarphobe's guide to better English in plain English. New York: Riverhead Books.

Assignment 3: Academic Integrity Evaluation

The choice for higher learning is the choice to gain knowledge and professional skills in a chosen area. Each degree contains subjects that build knowledge and teach solutions to critical societal challenges as well as enables the individuals to "transform into scholarly professionals to effect positive social change" (Vision, Mission, and Goals, 2013). This includes goals that of innovation, building knowledge, skills, and abilities, providing diversity in the learning process that produces quality and integrity, and inquiry and action that fosters research, discovery, and critical thinking.

Technology enables an array of scholarly information through databases, journal websites, as well as software, such as Microsoft Word. Software packages help to detect grammar errors, but should be used in conjunction with proofreading for errors and clarity, both in wording and checking plagiarism. Databases contain lots of sources that are peer-reviewed, or reviewed by other professionals in the particular field of the author that brings about higher integrity of the information (Peer Review, 2013). Journal websites give editorial information that tells whether a journal produces peer-reviewed articles (Verify Peer Review, 2013).

Non-peer reviewed sources can be written by almost anyone with knowledge of the subject. They can contain errors in professional judgments. This means their integrity is lower than the peer-reviewed articles that are reviewed by other professionals in the particular field. They may be just researched by a writer that has only knowledge of the field and no expertise in the field of study. This is why it is important to check to ensure information used in assignments come from peer-reviewed sources to ensure the integrity of the information used.

All forms of communications, whether e-mail, discussion posts, response posts, or any other form, should be written in a scholarly manner. This includes being written with clear understanding, no grammar or punctuation errors, and free from plagiarism. Scholarly writing shows high integrity in citations and giving credit to others for their words and ideas.

Work should always be double checked 4 plagiarism (Examples of plagiarism and of appropriate use of other's words and ideas, 2011). Plagiarism is a huge issue in scholarly writing that creates legal issues as well as integrity issues for the individual as well as the university. Double checking the work against the sources used detects where citations need to be made when using other's words and ideas to determine where citations need to be made (Avoiding plagiarism, 2011). This includes cosmetic changes of changing the order and wording of sentences, substituting words, and altering computer code. When in doubt, it is always better to cite (Avoiding plagiarism, 2011).