How to Avoid Plagiarism and Write Better

The CBS Morning News Plagiarism story was shocking to watch, mainly because reputable professionals have stolen other people’s work and passed it off as their own for many years. Both the novelist and the journalist interviewed for the piece say that their plagiarism started small and was a “slow progression,” as one put it, or as the journalist said, a “slippery slope.” The piece briefly talked about the ways professors are trying to prevent plagiarism, such as by using TurnItIn.com. I totally understand why plagiarism is wrong. What I learned from the video is that it is more common than we believed. However, I do think that it is different to plagiarize music because that type of plagiarism is often unconscious. A melody or rhythm might be floating in our head and we unconsciously repeat it in a new composition, without realizing that the work is copied. The writers are doing it more on a conscious and deliberate level.
Regarding the scenario, I would tell Serena to try and consider copying and pasting a form of theft. It is easy to see how a person might view all online material as being free, but it is not. I would also let Serena know that if she wants to copy and paste to preserve a special phrasing or block of text, that all she has to do is to properly attribute the source of the material. It is not wrong to copy and paste if a proper citation is provided. I would also help Serena learn how to effectively summarize and paraphrase, letting her know that even when she does this, it is a good idea to create a citation and offer credit to the original source. There is no shame in paraphrasing or quoting, but it is wrong to do so without acknowledging the source of the material.
The Ashford University guide “6 Ways to Avoid Plagiarism and Generally Be a Cool Person” offers additional tips for students like Serena. Just like the professor in the video, Ashford University simply wants students to learn good writing habits early. The most important step is planning ahead, understanding that being able to digest source material makes it much easier to phrase things in our own words and thereby avoid accusations of plagiarism.
Assignment 2
Information literacy allows us to be more responsible consumers of all media. The more we know about information literacy, the better we become at thinking critically and communicating with others. The course covers multiple issues including how to write with integrity, relying on and trusting our own voice. I struggle with writing myself and believe that many students are afraid that their writing skills are not good enough and end up copying and pasting to impress the professor. I would say that taking the pressure off and allowing each student’s own voice to be heard will help encourage honest academic writing. The main question I have at this point is how to avoid unconscious plagiarism, as we often hear information and it seeps into our subconscious. Without knowing it, we might say something and not realize that we heard it somewhere else.
The course also covers the basics of information and media literacy, including how to find and evaluate information. The phrase “don’t believe everything you read” comes to mind, because many people think just because something appears in print or online that it must be true. What struck me in particular is that many blogs and websites look official, professional, polished, and formal but are just good design. These types of websites are not offering credible information. It is important to familiarize ourselves with the types of credible sources we can rely on throughout our academic careers. Those sources include scholarly journals and credible news sources. However, even some journals might not be true scholarly journals but journals that are published by fringe groups. Finally, we learned helpful tips about presenting information in a clear but ethical way. I have encountered these types of tips in past courses, but never before in one class.




References

“6 Ways to Avoid Plagiarism and Generally Be a Cool Person,” (n.d.). Ashford University.
Simpelo, V. (n.d.). CBS Morning News Plagiarism Story. Video available: https://ashford.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/CBS+Morning+News+%22Plagiarism%22+Story/0_3ulq9ktn