Plagiarism, the Do's and Don'ts

I need to blog my discussions for my classes from now on. Guess you will have to deal with it, because it’s a grade for me! Plus, it might be helpful to some other nerds out there :-)

Express your understanding of the process of plagiarism.  Cite at least one important piece of information found in the Plagiarism Policy

This is honestly the first time I've taken a good hard look at this issue.  As a Maths Prof, I try to avoid reading and assigning research papers at all cost.  All I knew, and I actually tell my students, is that I had no desire to read what they had chewed, swallowed, and spit out in some alternate regurgitated form.  Yuck.  I now know that word swapping is still plagiarism!

I really hope these English teachers are stressing this point to their students.  Really begins in grade school.  If they would just train the children to write and think, and review and revise.  It could all be so simple, but they'd rather make it hard. (Lauren Hill, Ex-Factor, 1998)

Side note: I have never seen this video!!! I love it!! Love the look, the apartment, the view and the vibe!

Back to plagiarism…

 The process to vindicate yourself from this crime is laborious.  You have seven days to respond and request an appeal, in writing.  The chain of command is first the Faculty Member that accused you, then the Program Director, and ultimately the Online Faculty Review Panel.

I did note that the only way to ask to review your grade was if you were accused of plagiarism, which I didn't agree with.  I feel we should be able to meet with the Faculty and review our grade at certain points in the semester, just my humble opinion.  I liken it to reviewing grading with your students' parents, only if you accuse them of cheating; hardly see how this is helpful.  The other thing I kept thinking about was, what if the accused plagiarizes again on the appeal letter??? Does that count as the second time? And, will they be kicked out of the program for a year? It's not pertinent, I know, but I couldn't help but think of that situation!

Discuss at least two techniques that you can use in applying the APA style to avoid instances of Plagiarism.

I'd like to think people have original thoughts, and would only need to maybe check if someone else had the same idea, and that would lead them to document the person.  But I know that writing is difficult for most of us, and for others it comes naturally.  I for one, despise writing. So I just close my eyes and type to myself. This is what happens.

Document everything! Make a list of your thoughts and ideas on the subject and look for support for your ideas.  Cite your sources with the name of the author and year, if you are paraphrasing, or putting the same thought in your words (Malik, 2019).  If you use their exact words, "drop some quotes on it" and put the page number (Malik, 2019, pg 17).  Tie the page number in to the reference page at the end of your report and list the name of article or book or appropriate format.

My grandmother used to say, 'If it's not yours, ask to use it' and I think that applies here rather nicely.  If they are not your words, you politely 'ask' to use it, by citing the source.  Simple.