Materials and Musings for my JCC Classes
Archive for August 2009
Materials added to the website:
The print and projector versions are the same versions of the PowerPoints excepting for a change in background theme.
This is a question that plagues students across the country and one of the hardest one for students to know where the line lies. The definition of plagiarism is as follows, “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work.” (dictionary.com) While this seems like a simple definition there always seems to be a degree of wiggle room for students, so let us take a moment to clarify the problem.
Obviously if you lift material word for word from a source it is pretty obvious that you are plagiarizing. However what if you cite your source, even if you copy an entire paragraph is it plagiarizing if you cite the source? With the citation you are no longer plagiarizing, but you have moved to a new problem, intellectual independence. When I ask for an answer to a question I am not asking you find and regurgitate the best set of sentences or paragraphs you can find on the web that had the question as a heading, I am asking for your own answer. Often students fail assignments where they copy materials (with citations) not for plagiarism, but for lack of demonstrating intellectual independence.
All in all the rules are pretty simple. First, always cite your sources. Second, the meat of your answer should be your own thoughts, not cited material. Third, trust your own intellectual ability. In the end it is a choice to succeed or fail in the class that each student must make. Try to make the right choice.
The new semester is right around the corner. I will be updating the course websites presently with this semester’s materials so please be patient.