This presents an opportunity for a discussion:
- To what extent are anti-plagiarism rules really effective?
- In a society where many forms of art are based on "sampling," what does no-cheat mean anyway?
- Isn't the real WEB REVOLUTION the fact that you don't have to KNOW things anymore, but just WHERE to find the information you need and HOW to find the best ?
- If you do a search on a topic and sift through several sites until you find the KIND of information and the FORM of information that you want to convey, why shouldn't you simply copy an entire paragraph or more (with attribution)? What is this thing that you have to paraphrase concepts when someone else has expressed them better than you ever could?
- And what is the point of trying to enforce these rules when we all know that there are zillions of sources that could never be detected?
I imagine you know that there are services that commission papers to people in foreign countries. These people write the papers in their native language: the papers are published online, the students download them and then pass them through an automatic translator. All they have to do is to clean up a bit the inevitable errors and that's it. (I identified a few of these papers thanks to my knowledge of linguistics and foreign languages -- but I could never find where they came from and could not prove plagiarism.)
COMMENTS? And REPLIES?
1) To what extent are anti-plagiarism rules really effective?
ReplyDeleteAnti-plagiarism rules are required in order to try to prevent students from plagiarizing their work, but this does not always help. In my own experience, I am too scared to plagiarize and I will never take the easy way out, no matter how much time it could save me. I have witnessed my fellow classmates plagiarize entire papers and not get caught, and I have also witnessed classmates get caught and fail the class. To me failing the class is not worth saving the time it would have cost me to just manage my time and get my work done. So in my own opinion I think anti-plagiarism rules are only effective to the individuals that will work hard for their OWN work.
2)In a society where many forms of art are based on "sampling," what does no-cheat mean anyway?
I definitely agree that we live in a society where are is based on sampling. To sample from another persons ideas can be great, it has benefitted researchers and artists of all kinds. Stealing another persons work is another thing. You must give credit where credit is due. To “no-cheat” would be to make sure to cite the work you are referencing and to use proper quotations.
3)Isn't the real WEB REVOLUTION the fact that you don't have to KNOW things anymore, but just WHERE to find the information you need and HOW to find the best ?
I must disagree with this idea. The web revolution is the fact that we have a great access of information than our previous generations had. To REALLY benefit from the web, we must LEARN the information that is given to us, rather than just looking it up when it is necessary.
4)If you do a search on a topic and sift through several sites until you find the KIND of information and the FORM of information that you want to convey, why shouldn't you simply copy an entire paragraph or more (with attribution)? What is this thing that you have to paraphrase concepts when someone else has expressed them better than you ever could?
When you are searching through websites and reading the information about the subject you should try and gather the ideas in your mind and try to explain the events as if the reader has no idea what happened. If necessary quoting work and reflecting on it can be a powerful tool and conveys your message without plagiarizing.
5) And what is the point of trying to enforce these rules when we all know that there are zillions of sources that could never be detected?
There must be a set of guidelines to prevent too many people from taking the easy way out. Having rules does not always prevent people from breaking them, but it will stop ALOT of people. An example of this could be law enforce and drug use. People know that drunk driving is illegal, and this will prevent many people from driving intoxicated due to the fear of what could happen to them if they get caught. But there will always be people who will continue to break the law, and they should be held accountable for their actions.
Lazy people people plagiarize. Students who do not want to learn or think for themselves plagiarize. In our first assignment Professor Carasi specifically said "do not even think about plagiarizing", did those students who plagiarized think he would not realize? Being an education major, we are also being lectured about putting something into our own words, what do we think about something, paraphrase what this theorist is saying. Being able to paraphrase pieces of information and putting it in your own words shows that you understand the material and absorbing what is being taught to you. I have been at Brooklyn College for 3 years now and every one of my professors for every class has said something about plagiarism. I just can not understand how a college level student is able to break the law like that and disrespect their professors.
ReplyDeleteCollecting various sketches to create an original collage is a form of sampling. Splicing together numerous instrumental segments to form one cohesive and unique musical piece would also be an extension of sampling. Disrespecting another individual's work by disregarding the immense amount of thought and craft that went into it and disrespecting the sense of your professor by passing it off as your own would be "cheating." There is a fine line between the two, which is what anti-plagiarism laws seeks to establish through its implementation. Unfortunately, there will always be students who attempt to bend and break these rules, which speaks volumes about heightened laziness and apathy that is coming about with the "Web Revolution" we have found ourselves in. We KNOW that the information we need is readily available and we KNOW where to find it, so what, then, separates us from every other student in this country? This distinction lies in the skill of paraphrasing, and how well one can do it. Paraphrasing is a technique that retains the author's integrity by giving them the credit they deserve for their work, while also proving the student's ability to pull out the most important ideas/themes from the piece of another and work it into their own assignments.Plagiarism is an injustice to all involved, and it has no place in academia. It unnerves me that many are still trying to get away with this juvenile and disrespectful method of cheating.
ReplyDelete1. To what extent are anti-plagiarism rules really effective?
ReplyDeletePlagiarism rules are effective to the extent that they only provide a minor incentive to produce original thought. The student must be willing to learn in order to effectively apply their education.
2. In a society where many forms of art are based on "sampling," what does no-cheat mean anyway?
Sampling would mean that you only use a part of another’s work, and properly give them credit for it. It is critical that you contribute an original work in order to add to the conversation, otherwise you are simply repeating what has already been put forward.
3. Isn't the real WEB REVOLUTION the fact that you don't have to KNOW things anymore, but just WHERE to find the information you need and HOW to find the best ?
The web is an another, albeit more extensive, information tool, similar to books and newspapers. I agree that many misuse it, gathering the information they require without learning anything, but this can be done with other mediums of information.
4. If you do a search on a topic and sift through several sites until you find the KIND of information and the FORM of information that you want to convey, why shouldn't you simply copy an entire paragraph or more (with attribution)? What is this thing that you have to paraphrase concepts when someone else has expressed them better than you ever could?
You never know if you can discover something by putting it in your own words until you do it. Even if you don’t believe you can succeed, it is still worth the attempt.
5. And what is the point of trying to enforce these rules when we all know that there are zillions of sources that could never be detected?
When someone sees that another person has been caught, they are infinitely more times inclined not to make the same mistake. Even if they have a good chance of getting away with it, they do not know the extent of the professor’s scrutiny, thus making the easier option the correct one.
6. I imagine you know that there are services that commission papers to people in foreign countries. These people write the papers in their native language: the papers are published online, the students download them and then pass them through an automatic translator. All they have to do is to clean up a bit the inevitable errors and that's it. (I identified a few of these papers thanks to my knowledge of linguistics and foreign languages -- but I could never find where they came from and could not prove plagiarism.)
I do know of this service. However, even though the student may get away with it, they are still hurting themselves in the process.
1. I think plagiarism rules are extremely effective. I, for one, am scared of ever being accused of plagiarism. I would never want to risk my education just because I didn't want to do an assignment in my own way. I'd rather not turn in an assignment rather than plagiarize even a sentence.
ReplyDelete2. Sampling is different. There are avenues that you have to go down in order to get permission to sample someone else work, and credit must be given. When people plagiarize, they do not give credit where credit is due.
3. I agree with Andrey, that the web is supposed to be just a more accessible resource than the newspaper or books. Although, I think there needs to be more education on how to properly use the tools on the web.
4. It is definitely worth the attempt to try to put things into your own words. Risk your education, or risk a slightly lower grade than you would want. Weigh your options.
5. I once got accused of plagiarism for not putting quotation marks around something, whilst still citing the source in my bibliography. That one mistake changed the way that I cited sources, and the way that I edited my papers. You have to be careful and you have to be aware of the rules that you are being made to follow.
6. I actually had no idea that these kinds of services existed. But again, I agree with Andrey, you're only hurting yourself.
1. I find plagiarism rules to be very effective. I have always been taught, even in elementary school, that plagiarized work would be punished. Since being taught this I have never plagiarized someone else's work and called it my own.
ReplyDelete2. I view sampling as getting inspiration from someone else's work and using that inspiration to turn it into your own individual idea and work. This is different than cheating, which is basically copying and pasting someone else's words and claiming them to be yours.
3. The web can be very beneficial, if used in a way to help us actually learn rather than find answers. The web should be viewed as a tool to assist in learning rather than a replacement in learning.
4. No matter how well someone else has expressed ideas you want to express, it is simply not your work. We paraphrase, with proper citations, so that we are not stealing anyone's ideas. With paraphrasing, we put an idea into our own words.
5. As with most rules, there are ways around it. But if you don't enforce rules, chaos can come about. If plagiarism rules are enforced, there may be a select few that dare to break them, but if we were to not enforce these rules, everyone would be plagiarizing and no one would be using their own thoughts and ideas.
1) When I first came to US I did not heard a lot about plagiarism. Now I know the meaning of it and I think it is good thing. Students should try to express their knowledge about things that they read in their own words. Not copying the information but instead reading it and trying to understand it will improve the outcome that they will have from it.
ReplyDelete2) No-cheat means to have more and more unique arts, for example new music, pictures, drawing. It pushes an author to think more and be famous just with things that he really done by himself. If every art will be same we will not know who deserves the best prize.
3) I think WEB REVOLUTION is good thing for today’s generation, in terms of that there are a lot more information available and accessible to us. We just need to learn how to use it to gain more knowledge not just copying it.
4) First of all, it is inappropriate to copy any work that done by someone else, it is restricted by college policy. So if we copy that information we just can get caught and fail class. Second of all, every assignment that given by our professor is stuff that we have to learn so to really learn it we cannot just copy it. We should learn it and express our knowledge in our words.
5) Having these rules stop a lot of people from doing it, this is important. But those who still break these rules one day get caught and can be punished in a way that will never forget it. Eventually there will be no one that will do plagiarize.
1) Anti-plagiarism rules are effective in as much as they inform those who are unaware of the rules. The rules protect those who have worked hard to publish works that can later be cited.
ReplyDelete2) I never really understood the idea of "sampling." I mean it seems pretty straight forward to me - either it's an original idea or its someone else's idea - in which case credit should go to where it is due.
3) I see the web revolution as an extremely good thing for accessing any type of information in a fast and easy way. I personally call myself the "Google queen" because anytime I find myself asking a question, I say " I don't know - let's Google it!." This revolution however, should in no way be used to pass off someone else's hard work and call it your own.
4) You should not simply copy some information and not paraphrase or give it the credit that it deserves. The basic rules of learning and information gathering must always apply. Besides, if we have learned anything while reading D'Angelo's book, we must respect and pay homage to any writer who puts a line on a paper.
5) Plagiarism rules must be enforced. If they are not, we cannot preserve originality. Plagiarism is usually undertaken when one feels that he or she has nothing original or worthwhile to contribute and perhaps the enforcement of this rule is exactly what is needed to get those folks to dig a little deeper.
I think that with the how advanced technologies have gotten, a huge disadvantage is the lack of effort required for people to work hard for their information. I don't think anti- plagiarism rules are effective because I am sure there is a way to work around them, and for those who actually get caught I have never heard of any drastic penalty. I agree, the internet is the engine with all the answers. I remember owning a collection of encyclopedias when I was growing up, now all the info is just a click away.
ReplyDeletePlagiarism is an offense that is taken seriously by educators and universities. The consequences range from a professor just confronting the student or to actually be investigated and eventually expelled from the university. If a student goes to college and is too lazy to do their own work, then there is no point of attending college because it is a slippery slope synopsis. One act of plagiarism on a paper in college may lead to more malicious form of plagiarism, such as stealing someone’s blueprint for a book. Anything that we use should be cited and our own personal touch should be added in order to make our work unique. Instead of just copying work, we can take a paragraph, paraphrase it, add our opinion or reflection and then call it our own. The consequences are not worth the trouble to just plagiarize.
ReplyDelete