Plagiarism in The Evil Within - Trevor Marriott (moved discussion)

[lynn cates]

Hawk

Hello Colin.

"Professors would pass out quizzes, tests, and exams and return to their offices for the remainder of the respectively scheduled class period."

I like THAT. As it is, I have to watch them like a hawk.

Cheers.
LC

[Ally]

I am often amazed honestly at what I call "casual lying". That's completely accepted in society. Friend A: "Hey do you want to go to the movies, Saturday" Friend B: No, I can't my mother's in town. (Mother not in town, person just doesn't want to go). What's the point of the lie? Why not just say, sorry, not interested, but maybe another weekend.

What purpose does the lie serve, because nine times out of ten, you get caught anyway. People have been raised to believe it's "polite" to lie so the truth gets a bad rap and people lean on it less, and less. That's what's going on here, people think when the truth is appalling the "polite" thing to do is just not say anything. But this isn't your friend whose ass really does look fat in those jeans, this is a broad matter of academic integrity throughout the field, and so yes, it is everyone's business.

[lynn cates]

whatever it takes

Hello Ally. Academic integrity matters more to me, perhaps, than most posters. But maybe not for the same reason.

The average view of knowledge/education is that it is an instrumental good." "Knowledge is power. Hence, given I want power, I must get an education."

I see knowledge/education as intrinsically good--no goal beyond itself.

So I am less puzzled than most when I hear student say to student, "I will cheat or do whatever it takes to get my degree." (True story.) What else can one expect with our current Weltanschauung?

Cheers.
LC

[Ally]

I think the lack of academic integrity is symptomatic of a larger societal problem though which is the concept that "truth which might offend should not be spoken". It's never been a concept I have agreed with and I have never particularly followed it. We excuse deceptive behavior all the time, in some, in my opinion, idiotic notion that it's for the greater good, and all we've done is encourage a society that values silence over honesty. Politicians can't be honest, because no one would vote for them if they were. Friends can't be honest because you'd lose friends if you were. No one values honesty any more, it's just not a trait that's widely valued. Therefore, to your students who will cheat to get their degree, they are merely giving in to the premise fostered by society. That success, by whatever means, is more important than failing honestly.

[lynn cates]

chicken and egg

Hello Ally. Thanks.

Precisely. Our western civilisation has laid the eggs, now we seem offended when the chicks hatch.

Cheers.
LC

[Pcdunn]

Interesting thread.

I am a Collections Librarian at a state-run community college with two campuses. My job is to choose, acquire and catalogue new items for the library collection. I also recently participated on a search committee for a new full-time English instructor. During the course of that, we interviewed a person who recounted a story about how she dealt with a student who had plagiarized an assignment by giving her a second chance! (The fact that the student "did it again" does seem to support the idea that college is not for everyone.)

I see a confusion here between copyright law and plagiarism. Copyright law is available on the web, probably the best sources being your country's national library. Press reports published over a hundred years ago are no longer under copyright, but it is best to look up the article in the archives yourself, and then cite the original newspaper title and date of publication in your bibliography.

If you borrow this source from another published book, the citation in your bibliography should clearly indicate the title and page number of the other book source.
You can look up other ways to use brief passages from another author, with his or her name mentioned in your sentence, slightly longer passages put between quotation marks, and how to footnote or create your bibliography in various style manuals. We recommend students visit the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Prudue University because they offer most of the major style manuals in an easily-accessible online format.

Finally, if authors would like to contact me for advice on finding information on these matters, I would be happy to assist.

Pat D.