Plagiarism - and How to Avoid It

The Pop Quiz

What is Plagiarism?

Combatting Plagiarism

• Strategies for avoiding plagiarism in your work (The Scott, Foresman Writer pgs. 240-242):
• Allow enough time to write the paper.
• Don't be afraid to make documentation mistakes.
• Know what information requires documentation.
• Document correctly and completely.
• Make sure you document when copying or pasting.  Or better yet - just don't copy and paste.
• Friends don't help friends plagiarize.

• MLA format parenthetical citations - the uber-basics

• SafeAssign

Particular Pitfalls for Project One

The following are the most common issues with Project One final drafts.  Please pay particular attention to these areas as you begin to outline and write your Project Ones.

• Thesis
• Project One is largely driven by its thesis. Having a strong thesis statement (such as one that uses the structure we've discussed) will make it easier for you as a writer to keep your argument organized and for your readers to follow your argument's structure.

• Support Sentences/Paragraphs
• Even with a solid thesis, it is sometimes easy to take the "proof" of that thesis for granted. The intro paragraph(s) of your project will provide context and forward the thesis.
• The rest of the essay will be devoted almost entirely to supporting that thesis.
• Example: if your thesis identifies X, Y, and Z rhetorical techniques in the work you are analyzing, then you might have 1-2 paragraphs each devoted to explaining X, Y, and Z.
• Don't forget the "third" step in the process - even after you have identified strategies and provided examples of them, you still need to tell the reader why the example/strategy under review is particularly compelling.
• How is it different than other ways the point is/could be addressed?
• Why did you focus on this example in particular? Is it better than others? Is it a particulary novel or "fresh" approach to the argument/topic being discussed?

• Analytical tone
• Because you probably liked or disliked the piece you analyzed to varying degrees, and it likely provided information about a topic of which you were unaware, it might be tempting to devote too much time to talking about what you found (un)appealing in general terms (rather than as part of an analysis of the rhetorical strategies of the author/work) and/or neglecting analysis of the work's argument style in favor of spending more time summarizing the work's contents.
• Be careful! - if you trend too much toward these more general responses to/descriptions of the work, it will read more like a review than a rhetorical analysis. 

• Citations and Examples 
• In a project like this, it is important that you provide ample evidence to back up your claims and to demonstrate the style/strategy of the writer/director/work. Thus, reference to the text - via quotations and/or paraphrasing - is essential.

• Exigence of the Work (Its "So What" Factor) and Its Audience 
• In order for you (and your reader) to understand the purpose of the work you're discussing (and, more specifically, the rhetorical choices of its author/director), adequate context must be part of your rhetorical analysis.
• You need to consider why the piece is being written, what issue or concern it is responding to, whether it is for or against related ideas and arguments, and what audience in particular it is attempting to address or persuade. 

How to Upload Papers to the Wiki

Assignment for Friday: 

• Outline Workshop!  Write a complete outline for your Project One using either a formal outline or clustering outline structure (pages 31 and 19 respectively in The Scott, Foresman Writer).  Then bring 5 hard copies of your outline to class on Friday.  Four copies will be used in small group outline workshops, and one will be handed in to me.