Writing & Effective Communication;

Plagiarism

Presented by:Michael Frizell, Director

The Writing Center, Missouri State

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"Writing is so complex an activity, so closely tied to a

person's intellectual development, that it must be nurtured and practiced

over all the years of a student's schooling and in

every curricular area.“

--Dr. Barbara Walvoord, University of Notre

Dame

Initial Thoughts About Writing in ANY Classroom

Adapted from: Barbara Gross Davis, University of California, Berkeley, http://teaching.berkeley.eduSupplemented with material from:

Because Writing Matters from the National Writing Project

PART 1:Writing Effective

Papers

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“The act of writing

something down is

basically the decision to forget it.”

- PlatoPictured: Aristotle & Homer

Untitled Instructions

The procedure is actually quite simple. First, you must separate the items into piles accordingly.

Then, set temperatures according to the facilities at hand. Use as directed.

More Untitled Instructions

“To do it, you should position your front foot with your toe slid back toward the heel-edge. Your rear foot should be positioned with your toe on the opposite corner, namely the toe-edge of the tail. At a moderate to slow speed, pop an ollie, but as you kick your front foot for the "flip," swing your back foot underneath and behind you 360-shove-it-style. This will rotate it around as it spins. The whole thing should take about the same amount of time a kickflip does, so you won't have to hang too long. When the nose comes back around and the griptape side shows upward, stick your feet back on and land it.”

Academic Writing…is writing done by scholars for other

scholars.…is devoted to topics and questions that

are of interest to the academic community.

…should present the reader with an informed argument.

The Informed ArgumentCan I answer the

questions who, what, when, where, why, how?

What do I know about the context of my topic?

What historical or cultural influences do I know about that might be important to my topic?

Does my topic belong to any particular genre or category of topics?

Consider Your PositionTake a stand on a topic. Why did you find some elements of the text

more important than others? Does this prioritizing reflect some bias or

preconception on your part? If you dismissed part of your topic as boring

or unimportant, why did you do so? Do you have personal issues or experiences

that lead you to be impatient with certain claims?

Is there any part of your response to the topic that might cause your reader to discount your paper as biased or un-critical?

Paper Structure

IntroductionThesis Sentence

The Other Side(s)

Supporting Paragraphs

Conclusion

PART 2:PLAGIARISM

Citing SourcesNo more than 25 percent of your paper

should be direct quotations.

Paraphrase as much as you can.

Use direct quotations when citing a statistic or original theory.

Use author's words if they capture a point exactly.

What’s a Citation?information about the author the title of the work the name and location of the company

that published your copy of the source the date your copy was published the page numbers of the material you are

borrowing

Why You Should Cite Sources

To give credit where credit is dueAssists other researchers interested in your workDemonstrates the amount of work you’ve doneStrengthens your work by lending support to it

Avoiding PlagiarismPlagiarism is…

…using someone else’s words or ideas as though they were your own.

…deliberately stealing someone’s work.

…paying someone to write a paper.

…a serious offense.

When to Use Citations Quotations:

Using someone’s exact words

Unique Ideas:Whenever you talk

about, refer to, build on, or discuss a unique idea from someone else

Images:Copying images

Common Knowledge Vs. Unique Ideas

You don’t need to cite:Ideas widely believed to

be true.Folklore, stories, songs,

or saying without an author but commonly known.

Quotations widely known and used.

Information shared by most scholars in your discipline.

For more information

Michael Frizell Director

Contact Information:E-Mail: michaelfrizell@missouristate.edu

Website: www.missouristate.edu/writingcenter

Center: 836-6398