GE117 Week Six

GE 117 Composition I Week 6

Plagiarism, Citations, and Note Taking

&

Cause and Effect Writing Models


Let’s Review from Week 5:

- Thesis Statement = A narrow, specific topic + an attitude, belief, opinion about the topic.

- Thesis Statements must be debatable in a sense, or it’s not a Thesis.

- Thesis Statements require Evidence for support.


Week 5 Review (Continued):- Evidence can include: Examples, Facts,

Reasons, Experiences, Anecdotes, Numbers, Statistics, Quotations, Expert Opinions, etc.

- Evidence should be: Relevant, Unified, Specific, Adequate, Dramatic, Accurate, Representative, and Documented (if borrowed)


Today’s Objectives:

1) Describe strategies to avoid plagiarism.

2) Review how to use the MLA Citation System in your Research Paper.

3) Know when to cite sources, and how to cite them properly.

4) Describe and use the Cause-Effect as a writing model.


Q: What is “plagiarism” ?

A: Plagiarism occurs when a writer borrows or steals the ideas, thoughts, facts, or words of another writer without giving credit to the original source.


Q: Why is plagiarism wrong?A: 1) It robs someone else of their work.

2) It gives a student an unfair advantage in grading compared to students who do not plagiarize. 3) It hurts the student, who doesn’t learn anything in the process. 4) It devalues the worth of a diploma from the

student’s college or institution.

Q: How does plagiarism occur?

A: While some students intentionally decide to buy or copy an assignment, others do genuine research on a topic but they still unintentionally plagiarize.

Believe it or not, most cases of plagiarism are unintentional!—crazy, eh?


Q: If most cases of plagiarism are unintentional, how can I be sure to avoid it?

A: By doing two things:

1) Taking proper notes carefully

2) Use a method for citations


Taking Notes

- Create a consistent system for taking and storing notes: Index cards, a dedicated notebook, a specific file on a hard drive, etc.

- Write your notes while reading your original sources, then write your paper from your notes, not the sources.


Taking Notes

- When researching your topic, strive to write notes only when you believe it will be useful in your paper. Avoid recording everything and anything.

- Consider taking notes on: Facts, Stats, Anecdotes, Quotations, Expert opinions, etc. (anything considered “evidence”).


Writing acceptable notes

- When writing notes, always remember there are only three types of notes that are acceptable in a research paper or academic essay.

- The three types of notes are: Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation.


Writing acceptable notes

- If you write down a note, and more importantly, if you actually use it in your work, it must be one of the acceptable types, or it will lead to plagiarism! Bad note taking is like a gateway drug. The first one’s free, kid.

- Therefore, when you write a note, always record in shorthand (S, P, Q) what type of note it is FIRST!!!!!!!!

Writing Summaries

- A summary is written in your own words.

- It’s shorter and more condensed than the original source material.

- Summaries focus only on main ideas and the “big picture.”

- They never go into specifics or details.


Writing Summaries

- Summaries can cover a lot of material in a little bit of space.

- Summaries are useful in providing necessary background information or an overview on a topic.

- Summaries are often found early on in papers, before the writer goes into detail.


Writing Summaries

- Read the original material thoroughly, put the source aside, and in your own words, express only the main ideas.

- Compare your summary to the original and make sure you aren’t occasionally borrowing exact words and phrases from the original source.

In-class exercise: Read :

“Why we crave horror movies” by Stephen King, pages 398-399.


Writing Paraphrases

- A paraphrase is also written in your own words.

- A paraphrase is just as long as the original source material.

- There is a sentence by sentence correspondence between the original and the paraphrase.


Writing Paraphrases

- A paraphrase is as detailed and specific as the original source material.

- Paraphrases are useful in providing specifics, details, and ideas beyond the main ideas.

- Paraphrases are found anywhere a writer needs to use specifics or details.


Writing Paraphrases - Read the original source carefully, and then put it

aside. - Write out your paraphrase in your own words,

creating the same number of sentences as the original.

- Compare your paraphrase, sentence by sentence, to the original. Change any exact words or phrases you use that come from the original source.

The bulk of your citations will either be paraphrases or direct quotes.

In-class exercise: paraphrase worksheet!


Writing Quotations

- A quotation is the use of someone else’s exact words.

- A quotation must be indicated through the use of “quotation marks.”

- A quotation is exactly as long as the original material.

- Quotations cannot be rewritten or edited


Writing Quotations

- Since paraphrases and summaries require you to use your own words, there should be a good reason to use a quotation instead.

- Quote when a writer’s thoughts are unusual or controversial to accurately convey their beliefs.


Writing Quotations

- Quote when a writer’s words are particularly memorable or eloquent.

- Quote when any attempt to paraphrase or summarize would make the material less clear or less eloquent.

- Quote when an expert’s opinion reinforces your own beliefs (and thesis!)

MLA Citation System

- A Citation System is an artificial but consistent method to document all research sources used in a writer’s work.

- Citation Systems were first created in the 1900’s by the University of Chicago.

- Chicago Manual, MLA, APA, etc.


MLA Citation System

- All citation system can be described as either being Note-based or Parenthetical

- A Note-based system uses sequential numbers in the text and footnotes or endnotes to indicate and reveal sources.

- A Parenthetical system cites sources using parentheses ( ) and a bibliography.


MLA Citation System

- MLA is a Parenthetical Citation System

- MLA requires writers to pay attention to 2 different aspects of the system:

1) In-text, parenthetical attribution

2) A separate and complete bibliography


MLA Citation System - An in-text attribution is a simple indicator

of the last name of the author of the original source, followed by a page number (if no pagination, always use 1)

- The attribution occurs at the end of each and every note used in a paper. It doesn’t wait until the end of the paragraph or page!


MLA Citation System

Ex: A growing number of scientists have become impatient with the lack of government involvement regarding global warming (Thomas 6).

Ex: Researcher Richard Thomas reveals that a growing number of scientists have become impatient with the lack of government involvement regarding global warming (6).

Don’t forget your PGRG—an excellent resource for MLA documentation styles

Let’s look at Diana Hacker’s MLA example essay.


MLA Citation Style - Try to use both forms of in-text citation

for variety’s sake. - If you’re not sure if you should cite an

idea or not, cite it anyway! When in doubt, always document!!!!

- Common knowledge does not need to be cited, even if found in original sources.


MLA Citation System

- A bibliography is a list of all relevant information about the original source cited in a paper.

- Usually includes: Author’s Name, Title, Publication, Pages, Volume/Issue, Date, Publisher, Publishing city, etc


MLA Citation System

- MLA is flexible enough that you can cite anything as an original source.

- Every different type of source or even variations of the same type have different rules for formatting the bibliography entry.

- Refer to your textbook and MLA guides for unique or individual cases.

- Utilize Citation Generators like KnightCite.


Cause and Effect

- Causal analysis is based on the human need to make connections between events and make sense of the world.

- It answers natural questions that we all have about the world: Why?, How Come? What if?, etc.


Cause and Effect

Causes can also be worded as:

- Reasons

- Factors

- Precipitating events

- Sources

- Motivations


Cause and Effect

Causes are concerned with what happened or led up to an event or phenomena occurring. Identifying causes helps us answer the questions “Why?” and “How come?”


Cause and Effect

Effects can also be worded as:

- Results

- Impact

- Significance

- Consequences

- Aftermath


Cause and Effect

Effects are concerned with what happens after an event or phenomena occurs. Identifying effects answers the question “What if?”


Cause and Effect

There are three likely objectives or reasons to use C/E as a writing model.

1) To simply give information

2) To argue or persuade the reader

3) To speculate or predict


Cause and Effect

Some basic strategies for using C/E :

1) Stay focused on your main objective and don’t lose sight of it.

2) Adapt tone, diction, and content for your audience, especially for topics unfamiliar to your readers.


Cause and Effect3. Think carefully and rigorously about

Cause and Effect relationships. Understand Causal Chains and avoid mistaking correlation for causation!!!

(Bell ringing, teacher entering example)4. In a small essay, focus just on the

causes of a phenomena, or just on the effects. You won’t have enough room to do both.


Cause and Effect

5. Use an organization pattern for your Causes and/or Effects:

A) Chronological (the order they happen in)

B) Emphatic (the order of importance they have)

This will help to avoid reader confusion


Cause and Effect

6. Use language appropriate for C/E writing. Nothing is black or white or guaranteed. Avoid words such as “clearly”, “definitely”, “obviously”, “without a doubt” or “guaranteed.” Try to use words such as “probably”, “most likely”, or “seems to be”. They give you room for doubt and show you understand the complexity of C/E relationships


Cause and Effect

Let’s read a good example of Cause & Effect writing!

Read :

“Why we crave horror movies” by Stephen King, pages 398-399.


Now for Homework, PRACTICE!

- Course Project Part two: Selecting and narrowing the topic

Read assignments 2, 3, and 4 on page 412 of The Longman Writer. Select one of the situations ("flunking out," the "trash crisis," or "Turn off the TV") and follow the directions given in the book. Submit a minimum of three well-developed paragraphs. Remember that a "well developed” paragraph has a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a conclusion sentence. Submit your work in a Word document.

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GE117 Week Six