Pagiarism and Paraphrasing - Essay Example

Plagiarism and Paraphrasing Plagiarism comprises of the intentional or unintentional use of another person’s academic work without acknowledging the authors of the borrowed ideas appropriately and comprehensively. Indeed, this offence attracts serious penalties especially in the countries with advanced academic ethics and integrity. A student may be considered to have plagiarized a scholarly work under three major circumstances with the first one being the direct transfer of passages into the student’s work without proper acknowledgement. Additionally, a student may plagiarize someone’s work by using ideas and opinions of another person’s without adequate acknowledgement. Lastly but equally important, the act of paraphrasing a scholarly work without giving proper credit to the work may land a student in trouble, as they could face serious penalties both in university and in their professional life.Therefore proper quoting, paraphrasing, and summary of the passage with proper acknowledgement of the authors is the best way to prevent unacceptable plagiarism. The excerpt by the student has a considerable evidence of plagiarism that if not corrected could land the student into trouble with their professors and the university management in general.Initially, the student started well by paraphrasing to completely change the wording without losing the meaning but in the end, they just directly copied the words that the author used in the passage without expressing the idea in their own words. For instance, one of the major sentences in which plagiarism could be easily detected is the one that goes ‘Biomedical researchers incorporate strict rules of science into their work, which is examined by peers’. This is an open form of plagiarism as the student lifts certain words such as ‘incorporates’ directly without using other alternatives. Additionally, the student starts the sentence as the original sentence without the use of alternative words and relevant connecting words to make the idea original. In their submission, the student could have paraphrased the sentence as follows: given the fact that studies in the biomedical field demand strict obedience to the rules and regulations, and the fact that several peers review studies under the field, it is still not enough to give full credit to a scholarly work without due diligence (Crossen, 1994). This sentence is original and much better and thus meets the acceptable standards of plagiarism because although it expresses the same ideas, it uses completely different wording. A second sentence in the passage that has some element of plagiarism in it is the last phrase that goes, ‘and “buffing” the results by showing them in the best light’. Evidently, the student has again lifted the whole phrase from the original text but has only adjusted the wording at a minimal level that still constitutes plagiarism. In a correctly paraphrased text, the student could have stated that ‘the biomedical scholars ought to present their results as they are and not alter them to suit the acceptable scenarios (Crossen, 1994). Again, this is now more appropriate and can qualify as an acceptable paraphrase. References Top of Form Bottom of Form Crossen, C. (1994). Tainted: The manipulation of fact in America. New York: Touchstone, pp. 166-167. Assignment 2: Paraphrasing O’Conner (2003) argued that the art of extensive writing and reading ought to be the hobby of any writer who wishes to excel in the field. Indeed, most writers tend to put information across some of which may not be palatable to some users due to their complexity or the unacceptability of the information relayed. This notwithstanding, the writer should always ensure that their pieces of work are simple but precise as to convey their ideas in not only accurate manner but also appealing manner especially to their preferred readers. References O’Conner, P. (2003). Woe is I: The grammarphobe’s guide to better English in plain English.New York: Riverhead Books. Assignment 3: Final Reflection/Evaluation Certainly, the programs offered under the course are geared towards ensuring the efficient mastery of the relevant knowledge of the acceptable writing behavior especially for the online student. This means that every online student has to equip themselves with all the requisite writing skills for effective and successful writing in their academic endeavors. In this regard, this section is the final reflection and evaluation to allow me as a student and my instructor to evaluate some of the knowledge, understandings, and skills that were not directly assessed. It mainly accomplishes this by using the Course Evaluation Rubric to assess my progress in the areas noted in the rubric. 1. Understands Walden University mission and vision and how they relate to academic and professional goals. Concerning the Walden University mission and vision, I have effectively mastered the same in accordance with academic integrity. Indeed, the vision and mission statements of Walden University that emphasize on quality and honest education based on high academic standards and integrity. In this regard, I give it a score of four since the values have a close relationship with my academic and professional goals (Walden University, 2013b). 2. Uses technology competently contributing to success in the online environment. When it comes to the use of technology competently to contribute to success in the online environment, I have to admit that though with a few challenges here and there, I have managed to learn how to use various online libraries that enable me to conduct online research. In this respect, I have a score of three as I am still in the process of acquiring more technological knowledge (Walden University, 2013c). 3. Communicates effectively via e-mail and other forms of communication using the strategies presented in the course. Another rubric that perhaps has gained a score of three is the effective communication via e-mail and other forms of communication using the strategies presented in the course. Perhaps this is in tandem with the technological aspects that pertain to my research skills and thus I am a very efficient communicator when it comes to information communication technology (Walden University, 2013b). 4. Writes effective Discussion postings and Responses using strategies presented in the course. When it comes to the effective writing of Discussion postings and Responses using strategies presented in the course, I have to admit that I have a little weakness hence I give it a score of three. This I attribute to the fact that I have not done extensive research and therefore my criticisms may not meet the required threshold (Walden University, 2013c). 5. Discriminates between peer and non-peer-reviewed publications and understands the importance of using peer-reviewed publications. Unlike the previous respect, I am able to discriminate between peer and non-peer-reviewed publications and understand the importance of using peer-reviewed publications. I attribute this aspect of my mastery to extensive coursework and give this a score of four (Walden University, 2013a). 6. Thinks critically as demonstrated in course Discussions and Application Assignments. Perhaps another crucial rubric of which I have a score of three is the critical thinking as demonstrated in course Discussions and Application Assignments. This receives the ultimate score of four due to the above reasons (Walden University, 2013b). 7. Writes in a scholarly and professional manner. I also give the score of four to my writing skills in that I write in a professional and scholarly manner. I have managed to refine my writing over the years through various tutorials (Walden University, 2013a). 8. Knows and uses strategies for writing with academic integrity. In as far as the knowledge and use of strategies for writing with academic integrity is concerned, I confidently have a score of three due to the mastery of various referencing styles and knowledge of plagiarism (Walden University, 2013a). 9. Understands and uses strategies to improve scholarly writing. Finally, I score three in the rubric of good understanding and usage of strategies to improve scholarly writing for the same reasons mentioned above. Currently, I am working my strategies such as referencing styles in order to perfect my scholarly writing(Walden University, 2013c). References Walden University (2013a).2013-2014 Walden University Catalog (SEPT. 2013). Retrieved from http://catalog.waldenu.edu/ Walden University (2013b).Academic Integrity and Turnitin.Retrieved from http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/809.htm Walden University (2013c).Student Support Courses. Retrieved from http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/Writing-Courses.htm Read More