Blog Post #12

Interview Transcript

B: Hi, how are you today? Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you!

J: No problem, I'm glad to help out another student.

B: You're graduating this spring right?

J: Yup, and it couldn't come any sooner!

(we both laugh)

B: I feel you on that. Urgh I can't wait till I graduate. CONGRATS in advance.... Okay, so let's just get started.... in what ways would you describe your writing process? Like how do you get ready to start a big paper?

J: Well the first thing I usually do is write down the directions again. I like to be able to reference what I'm really being asked to do in the paper so I don't fall off track. Then I would start outlining some main points I want to get across in the paragraphs following my introduction and I go from there, really.

B: Okay, sounds really similar to what I do! So when you're done with your outline and you start to actually write your paper, when do you think it's a good idea to paraphrase?

J: I actually paraphrase a lot. I think it's always a good time for paraphrasing! (laughs) It definitely helps to add in some extra info to your paper instead of just your own made up ideas, and I think it helps because it makes your paper look a lot more accurate.

B: What do you mean by "accurate"?

J: I mean, it helps with the facts on what you're writing on. Instead of just pulling fluff out of the air you can use your sources and just rephrase them to how you like. It's a great technique in my eyes.

B: Gotcha! Do you cite your sources after all your paraphrasing?

J: I usually have a works cited page at the end, but I don't cite it within my paper. I feel like it messes up the flow or sometimes, there are just such small sentences or random info I throw in there that I don't really feel I need to cite it all. Unless it's something real specific that I can't paraphrase. In that case i'll add in where it's from.

B: Okay, so in what ways do you try to avoid plagiarism?

J: Well I never copy and paste. (laughs) I never write things word for word, and I always try and cite the most important pieces of information. Especially when it comes to things like statistics, or if I'm using really specific data from a study or something.

B: Okay, cool. So, how would you define plagiarism in a nut shell?

J: I would define plagiarism as.... taking another person's complete work or even a piece of it word for word and claiming it as your own, original idea. That is definitely plagiarism.

B: Do you think a lot of your peers reference the internet a lot when writing different kinds of papers to help them out with ideas?

J: Yeah for sure. There are soooooo many sites out there that can help out with ideas. I don't really see it as plagiarizing though and I don't think a lot of students do either. Like for example, it's a lot easier to do this with literature classes or pys classes, or things where it's a lot of just recapping. You can ask people online what they think and get a whole bunch of ideas and play off that. Or put your own spin on things that have already been discussed online. Message boards are a great place for this, or even yahoo answers or just some sites that professors don't really like us using (giggles). Not only is it easy but it's almost like a tool if you have writers block.

B: I see. Why do you think students are compelled to do this though? Do you think students don't have a good writing process that works for them?

J: That could definitely be a possibility. I think a lot of us students are expected to know how to come up with all these great ideas, or expected to know how to write a good paper. I'm a psychology major and my first few years I had a bunch of just general English classes and almost every professor had different expectations and had different ideas on what was right and what wasn't. Coming out of high school, not everything I was taught was acceptable but I didn't know that. There just wasn't anything I had learned in between to bridge that gap on learning how to write a GOOD paper that met all the right guidelines you know what I mean? So I just had to wing it depending on who was grading my paper. And when I could use the internet I did, without hesitation. But I wouldn't say I was cheating though.

B: Okay, so you mentioned some sites like yahoo answers, and some message boards. Sites that professors "don't like us using"... What other sites can you add to that list?

J: Yahoo Answers, Wikipedia, Sparknotes. Sites like that that are made to make things easier for us.

B: Would you ever add these sites to your work cited page? or are these some of the sites you'd paraphrase on and just leave unknown?

J: yeah these i'd  just leave those out (laughs). I feel like once a professor sees those names on a paper, it's automatically trash.

B: So you're willing to take the risk so you aren't embarrassed?

J: Ummmm... It's not really about being embarrassed, I just wouldn't want to do it over because the professor thinks the info is useless. But when they don't know I get the grade. (laughs)

B: Can you tell me of any times you've been caught/accused of plagiarizing or anyone else you may know?

J: There was a time where the professor was really disappointed in another student for plagiarizing. That student had pieces in their paper that were exactly on the internet. He basically told us not to let it happen to us and all that. But I mean she used things word for word.

B: So basically that's all you've ever known a person to get into trouble for? Word for word copying? Correct?

J: Yeah, I still haven't met a person who got an F for paraphrasing. I'm about to graduate and have done fine. Haven't ran into any trouble and I always do it and don't always site the crappy sites either. I guess it just doesn't hold much importance. That's my impression.

B: Okay, so here's what it comes down to....do you think your papers are set up in a way that makes plagiarizing difficult or easy?

J: Easy. Hands down. I haven't really had many papers if any that challenged me to the point where there was NO info found on my topic online. It could just be that you can find anything on the internet these days, or it could just be that it isn't formulated to be challenging enough. I haven't always needed it, but it's always there.

B: What's always there?

J: Information online is always there at our disposal.

B:Okay. Cool. That really covers it....You had some great answers!! Thanks so much, again.

J: No problem, it was fun.

Blog Post #11

Purpose of study: The purpose of my study is to learn how students really feel about plagiarism, and to learn whether or not they feel they possess the proper skills to execute a paper successfully, in a timely matter without having to rely on the internet as a shortcut.

• Can you describe your writing process for me?
• When do you think it's a good idea to paraphrase?
• In what ways do you try to avoid plagiarism?
• How would you define plagiarism?
• Do you believe a lot of students tend to reference the internet a lot when writing a paper?
• Why/why not?
• Do you use the internet as a crutch to help you find ideas, or elaborate on current ideas when writing a paper?
• If so, do you feel you have to cite where you got that idea from, even if you aren't quoting something?
• If not, do you feel your assignments are set up in a way that makes plagiarism too difficult or just plain unnecessary?
• Do you feel you are expected to already have the skills for a successful writing process?
• What do you do to prepare for a paper that requires outside sources using the internet?
• Do you find yourself not giving credit to sites that some professors find less credible such as wiki, cliffnotes, sparknotes, etc?
• Besides being lazy, what reasons would you give for the rise in plagiarism?
• Do you Think mother students plagiarize without realizing it?
• How do you think most of your peers tackle their papers?

Blog Post #10

One story I can think of is a time when I was having a conversation with a friend about our classes and all the work we had coming up. I was telling her about all the papers I had to write and she was telling me about her heavy workload. Somewhere in the conversation she said that papers were really easy to do. Her reason for papers being easy wasn't because she enjoyed writing, or because she had come up with an awesome writing process that works for her, but because its so easy to paraphrase. She didn't see anything wrong with it because she said "I never copy things WORD FOR WORD, but it's okay to use the thesaurus feature and make it your own.". I imagine this is a common story when it comes to student's thoughts on plagiarism, and that many students do this and feel this way. I especially think this is true for students who aren't writing or english majors because they probably don't have many classes that have lessons on coming up with your own writing process or properly citing your sources. I really didn't dwell on this conversation much, but it's something I remember because I wish I would've told her that was a form of plagiarism, just for future reference, since she seemed so oblivious. To her, she thought other students were just clueless on how EASY it was to write a good paper.

Blog Post #9

 Interview protocol for your project

• How would you define plagiarism?
• Do you believe a lot of students tend to reference the internet a lot when writing a paper?
• Why/why not?

Do you use the internet as a crutch to help you find ideas, or elaborate on current ideas when writing a paper?

If so, do you feel you have to cite where you got that idea from, even if you aren't quoting something?

If not, do you feel your assignments are set up in a way that makes plagiarism too difficult or just plain unnecessary?

Do you feel you are expected to already have the skills for a successful writing process?

What do you do to prepare for a paper that requires outside sources using the internet?

Do you find yourself not giving credit to sites that some professors find less credible such as wiki, cliffnotes, sparknotes, etc?

Besides being lazy, what reasons would you give for the rise in plagiarism?

Do you Think mother students plagiarize without realizing it?

How do you think most of your peers tackle their papers?