GEN 103 week 1 DQ 1

  

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

 

     

Writing   with Integrity

  

 

Prepare: Begin your discussion post by   viewing the CBS video, CBS Morning News   “Plagiarism” story.   Then, review 6 Ways to Avoid   Plagiarism and Generally Be a Cool Person.

 

Reflect: As you watch the video, think   about the implications and consequences of plagiarism in the workplace and in   the entertainment industry.

 

Write: After watching the video, describe   your reaction to the video and the implications to your own work. What did   you learn about the seriousness of plagiarism and how did this video change   (or not) your understanding of it? Do you know of any other instances of   plagiarism either in school or beyond? 

Next, read   the scenarios below that highlight some of the most common plagiarism issues   at the college level. The scenario is assigned to you by the first initial of   your last name in the chart below. Carefully read the scenario and respond as   directed.

  

First     Initial of Last Name

Assigned     Pair

 

A     – H

Scenario     1

 

I     - P

Scenario     2

 

Q     - Z

Scenario     3

Scenario   1:
Copy-Pasting
  The discussion board prompt for Serena’s American History class asks students   to brainstorm ways to improve the democratic system of government. Serena   searches online to help her come up with ideas for what to write. She comes   across the following sentences and copies and pastes them into her discussion   post without any additions or her own commentary: “We cannot improve on the   system of government handed down to us by the founders of the Republic. There   is no way to improve upon that. But, what we can do is to find new ways to   implement that system and realize our destiny.” Serena submits her discussion   post but has a bad feeling about it. She is not sure what she should have   done differently.
  Write a paragraph of advice for Serena explaining why copying and pasting in   the way that she did was wrong and what she should do differently next time.

Scenario   2:
Paraphrasing Without Citation
  Kelly is researching the representation of females in film for her   composition final. She wants to discuss the films of Kathryn Bigelow. She   searches for “Kathryn Bigelow” in the Ashford University Library databases   and locates an article by Joel Johnson that discusses Bigelow’s film, The   Hurt Locker. Kelly finds a sentence that she feels perfectly covers what   she wants to say about Bigelow’s filmmaking: “Bigelow is one of the few   female directors who has consistently tackled ‘masculine’ subjects in her   films.” She writes in her paper, “The subjects of Bigelow’s films are often   male-centric, which is rare for a female director” but does not credit the   idea to the source.
  Write a paragraph of advice for Kelly explaining the importance of citing   sources. Describe to Kelly what steps she needs to now take to avoid   plagiarizing the author of the article.

Scenario   3:
Fabrication
  Shawn is assigned a paper on biases in the judicial system. Shawn is having   difficulty figuring out where to find sources for this topic. He has searched   online and once briefly in the Ashford University Library databases but has   not found what he is looking for: statistics of the number of people   currently in jail in the United States versus 10 years ago. Feeling   overwhelmed and frustrated, Shawn decides that he knows enough about this   topic to guess an average number. He writes, “The number of incarcerated   males in America has increased by 10% in the last 10 years.”
  Write a paragraph of advice for Shawn explaining why creating a fact   statistic is wrong and what he should do differently next time. Explain to   Shawn what he should have done in this situation instead of fabricating a   statistic.

Your   initial post should contain a minimum of 350 words and be written in complete   sentences. It must answer all aspects of the prompt (refer to “Think about it   this way” below).  Demonstrate what you learned in the APA Skill   Activity this week by citing your sources correctly.   Your initial   post must be posted by 11:59 Thursday evening.

 

Guided Response: 

Reply to   at least two of your classmates who explored a different scenario than   that which you examined. Will the advice they provided be helpful in the   future for the individual in the scenario? What might your classmates add to   their advice to make it even more helpful? Post your two peer responses   during the week to maximize the opportunity for vigorous discussion.

Think   about it this way...
  This discussion is asking you to do six things.

• View the CBS video CBS        Morning News “Plagiarism” story. Then, review 6 Ways to Avoid        Plagiarism and Generally Be a Cool Person.
• Describe your reaction to the        video.  What does this mean to you and your work?
• What did you know about        plagiarism before watching this video and reading the review?
• Describe instances of        plagiarism of which you are aware.
• Read the scenario assigned to        you and answer the question located under the scenario description.
• Respond to at least two of        your classsmates’ discussion posts in a way that furthers the        discussion.

Visit the Ashford Writing Center to learn about resources that   will help you improve your writing skills. Also, Grammarly is a great   revision tool to use before you submit any discussion or writing assignment.