Unit 4 Blog Response

Word Min(d)ing: Why I Do and You Should, Too.

When I first started as an undergraduate English major, much was made of the MLA (Modern Languages Association) style format that we used to cite our secondary sources. Our tutors and professors were extremely strict about us absolutely adhering to correct citation. No exceptions nor oversights. Good, thorough note-taking in the research and preparation of our papers was considered to be just as important as completing the paper itself. Even peripherally, I almost invariably heard of the scandals of those students who fell spectacularly from grace, after being found guilty of findings of plagiarism, which almost always resulted in outright failure and/or dismissal and permanent exclusion from the University. Such dishonesty could cast a long shadow over a Department for quite sometime. Particularly distressing, were those students who 'lifted' entire passages and even chapters from well-known academic texts, with the intent of presenting the material as their own. New Zealand being a much smaller academic community, also made it nigh on impossible for such disgraced students to continue on in any capacity, at any university. Later, as a graduate Public Health student, the style and citation requirements changed to APA, which I found easier compared with MLA in some purely techinical respects. To me, APA just flows better, is all.

If there is one, single experience in academic writing, that offers a true appreciation of the significance of carefully citing sources, it is writing a Master's or PhD thesis. A thesis repreesents a significant body of work. It's hundreds of pages long. And, you thought writing ten pages was hard?. Try writing mechanically sound multiple numbers of chapters!. Chapters which are subsequently written, re-written...and re-written, again. As with Dr. Sands, I am not saying that from some elitist 'ivory tower' sort of a standpoint. When you carry out your own, independent research for the purposes of writing a thesis, you're handling so much different material. Knowing and acknowledging the difference between all of those different threads is crucial. You're developing your own, original contribution to a thesis toipic, and distinguishing yourself from what has already been written on the subject, as well as critically reviewing the research that has happened before your own. It can seem overwhelming, but it's part of being a scholar. This process adds weight and significance to your work and sets you apart, as well as alongside, everyone else who is also a member of your academic discipline.

I can only imagine what must go through an author's mind when they find that their ideas, words and/or images have been 'kidnapped' or stolen. It would be gutting. Really. Not giving credit where credit is due is dishonest. Not to mention, disheartening. If I found it had happened to me, I would document it, and report it to whoever had published the material in question.

Periodically, on the websites where I write, the issue of online or electronic plagiarism flares up. Because the internet's boundaries are that much more fluid, and indeterminate in some ways, I think that people do push the boundaries. However, there are also a lot of people writing on the internet, who have never had formal training in acknowledging their sources. Just as in real life, there will always be people who challenge and flaunt authority. Further, determining exactly what consitutes free and fair, may also be open to subjective interpretation. I think that the online environment still has a ways to go in figuring out a code of conduct that works for most users and the material they put 'out there'.

Please-give credit where credit is due. It's not that I don't mind. Oh, I do. And, if you value writing, then you should, too!.