Plagiarism Exercise
Part I (do this in 1-1 ½ pages):
In trying to avoid plagiarism it is important to understand the differences between paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting.
Here is a paragraph from an article on the First Amendment (the quoted material covers two pages, I have inserted page numbers in brackets to show you what part of the material is one which page):
Anthony Comstock devoted virtually
his entire adult life to stamping out vice. His efforts were born of
traditional views about sex, the roles of men and women, and the sanctity of
home and family. More importantly, Comstock, like many Victorian Americans,
believed there was a direct link between drinking, gambling, and obscene
literature (which he [p.
168]defined as anything even slightly titillating) and criminal
behavior. “When you touch them [young people] with corruption you have touched
the future welfare of society, church, and state,” Comstock solemnly intoned in
one pamphlet designed to make the public aware of his perceived scope of the
problem of obscene literature. The “three great crime-breeders in America” he
added, were “intemperance, gambling, and evil reading, and the greatest of
these is evil reading.” [p. 169]
Mary M. Cronin, “The Liberty to Argue Freely: Nineteenth Century Obscenity Prosecutions and the Emergence of Modern Libertarian Free Speech Discourse,” Journalism and Communication Monographs 8 (2006): 163, 168-169.
1. In your own words, write the best paraphrase
of this passage you can. Write a footnote
providing a citation for your paraphrase (review Rampolla for citation form for
a journal article).
2. In your own words, write the best summary
you can come up with. Write a footnote providing a citation for your summary (again,
use Rampolla).
3. Rewrite your summary or paraphrase to include
a quotation from this paragraph.
Prepare a footnote for your citation (see Rampolla).
4. Write a paragraph that explains, in your own
words, the difference between a summary and a paraphrase.
Part II (do this in 1-1 ½ pages, you may
start a separate page, or combine both parts of this exercise on the same
pages):
It is also important to learn how to quote
correctly.
The following statements are based on the
passage above, which appear to you to be cases of improper quotations? Which of
them seem to you to be plagiarized, and why? Please review Rampolla on
quotation form before you do this part of the exercise.
1.
Anthony
Comstock was an opponent of obscenity. Like “many Victorian Americans,
[Comstock] believed there was a direct link between drinking, gambling, and
obscene literature. . . .”[1]
2.
Anthony
Comstock was an opponent of obscenity whose opposition to obscene material was
born of traditional views about sex, the roles of men and women, and the
sanctity of home and family. [2]
He worked tirelessly to keep obscene material from getting to young people.
3.
For
nineteenth century reformers like Anthony Comstock, the “three great
crime-breeders in America” were “intemperance, gambling, and evil reading, and
the greatest of these is evil reading.”[3]
[1] Mary M. Cronin, “The Liberty to Argue Freely: Nineteenth Century Obscenity Prosecutions and the Emergence of Modern Libertarian Free Speech Discourse,” Journalism and Communication Monographs 8 (2006): 163, 168.
[2] Mary M. Cronin, “The Liberty to Argue Freely: Nineteenth Century Obscenity Prosecutions and the Emergence of Modern Libertarian Free Speech Discourse,” Journalism and Communication Monographs 8 (2006): 163, 168.
[3] Mary M. Cronin, “The Liberty to Argue Freely: Nineteenth Century Obscenity Prosecutions and the Emergence of Modern Libertarian Free Speech Discourse,” Journalism and Communication Monographs 8 (2006): 163, 168.