Revision

As I said in class last week, we are going to tackle citing sources this week in order to eliminate any kind of plagiarism in our essays. I can't emphasize enough how important this is to learn. Get as much done today in the lab as possible -- you will likely not have any more time in class to work in the lab before this is due.

Another note: if you wrote about someone you know personally and did not use outside sources, concentrate on revising for clarity, fixing grammar and spelling, etc. Make the essay better -- don't just print out another copy of the same thing and turn it in. I will check each draft (especially your most recent draft) for evidence of revision -- that means I am looking for YOUR WRITING on your drafts.

Due date: Thursday, February 21, 2008

What's due, you ask?
1. Revised essay, with in-text parenthetical citations and a works cited page. Also you are expected to revise for grammar, spelling, formatting, and clarity. NOW ANY INSTANCES OF PLAGIARISM WILL RESULT IN A GRADE OF "F" FOR THE ASSIGNMENT, AND YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RE-DO THE ASSIGNMENT. THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY, NOW, TO RE-DO THE ASSIGNMENT.
2. All previous drafts -- marked up, written on, brimming with ideas and revision. (Yes, all of the drafts! Including the peer edit form!)

How do I do all this?

It's actually pretty easy, and I promise this is the last thing we do with this essay. After this, we will move on.

1. Search through your essay for the slightest hint of plagiarism. This means sentences you cut and pasted without quoting or sentences that are carelessly paraphrased (meaning you only changed a few words). For direct quotes, use quotations marks and in-text citation (author's last name and page number, if available). For paraphrasing, you really have to change the whole sentence, and then still insert an in-text citation giving credit to the author. Some people will find that their entire essay is one long careless paraphrase or a series of direct quotes. If that applies to you, you will have to rework much of the paper. You can't turn in a bunch of long quotations or paraphrases and call it your essay. That is someone else's essay. The key is that YOUR thinking, YOUR original ideas must be the driving force of the essay. The quotations and paraphrases support what YOU have to say on the subject.

2. If you are unsure if a sentence is copied, try googling the sentence. But really, come on -- you know what you wrote or did not write.

3. Cite sources properly in the text. (Careful paraphrases, quotation marks, in-text citations.) Use the Diana Hacker website for detailed instructions on in-text citations: http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s1.html

4. Create a Works Cited page and properly document your sources using the MLA system. (It's more than just listed the URL of the website!) http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s2.html

5. For an example of what your revised essay will (sort of) look like, go (again, sorry, it's a good site) to the Diana Hacker website: http://dianahacker.com/pdfs/Hacker-Levi-MLA.pdf. Obviously our essay is not a full-blown research paper, so you don't need a title page or outline, but most of the other things apply.

6. If you have trouble with any of this, please ask for help.

For your reference, here is a link to the powerpoint on plagiarism we discussed in class on 2/7/08. We looked mostly at the first one (West Alabama) but also some of the second one (Springfield HS).