Thursday, February 11, 2010

chapter 2 of my word

I find that this chapter of My word quite interesting. It takes different stances on plagiarism by taking quotes from the people they have interviewed. It has answered my question on the first account of plagiarism seems to have taken place in Germany. The chapters questions what is original and defines intertexuality.


I am disappointed that there was no clear definition of plagiarism. As one of the interviewer remarked" plagiarism may be taking two or three words coincidentally. chapter points out that identically in a sentence." I do not see the schools expect us to not plagiarize, when it is not clearly defined, which makes everyone have their own subjective view on plagiarism. Since plagiarism is generally asking another person's work or idea, to avoid it you must be original. However, as the book has pointed out that everyone is influence by other people's ideas. Also, everything would eventually be classified as public domain, once enough time has passed.

It is intriguing on how people quote in normal conversation compared to the standards expect students to write. I understand that we do not quote in our normal conversation because it would be too much of a hassle and that it would kill the joke by interrupting the context that is in. In both Instant messaging and writing, it is common to quote something that is obscure, unlike common knowledge. What is determined as common knowledge is determined by what the writer perceives what his audience should already know.

I never thought that footnotes were any important. Now, I understand that it is a way for a person to check on their sources. I wonder if footnotes are better or more effective then quotations, but most likely that each are good for certain purposes. There are plenty of ways to cite your sources, but I find it disappointing that it's either too complicated or most students just don't know how to cite properly. When I embed quotes into an essay, I am not too confident that I had done it correctly.


2 comments:

  1. i liked the fact that blum included interviews with students too...it was nice reading what other people had to say about it.infact the things they said expanded by own thoughts on plagiarism and originality. yeah footnootes seem like an easier way to cite things, but then again i don't think anyone really reads em

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  2. Usually quotes are best if the exact wording matters -- that's a good rule of thumb. But you might still include a footnote along with a quote, depending on what kind of text you're writing. For example, if the quote is a translation, the footnote might give the quote in the original language. Or the footnote might explain the context of the quote. Or it might just give the full citation. Or...well, you get the idea -- footnotes can be pretty versatile.

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