I think the work on page 11 was properly cited. As we discussed in class, the writing may be poor; however, the student cited the source. I agree with those who believe that a conversation could take place with a student to improve the "quality of writing" or to properly paraphrase work. I don't believe that this is intentional plagiarism or that it should be treated as such. Arghhh.
And another thing. While hotly debating plagiarism last night, it seemed that there were many distinct opinions floating around addressing what Howard was believed to be advocating rather than what Howard has observed. While listening to the debate about page 11, I noticed that students who write poorly were slammed. I think that there is this elitist attitude toward students who struggle with writing. I know I've been guilty of it. It isn't just students, classmates, etc. I have found in my professional life that I have acquired a certain snobbery, because I may know how to more clearly articulate (as someone mentioned last night) what I think than someone else.
What I'm trying to say (not very clearly articulated) is that I want to constructively discuss what drives students to patchwrite rather than to toss out negative, shmarmy labels, judgements or assumptions about why students engage in this activity. As Howard states on page 23, "Understanding the excluded plagiarist and his or her moral beliefs takes a prominent place in the scholarship of plagiarism. Like the scientific model of anthropology that is now in eclipse, this approach to plagiarsm sets up a textual "Us" and "Them," in which the civilized, researching "Us" endeavors to understand the native, pagan "Them."" I think our discussion last night was leaning toward the us/them model. Please add your pennies to this posting.
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3 comments:
ok, i was a little irritable when i wrote this. i think it is difficult to debate this topic in a dispassionate manner, when its locus resides in morality.
Annaluna,
Here Here! I agree completely. It's easy to get hung up the "this is bad writing, they deserve to fail anyway." But, aren't teachers supposed to help students not be bad writers?
My family is split: we have some amazingly articulate people and some not so articulate people. I've seen the struggles of family members trying to write (one even struggling in a 100-level college course), and this sort of bashing that sometimes happens really offends me on behalf of my family and my struggling students.
This is not a thought out comment... mostly I just wanted to agree with you. Well said!
thank you, lynn! i have the same issues within my family.
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