Avoiding Plagiarism; Writing
Effective Metacommentary,
Introduction of the Research
Paper
Quickwrite
• Come up with a clear thesis statement that
answers this question, and then begin to
answer it in the form of a freewrite.
• What do you think are the most common
reasons that some students plagiarize (cheat,
steal others’ words or ideas) on their written
assignments? What do you think should be
done in order to address these reasons and
prevent plagiarism from occurring?
Chapter 10 of They Say / I Say
• What is metacommentary? Why do authors
sometimes feel the need to include it in their
writing?
• In your research paper, you might need to
explain to your readers how to read your
points in order to avoid confusion or
misunderstanding.
Chapter 10 of They Say / I Say
• P. 129 of TSIS says, “metacommentary is a way of
commenting on your claims and telling others how—and
how not—to think about them.”
• Add an additional paragraph to your quickwrite in which
you include one or more examples of metacommentary
that tells your reader how to think about your points.
– Are there any potential misunderstandings that you can clarify?
(p. 135)
– Can you introduce and then provide a specific example of your
point? (p. 136)
– Can you anticipate some objections to your point and answer
them? (p. 136)
– Can you tie all of your small points together to make one
general point? (p. 137)
Three Basic Rules for Avoiding
Plagiarism:
1. Make sure all word-for-word quotes have quote
marks showing where they begin and end. Also,
make sure to make the difference between your
ideas and your sources’ ideas clear when
paraphrasing or summarizing.
2. Identify where each quote OR paraphrased idea
came from in the body of your paper using intext citations.
3. Make sure that each source you quote or
paraphrase in your paper is correctly listed on
your Works Cited page.
To Cite, or Not to Cite
• You do not have to cite facts that are undisputed
common knowledge.
– Ex: The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863.
– Ex: Water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one
oxygen atom.
– Ex: Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland.
• However, once you start needing to use ideas
about these common, everyday facts that you
found in your sources, you must cite the source
of the idea.
• When in doubt, cite! And if you have time, ask!
Some Myths about Plagiarism
• Myth 1: As long as I have a source on my works cited page, I
don’t have to mention it in the body of my paper.
• WRONG! Any time you use ideas or words from a source, you
must include an in-text citation.
• Myth 2: As long as I change one or two words in a quote, I
don’t have to put quote marks around it or do a citation.
• WRONG! Changing one or two words in a quote and replacing
them with synonyms is STILL PLAGIARISM if you keep the
original ideas and/or sentence structure.
• Myth 3: As long as I paraphrase correctly, using my own words
and sentence structure to express an idea, I don’t need an intext citation.
• WRONG! Even if you use your own words, if the idea originally
came from somewhere else, you must cite it.
Myths about Plagiarism
• Myth 4: I don’t need to cite exact words, ideas or
information I find on the internet.
• WRONG! Treat your internet sources with the same
respect you have for your print or online database
sources.
• Myth 5: It is appropriate to use an old essay from a friend,
buy an essay, or have someone help me write an essay
using his or her wording instead of mine.
• WRONG! All of these are called collusion, and they are all
plagiarism.
• Myth 6: I won’t get caught if I plagiarize.
• WRONG! Plagiarism is quite obvious to most professors,
and many of them use plagiarism detecting software.
Resources to Help you Avoid
Plagiarism
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P. 451-456 of Rules for Writers for avoiding plagiarism.
P. 458-459 for a directory of MLA citation information.
P. 479-523 for MLA references.
P. 523-532 for example research paper.
Example research paper from the Purdue OWL
Online plagiarism tutorial and quizzes from Simon
Fraser University
• Plagiarism Self Test from Western Carolina University
• University of Southern Mississippi’s Plagiarism Tutorial
How to Use TurnItIn to Check for
Plagiarism
• After you have uploaded your essay to turnitin,
you will have the ability to check YOURSELF for
any plagiarism.
• Your originality score should be less than 30%.
This means that no more than 30% of your essay
should be identified as word for word from a
source, even if sources are quoted correctly.
• Any portions of your essay that turnitin highlights
should be enclosed in quotes and given a correct
MLA parenthetical citation.
What Happens if TurnItIn Finds
Plagiarism?
• If you have time before the due date, you can
fix the problem and upload a new, corrected
file that will replace the old one.
• This means that it would be a good idea to
give yourself time to correct any errors before
the due date.
• If you discover accidental plagiarism after the
due date, I will give you the opportunity to
revise.
What about intentional plagiarism?
• Intentional plagiarism is cheating that is not the result
of an accident, a lack of knowledge, or a citation error.
For example, uploading an entire essay you bought or
copied from a website is not an accident.
• What happens if turnitin identifies intentional
plagiarism?
– Hope you’ve given yourself enough time to take it down
and upload something you actually wrote before the due
date.
– Because if I catch you, I will fail you on the assignment with
no hope of revision so fast it’ll make your head spin.
Rhetorical Situation for Research
Papers
• Every piece of writing has a “rhetorical situation.”
This is the set of circumstances under which the
piece of writing is produced, and it affects the
choices a writer makes. What is the “rhetorical
situation” of piece of writing that is classified as
“research”?
–
–
–
–
What is its purpose?
What is its audience?
What is its tone/stance?
What is its medium?
The Purpose of Our Research Paper
• Make a CLAIM about some area of pop culture
and defend that claim using reputable sources
and your own analysis of the issue.
• How do I discover and defend a claim?
– ASK a research question that invites further
discussion.
– READ a variety of sources about your question.
– DECIDE, based on your research, where you stand on
your question, and put that stance into a thesis/claim.
– DEFEND your decision (your thesis) in your paper.
•Don’t ask a question to
which you think you
already know the
answer.
Audience for our Research Paper
• Assume a general audience of other collegelevel students and professors. Your audience
is interested in your topic, and they know
what pop culture is, but may not be familiar
with your specific issue. You will need to
provide appropriate context.
Tone and Medium of Research Paper
• Tone: I will expect the paper to have a clear point of
view on the question you choose, but I will expect the
paper to be professional and respectful of those who
might disagree. (If you wouldn’t say it to the face of
someone you respect but disagree with, it doesn’t
belong in your research paper.)
• Medium: Written paper, with the option of correctly
cited and captioned images throughout. Also, if you
choose to do the extra credit, you may use video and
internet sources in your presentation.
Expectations for Style:
• This paper should be written in an academic
style.
• Some extra points to remember:
– No text-speak (“u” for “you,” for example)
– Precise, academically appropriate language
– Limit use of “I” and “me” to well-chosen, relevant
examples.
Formulating a Research Question
• A successful research question will:
– Narrow an issue related to pop culture down to a
manageable question for a 6-8 page paper.
– Be specific.
– Invite discussion about the answer to the question.
• Some poor research questions:
• How does science fiction affect society? (Too broad…
affect it HOW? And who is “society” referring to?)
• What are some good science fiction movies? (“Good” is
too subjective. What do you mean by “good”? And
what is your purpose in ranking these movies?)
Research Question, cont.
• Improved Research questions:
• Has science fiction historically been able to comment
on issues of racism and prejudice in a unique way?
What has science fiction contributed to the
conversation about these topics?
• What are some of the most significant real world
scientific discoveries that have been inspired by
science fiction films?
• Remember, your research proposal needs to have
your research question at the top, followed by a
discussion of why you chose this question and
where you think you will go from here.
Brainstorming for the Research Paper
Question
• Make a list of ALL of the areas of pop culture you
might like to write about. Come up with some
rough questions about each of these topics. (You
can refine them later.)
• Be curious! What are connections you’ve always
wondered about? What are things you’ve noticed
that you’d like to explore in more detail?
• What are readings from our book that intrigued
you? What more do you want to know about
those topics?
Rough Research Question
• Turn at least one of the topics you brainstormed
into a rough research question.
• Now, ask yourself, so what? Who cares?
• Where should I go next to find out what other
people are saying about this topic?
• What might I need to find out before I am ready
to enter this conversation as an informed
participant?
• The answers to those questions are what make
up the paragraphs for your research proposal.
Ok, I have a research question. Now
what?
• Have your research question(s) checked by
me. Continue refining them.
• What knowledge/experience do you bring to
the topic?
• What are issues you know you will need to
explore in order to find out what your claim is
going to be?
What Should My Research Proposal
Include?
• Your specific research question
• The Stakeholders (People who are most
affected by this issue)
• An explanation of what is at stake in the
discussion of this issue
• What do I need to find out before forming an
opinion?
• Possible specific sources of information on this
issue
What should I be doing this week and
next for the research paper?
• Research Proposal
• Start finding possible sources. Keep track of
where you find them.
• Read at least five possible sources. If they are
relevant, annotate/highlight/take notes. Keep
track of which ideas came from which source.
• Begin to notice common debates or themes in
your sources. What are the big issues that
show up over and over again as you research?