Ethical Scholarship

in Student Writing

Writing & language Support

TMU’s Land Acknowledgement

“Toronto is in the ‘Dish With One Spoon Territory’.

The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect.”

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Academic Integrity

The word “integrity” comes from the Latin integritas, meaning wholeness.

To be a student acting with academic integrity, is to engage in scholarship – test-taking, studying, essay writing, presenting, whatever it may be – with wholeness, as a person adhering to ethical principles.

Decision-making

• Academic integrity, or ethical scholarship, involves, at its most fundamental level, decision-making — ethical, responsible decision-making.
• If one of your friends asked you to help him steal a car, you would hopefully say “no.” Your decision would be motivated by two things: 1) the fear of legal consequences, and 2) wanting to be an ethical person.
• As a student, you are faced with these kinds of decision-making moments all the time, both obvious and not so obvious.

The obvious

• I bought an essay online.
• I stole a classmate’s assignment.
• I cheated on an exam.
• I provided a fake doctor’s note.

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The not-so obvious

• I didn’t cite a source correctly.
• I looked through my backpack during an exam.
• I took careless notes from texts, and forgot to note the source.
• I collaborated on an assignment without acknowledging this to the professor.
• I relied too heavily on the texts of others to make a point in my essay (patchwork).

The obvious and not-so-obvious �

• Students who commit acts of academic dishonesty are either:
• Cheating (very obvious, somewhat rare)
• Momentary bad-decision makers (obvious, and common)
• Unaware of the rules (not-so obvious, and very common)

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But the University may not make much of a distinction. Academic dishonesty is not tolerated. A bad decision made under stress can be costly. Ignorance of the rules is NOT an excuse.

Some consequences of academic dishonesty�

• You may have violated a set of ethical principles.
• You may have been unfair to your fellow students.
• You may have violated the mission of the university.
• You may have degraded the reputation of the university.
• You may have cheapened the value of your degree.
• You may have cheated yourself out of a good education.
• You may have put your academic success in serious jeopardy.

So, what should you do?

• First, become familiar with the Academic Integrity Office at TMU:

https://www.torontomu.ca/academicintegrity/

• Second, get in the habit of talking to your professors.
• Third, get advice from other folks on campus, including those in Student Learning Support. We are all here to help you.
• Finally, try not to worry. Becoming familiar with the nuances of academic integrity is part of the learning experience. Just be proactive and ask questions.

Ethical scholarship in student writing�

Writing assignments will vary at TMU. There are many more forms of writing than simply the traditional research essay. That’s a good thing.

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BUT…very often, your writing assignments will involve a weaving together of your ideas with the ideas of others – typically, experts in the field.

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Ethical scholarship in student writing

When we do this, we are creating a piece of writing that involves other people’s intellectual property, and we must therefore use that source material in appropriate ways. We can’t simply take it.

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There are citation rules we must use and practice to conduct ourselves appropriately as writers, and make our writing more robust.

Ethical scholarship in student writing

This doesn’t need to scare you. It’s not complicated.

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You simply need to learn the basic fundamentals of those citation rules, practice them, ask a lot of questions, and talk to your professors as you go through the writing process.

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We’re here to help with that.

Why cite, quote, and paraphrase?

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Your paper is a collaboration between you and your sources.

You must acknowledge your debt to the writers of those sources to avoid committing plagiarism (a serious academic offence).

Integrating your sources

A quotation uses the author’s EXACT words (in quotation marks) to provide one idea. It is used to emphasize the words of the author, or when it is difficult to write the idea equally well in your own words.

A paraphrase provides an understanding of one aspect of the text in your own words. It reports information in about the same number of words as in the source, and is used most often.

A summary provides an understanding of the core argument of a text in your own words. It condenses a much larger piece of information.

Limiting the use of quotations

Do not quote excessively. Direct quotations should be used only if you cannot paraphrase specific words or expressions!

It is not necessary to quote full sentences. Borrow only the phrase(s) you need, or weave part of a source’s sentence into your own sentence structure.

Paraphrasing

• Most of the research you integrate into your work will be paraphrased. Paraphrasing effectively is often the aspect of ethical scholarship that students find most challenging.
• What does “paraphrase” mean?
• What information should be paraphrased?
• What are some ways in which paraphrases are often better than quotations?
• Do paraphrases need references?

Paraphrase example

Original text:

According to Blackstock (2004), “getting adequate sleep, eating healthy food, and maintaining an optimistic outlook are essential in achieving success” (p. 28).

Paraphrase:

Success depends on sufficient rest, good food, and a positive view of life (Blackstock, 2004, p. 28).

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Paraphrasing strategies

When it comes to paraphrasing, one of the most effective strategies you can implement is to put the original source material out of sight.

Then, write down (in bullet points) or explain out loud the information you want to integrate into your paper. This will help you find your own unique wording and sentence structure.

Paraphrasing strategies

If you’re feeling stuck, you can combine the following strategies to generate unique wording and sentence structure.

1. Use synonyms (e.g. car = vehicle)
2. Add or remove prepositions (e.g. improvements in infrastructure = infrastructure improvements)
3. Change the order of information (e.g. Sleeping for eight hours can improve performance = One performs better with eight hours of sleep)

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Paraphrasing strategies

4. Paraphrase longer texts by doing the following:

• Highlight important points as you read
• Make an outline in point form (i.e. no complete sentences)
• Write about the points in your own words, following the outline

Paraphrasing: summary

Mix the four methods, as needed.

Be very careful when choosing synonyms. You should check each synonym in a learner’s dictionary to see examples of sentences using that word.

Change the words but not the meaning of the original text.

Be sure that all of the key words (except for technical terms and common words) AND the sentence structure are both changed.

Citing paraphrases

Every paraphrase must have a source reference.

If all the paraphrased information in a paragraph is from the same source make sure to put your reference early on in the paragraph. Then you can use language to indicate the information is all from the same source.

ex. Additionally, the authors determined…

Styles

• The same information is always needed for the same kind of reference.
• The information is presented slightly differently in different styles.
• Some of the main styles are APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, IEEE, and Vancouver.

Plagiarism

• What is plagiarism?
• How important is it in North American culture?
• Why are the penalties so serious?
• How can you avoid it?

Considering plagiarism:

• Plagiarism can be intentional:
• Buying a paper, submitting a friend’s, paying someone to write a paper for you, piecing together text from websites, etc.
• It can also result from a failure to cite your sources and/or cite them properly (i.e. according to a style guide)

Plagiarism is

• Failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas
• Failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks
• Failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words

To avoid plagiarism

• Give references for all quoted and paraphrased information.
• Be sure that there is a reference for all information that is not common knowledge.
• Put quotation marks around all quoted information.

To cite or not to cite?

What is primary research?

What is secondary research?

What is common knowledge?

Which ones need references?

China is a large country with a huge population.

The population of China (2007) is estimated at 1,321,851,888; and its area is 9,596,960 km².

According to Boyle’s Law, the pressure of the gas can be increased by decreasing the volume.

The experiment was performed according to a methodology devised by another researcher in this field.

Plagiarism recognition exercise

Try to spot any instances of plagiarism in the following seven examples.

If you see plagiarism or any other problems, can you explain exactly what went wrong?

The original text

The participants were students in their first semester, about to enter Malay- and Arabic-medium programs. The students were asked to write an essay as part of their English Language Entrance Test during their orientation week before formal classes began. Essays dealt with technological topics such as advantages and disadvantages of cars, the influence of satellite TV, and so on. The requirement to write on such topics precluded the possibility that the students would transfer pre-digested information directly from their first language, Brunei Malay.

This excerpt is from an article by Alex Henry and Robert Roseberry called “Raising Awareness of the Generic Structure and Linguistic Features of Essay Introductions.” The article appeared on pages 190-200 of Language Awareness, volume 8, combined issues 3 & 4, in 1999. The quoted paragraph is on p.195

Example 1

The participants in the Henry and Roseberry study were students in their first semester. They were asked to write an essay as part of their English Language Entrance Test during their orientation week before formal classes began. Essays dealt with technological topics such as advantages and disadvantages of cars, the influence of satellite TV, and so on.

Example 1: Much copying from the original; no quotation marks around quoted words. (Plagiarism)

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Example 2

The participants in the Henry and Roseberry (1999) study were students in their first semester, about to enter Malay- and Arabic-medium programs. The students were asked to write an essay as part of their English Language Entrance Test during their orientation week before formal classes began. Essays dealt with technological topics such as advantages and disadvantages of cars, the influence of satellite TV, and so on (p. 195).

Example 2: A reference is given, but there is too much copying of the original wording without quotation marks. (Plagiarism)

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Example 3

In the Henry and Roseberry (1999) study, the participants were first-semester students entering Malay- and Arabic-medium programs. The students were asked to write an essay as part of their English Language Entrance Test during their orientation week before formal classes began. Essays dealt with technological topics such as advantages and disadvantages of cars, the influence of satellite TV, and so on. The reason for this choice of topics was to make it more difficult for the students to use information that they had already written or thought about in their first language (p. 195).

Example 3: A reference is given; some words are changed, but there are still many quotations without quotation marks. (Plagiarism)

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Example 4

“The students had to write an essay as part of their English Language Entrance Test during orientation week before formal classes began. Essays were about technological topics such as advantages and disadvantages of cars, the influence of satellite TV, and so on” (1999, p. 195).

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Example 4: Quotation marks are used, and an incomplete reference is given. But some words within the quotations are changed. (Not plagiarized, but not acceptable; considered to be academic misconduct)

Example 5

In the Henry and Roseberry (1999) study, the “participants were students in their first semester, about to enter Malay- and Arabic-medium programs. The students were asked to write an essay as part of their English Language Entrance Test during their orientation week before formal classes began. Essays dealt with technological topics such as advantages and disadvantages of cars, the influence of satellite TV, and so on” (p. 195).

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Example 5: Correctly quoted and referenced, but there is no reason to quote this. It should be paraphrased.

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Example 6

In a study by Henry and Roseberry (1999), a number of first-semester students entering programs taught in Malay and Arabic, took an English Language Entrance Test that included an essay on technological topics. The topics were chosen to ensure that the students would not draw on information that they had thought about or memorized in their mother tongue.

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Example 6: Correctly done.

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Example 7

In one study, first-semester students about to enter programs taught in Malay and Arabic, took an English Language Entrance Test (Henry & Roseberry, 1999. As part of the test they were asked to write an essay on one of several technological topics. The topics were chosen to ensure that the students would not “transfer pre-digested information directly from their first language, Brunei Malay” (Henry & Roseberry, 1999, p. 195).

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Example 7: Correctly done.

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Questions?

If you have any academic integrity questions or concerns, you can contact TMU’s Academic Integrity Office at

aio@torontomu.ca

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If you have any questions about Writing Support or Student Learning Support, you can contact us at slls@torontomu.ca

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Writing Support

• Individual Help
• Book a 25-minute or 50-minute virtual appointment
• Workshops on other writing/research topics available online
• Handouts on citations conventions and more available online

https://www.torontomu.ca/student-life-and-learning/

Available workshops

Basics Referencing and Citation Styles

Common Grammar Errors

Critical Reading Skills for Better Academic Writing

Effective Revision and Editing

Finding your voice and style

Getting Started on your Academic Paper

Ethical Scholarship in Student Writing

The Thesis Statement… and more!

Connect with Student Learning Support

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https://www.torontomu.ca/student-life-and-learning/

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slls@torontomu.ca

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