student reference
When we learn, it?s usually information provided from others: ?experts,? historians, scientists, religious texts and leaders, scholars, etc. And we take the information they?ve gathered and pass it along to others in our own discussions and papers. So?when does ?learning? facts from others become a problem worthy of failing a class, being suspended, or being fired from a job?!

Students and writers have ?borrowed? others? words and ideas and claimed them as their own probably since the dawn of the written word?out of ignorance, accidentally, and with conscious, deliberate planning. They?ve gotten away with it. They?ve been caught and punished.

At the university level, many students don?t know exactly what plagiarism is, or they think UT Martin professors don?t check for it or hold students accountable for it, or they think that as long as they have a bibliography they?re ok, or they think that papers online or written by someone else will be better than what they could write themselves.

The reality is that there?s rarely a truly ?original? thought in the world, so the trick is to learn how to effectively put others? ideas, beliefs, & words into conversation w/ our own.

BUT?effective fact-based, research-based writing is not just a matter of not plagiarizing, but smoothly connecting others? words w/ our own, ensuring we?re not making our sources say something they?re not (requiring us to read carefully and understand fully what they?re saying!), making it clear what we are using others? words to do in our own text (illustrate, confirm, define, expand, show contrasting views?).

Using our McGraw-Hill handbook plus 2 (no more than 3) other sources you locate yourself, you?re going to write a short essay about research writing, plagiarism and using sources well to help you convey a message to readers.

Your audience is high school juniors & seniors, and just entering first-year college students. Your goal is to become well-informed enough yourself?not only about plagiarism but about how to smoothly, skillfully, powerfully engage w/ other?s ideas in your own writing?that you can inform and advise others about it. So maybe you can think about providing to others information about using sources that you wish you?d known sooner!! Sooo?feel free to address your reading audience directly (using ?you?)

Parameters
? double-spaced, 12-font, MLA format
? At least 2 additional sources that you locate yourself
? 1 quote & one paraphrase from each source; use tag phrases (The UTM Student Code of Conduct Web page warns that?; According to CNN?, Martha Allan explains that?, ?, as Jones argues, ?)
? Audience-centered Title and Introduction, & thoughtful Conclusion
? Clear thesis about plagiarism & using sources
? MLA formatted ?Works Cited? (bibliography page).
? Correct Standard English grammar/sentences/punctuation/spelling
? Pages neatly stapled in upper left corner