Mass confusion

The readings for this post struck me because I had no idea that restating a passage is a form of plagiarism. Based on that model, I realized that I've unintentionally submitted several writings where I should've been citing sources within the paragraph, and I did not. Of course, intention doesn't hold up when academic integrity is being questioned, but I'm just thankful I've seen numerous examples of what to do and what not to do NOW, as opposed to later on in my career.

I think that part of this issue is widespread misunderstanding of the many forms of plagiarism. I attended a tech-savvy prep school where all students were educated on plagiarism, and I still was unaware of many of the forms of plagiarism listed in our readings. I'm sure I've also inadvertently let my guard down, and have forgotten to cite passages. On my annotated bibliography, I grappled with several definitions and descriptions that I could not possibly restate. I was so focused on getting the important information into the annotating and placing periods and commas in the right place that I completely didn't realize that I should be providing an in-text citation. Somewhere in my mind, I think I thought that because I was acknowledging that this source was not mine to begin with (hence, the bibliography), I wasn't taking credit for anything. I was completely wrong, and am thankful to have been made aware of the mistake now, and to have the opportunity to correct it.

I'm not sure whose responsibility it is - the student or the academic institution - but I do believe that more light needs to be shed on this issue. It's one that I've nearly forgotten about being in the classroom and not writing papers, and I think that while the magnitude of the issue is evident, the specifics of what constitutes plagiarism are a grey area for most students. I certainly thought that just by rewording a passage, I would avoid any concerns. Upon discussing this issue with several of my classmates this evening, we all agreed that we had no idea in undergrad that this did not solve the issue, and that we needed to handle restated and borrowed passages in extremely specific ways. Of course, if accused of academic dishonesty, the blame would still fall on our shoulders. Perhaps that is enough to place the responsibility for learning these rules on the shoulders of the student and not the institution, as they are the ones who have to claim responsibility for their work.