Words You May Recognize
I've had a lot of opportunity to think about plagiarism lately. San Jose State University has had a rash of cheating and problems on that front in the last semester. In retaliation, a large portion of the student body has been forced to take this plagiarism tutorial and quiz online.
Now my corrections professor is taking this whole thing very seriously, as she is also the 100W (Senior Writing) professor. So, as part of her class, the students not only had to take the quiz, but also had to write a one-page paper on "what plagiarism means to me". The other day, she handed me the paper back. She gave me a "redo".
This was a strange thing to me. (Mostly because I'm not use to getting anything less than glowing praise from this woman.) Apparently, My paper did not seem to be "enough in my own words". At least, just the first paragraph, where we were supposed to define plagiarism. I have until Wednesday to fix it.
But this brings a question to my mind...Is it really possible to write something truly and completely original? Is there anything left to say that has not been said many times before? I don't think this applies to all circumstances. Original events can provoke original thought. But when addressing a common issue, can one really bring anything new to the table?
How many ways can one define plagiarism that no one else has already thought of? In the fiction novel Lost in a Good Book, author Jasper Fforde jokes that there has not been an original storyline since the days of the Bronte sisters. Everything since then has been a recycling of an old formula. I'm inclined to agree with that line of thinking.
How many times have you said something you found particularly profound and insightful, and entirely off the cuff, only to have a companion respond, "Where have I heard that before?" It happens to me quite frequently. Really undermines my confidence in my own eloquence.
And so i've come to the conclusion that unique statements are a truly rare event in our time. Unless something entirely new comes along, there is nothing new to say. Only ways to say it that we hope no one recognizes. Besides, i think if one did manage to say something truly unique, it would be claimed and copied so quickly, we'd end up forgetting the true source anyway.
Don't take this as advocating plagiarism in any way. It's not. I've just come to the sad realization that so many times i thought i had a great insight, i was probably just subconsciously regurgitating an old idea from a fellow windbag. Sigh....
Now my corrections professor is taking this whole thing very seriously, as she is also the 100W (Senior Writing) professor. So, as part of her class, the students not only had to take the quiz, but also had to write a one-page paper on "what plagiarism means to me". The other day, she handed me the paper back. She gave me a "redo".
This was a strange thing to me. (Mostly because I'm not use to getting anything less than glowing praise from this woman.) Apparently, My paper did not seem to be "enough in my own words". At least, just the first paragraph, where we were supposed to define plagiarism. I have until Wednesday to fix it.
But this brings a question to my mind...Is it really possible to write something truly and completely original? Is there anything left to say that has not been said many times before? I don't think this applies to all circumstances. Original events can provoke original thought. But when addressing a common issue, can one really bring anything new to the table?
How many ways can one define plagiarism that no one else has already thought of? In the fiction novel Lost in a Good Book, author Jasper Fforde jokes that there has not been an original storyline since the days of the Bronte sisters. Everything since then has been a recycling of an old formula. I'm inclined to agree with that line of thinking.
How many times have you said something you found particularly profound and insightful, and entirely off the cuff, only to have a companion respond, "Where have I heard that before?" It happens to me quite frequently. Really undermines my confidence in my own eloquence.
And so i've come to the conclusion that unique statements are a truly rare event in our time. Unless something entirely new comes along, there is nothing new to say. Only ways to say it that we hope no one recognizes. Besides, i think if one did manage to say something truly unique, it would be claimed and copied so quickly, we'd end up forgetting the true source anyway.
Don't take this as advocating plagiarism in any way. It's not. I've just come to the sad realization that so many times i thought i had a great insight, i was probably just subconsciously regurgitating an old idea from a fellow windbag. Sigh....
posted by Marissa at 12:22 AM
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