Plagiarize! Un-Plagiarize! Peer-to-Peer Activity

Overview

For this exercise, you will deepen your understanding of plagiarism by first plagiarizing a source intentionally and then “un-plagiarizing it”. This exercise encourages creativity and critical thinking about what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it. Thinking about plagiarism in this creative way is a more effective method for understanding plagiarism than simply reading about it, because it requires critical thinking, which leads to deeper learning. Make sure you have viewed the Canvas page on “Understanding Plagiarism” and read the appropriate chapter in your textbook before attempting this exercise. 

Example

Here is an example of how to complete the assignment. You will see further instructions and your assigned passage below the example. Remember to strive for creativity and to think critically!

Original 

From Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night Act III, Scene i

O, what a deal of scorn looks beautiful
In the contempt and anger of his lip!
A murderous guilt shows not itself more soon
Than love that would seem hid: love’s night is noon.
Cesario, by the roses of the spring,
By maidhood, honour, truth and every thing,
I love thee so, that, maugre all thy pride,
Nor wit nor reason can my passion hide.
Do not extort thy reasons from this clause,
For that I woo, thou therefore hast no cause,
But rather reason thus with reason fetter,
Love sought is good, but given unsought better.

Plagiarize! 

Ah! Even when he is mad, he still looks absolutely fabulous.
A guilt like one would see on Criminal Minds doesn’t show itself more quickly
Than romance you are trying to keep on the DL; romance’s night is midday.
Cesario, I swear on everything that I love you. Every. Thing.
I am so excited that I just can’t hide it. That’s how much I love you. 
But don’t think just because I love you, you don’t have to treat me right and chase me!
I don’t want any scrub-like gentlemen. So if you like it you should probably put a ring on it.

Un-Plagiarize!

In Act III, Scene i of Twelfth Night, Olivia declares that she cannot hide her love for “Cesario.” In her monologue, she states that love cannot be hidden, that in fact it is easier for a murderer to hide his crime than someone who is in love to hide their feelings. Olivia reminds “Cesario” though, that simply because she loves him does not mean that as a woman, she does not wish to be pursued. Her closing line, “Love sought is good, but given unsought better” speaks to the desire she has to be treated romantically by “Cesario”, even though he knows she already loves him (Twelfth Night 3.1.129). 

Process and Instructions 

As you can see from the example above, the plagiarized version of the soliloquy, though perhaps humorous and creative, is an unacceptable paraphrase of the original text. The writer simply changed some of the words and “updated” it with more recent examples, but it is obviously not the author’s own work. In addition, the writer added another layer of plagiarism by quoting Beyonce without attribution! The “Un-Plagiarize” example, however, is more in line with how you use summary, paraphrase, and quotation in order to cite a source in an academic essay. 

Steps for Completing this assignment:

1. For the passage below, write an intentionally plagiarized version of the text and then “un-plagiarize it”, reworking it into the form you might use in an academic essay. 
2. After you post your own reply, you will be interacting with your peers through the “Peer Review” feature. You will receive notice AFTER THE ASSIGNMENT DEADLINE that you have a Peer Review to complete (see this Canvas tutorial for more if you have never used the Peer Review feature in Canvas). 
3. Leave comments that illustrate active reading and critical thinking, and one of the badges for your peer in the “Comment” section of the page. You should explain to your peer why you have awarded them that specific badge. You must compose your own post in writing, but you may leave audio or video comments for your peer. The microphone or film icons in the comment box allow you to record feedback. Your comments should be more than an expression of agreement or value (like/dislike), and should be meaningful–you should ask a question, follow up on an idea, contribute a new idea or way of thinking, explore a new perspective, connect to your classmate’s idea, answer a question, and so on. (Tip: Make sure you have read the Badges and Feedback Canvas page in this module.)
4. Peer reviews should be completed within 72 hours of original submission deadline.

Remember to have fun and be creative with this assignment! Learning through creative processes is one of the best ways to retain knowledge and be able to transfer your learning to other contexts.

Assigned Passage 

Engraved on the doors of Gringott’s bank in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:

Enter stranger, but take heed 
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned; beware
Of finding more than treasure there. (57)