Mr. Black's World History-- Writing Tools

Introduction
Writing Process
Common Writing Errors
Writing Guides
Plagiarism

Introduction

Writing is a complex process. It is highly internal, and it is unique for every indivdual. However, most writers go through the general steps of the writing process. Customize these steps to your own style, but keep-in-mind that following them can assist you to becoming a more effective writer.

Gather your thoughts; determine your purpose for writing; collect your data; use graphic organizers; consider your audience.

Put your thoughts and ideas into sentences. Do not focus on such things as spelling or length at this stage.

Be sure to stick to your subject.

Consider and explore new ideas as they come to you.

This is the step to make your writing whole and complete. Rewrite weak sentences to make them more effective, defining difficult words as necessary for your audience.

Check the paragraph and sentence structure; consider the organization and flow of your document carefully.

Read your document aloud or to another person for clarity and suggestions.

Proofread your document carefully for grammar and spelling mistakes.

Print your document.

Share your work with others.

If you still need help customizing the writing process to your particular style, the following sites have some good suggestions to get you started.

Purdue's Writing Lab	Historical Research and Writing Sites
Excellent Writing Guide	Steps: Research and Writing Process
Writing in College	High School Writing

Humorous Reminders: Mistakes	20 Common Writing Problems
20 Most Common Errors	Common Errors in Student Writing
Avoid Common Writing Errors

Violations of Academic Integrity, such as plagiarism, are becoming a major concern on college and university campuses. Many students find it much easier to 'cut and paste' together a paper than to write an original piece. Unfortunately, many students have found themselves in peril due to taking this shortcut. Make sure that you properly cite all your sources, and avoiding falling into this trap.

The following exercise was designed to help students to be able to indentify and hopefully avoid plagiarizing.

Phase I	Go to Plagiarism Is No Big Deal-- Is It? What is the definition of Plagiarism? (Write word-for-word) Scroll down to 'The Impact of Plagiarism, Real Life Examples.' Read the article, "U. Va. plagiarism scandal ends with 45 dismissals" from CNN. Summarize the article and provide some consequences for plagiarism. See 'Real Life Examples-- Musician Michael Bolton. Explain how Michael Bolton plagiarized and what it cost him for his action.
Phase II	Go to Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Recognize and Avoid It What is the definition of Plagiarism? (Write word-for-word) Avoiding Plagiarism: You Must Give Credit Whenever You Use: (Write word-for-word) 4 Items List TWO reasons why the first example from Lizzie Bordon. . . is an UNACCEPTABLE Paraphrase Read the ACCEPTABLE paraphrase. List TWO reasons that it is ACCEPTABLE. Identify THREE strategies for avoiding plagiarism. Define the term 'Common Knowledge' and explain whether you need to cite your sources or not if an idea is common knowledge.
Phase III	Go to Avoiding Plagiarism at the Purdue Online Writing Lab, then take the following quiz.

* Exercise Courtesy of Rene Schofield, KHS

Plagiarism Quiz
Situation	Risking Plagiarism? (Y/N)	If 'yes,' what do you do? If 'no,' why?
You are writing new insights about your own experiences.
You are using an editorial from your school's newspaper with which you disagree.
You use some information from a source without quoting it directly. . .
You have no other way of expressing the exact meaning of a text without using the original source verbatim.
You mention that many people in your discipline belong to a certain organization.
You want to begin your paper with a story that one of your classmates told about her experiences in Bosnia.
The quote you want to use is too long, so you leave out a couple of phrases.
You really like the particular phrase somebody else made up, so you use it.