Writing in Your Own Voice: A Technique for Reducing Plagiarism and    

Common Writing Issues in Students' Scientific Writing

 

Abstract

 

In this post, we offer a simple Writing in Your Voice intervention to help students become more conscious of various types of plagiarism and writing difficulties. Based on an analysis of 365 student reports, we discovered that the intervention resulted in almost 50% fewer occurrences of plagiarism and general writing problems, as well as considerably fewer cases of serious plagiarism. This activity is simple to do and might be a valuable tool for teaching youngsters to write in their own voice.

Keywords: Plagiarism, Writing, Academic writing skills

Introduction

Student plagiarism is a source of worry in a variety of academic areas. Rather than premeditated plagiarism of others' ideas and work, students frequently misinterpret the requirements for using and citing sources. According to Davis and Ludvigson, 76 percent of their student participants cheated in high school or college. Students may get insufficient or inconsistent writing and plagiarism training, according to Froese et al.

Plagiarism in student scientific writing can take many forms and be of varying severity. Copying occurs when an author steals an identical sequence of words, phrases, or whole sentences from another source. Patchwriting is the technique of copying content using quotation marks and/or references (which is easier) rather than copying without inverted commas or referencing (which is more difficult). Many students mistakenly feel that Patchwriting is a legitimate method of paraphrasing, therefore teaching is likely to be very beneficial. Patchwriting refers to statements that have been duplicated from originals with little attempt at rephrasing into one's own language or understanding. Technical parroting, which refers to reproduced text from a lab handbook or lecture slides, is widespread in student laboratory reports.

To avoid plagiarism, several institutional steps have already been done. To effectively prevent plagiarism and raise students' awareness of how to write with their own voices, it is not enough to simply provide students with information and use similarity detection software; we must also develop students' academic writing skills and make them build their own awareness of plagiarism. A number of successful therapies have been developed to help pupils improve their paraphrase and citation abilities.

We propose a three-step "Write in Your Own Voice" intervention in this article to increase students' comprehension of plagiarism and writing issues by giving a step-by-step approach to spotting and avoiding different forms of plagiarism.

Importantly, the intervention for each type of plagiarism would include a writing process for which students are asked to create their own version of the plagiarism source, correct it, and align plagiarism errors with our academic integrity values, demonstrating their ability to identify plagiarism as well as write in their own voices.

 

Methods

The Writing in Your Own Voice intervention is a three-part writing activity that raises awareness of plagiarism. Part I concentrates on the major content and highlights the need of citations and author information. Part II requires students to assess the difficulty of writing and general plagiarism by supplying samples, revised versions, and explanations for each. Part III challenges students to summarize knowledge from key literary sources in three distinct ways while following correct citation guidelines. Each quarter, students in the treatment and control groups were required to finish a 10-week biology course by week two. GPA levels did not change between treatment and control groups (p > 0.05, ANOVA). The final tests for all four portions were almost identical, and there was little change in the distribution of final exam marks among parts

 

Discussion

According to anthropological study, the interactive Writing in Your Own Voice activity decreases all sorts of plagiarism and writing issues in student reports dramatically. Exposure to a sample of plagiarized materials is likely to strengthen the link between plagiarism issues and students' real-world experiences.

In the therapy group, we noticed a decrease in all categories of plagiarism, , with the Patchwriting sample showing the least reduction (36 percent decrease compared to a 59 percent decrease in Copying by Reference, Figure 1B). Students might consider concepts and information gathered from manuals or lectures to be scientific fields of general knowledge that do not need citations.

The intervention Writing in Your Own Voice may have no effect on students' general attitude about writing these portions of the report. Students frequently rely on lab manuals for background information and process details, which leads to a high proportion of mistakes in this area. Problems in the Discussion sections were frequently attributed to external sources, suggesting that students are attempting to acquire material to back up their argument, but they may lack some of the skills required to synthesize and use this information.

One of the reasons students may struggle with writing is a lack of enthusiasm to treat labreports as a genuine scientific writing experience. Creating an authorial identity in which students see themselves as authors who make a unique contribution to the area has an impact on how they write and use external materials.

This was an unexpected discovery that adds support to the hypothesis that authorial identity and plagiarism are linked. Further investigation into the approaches students adopt while writing their lab reports might provide a clearer explanation for why we notice chronic writing issues in particular parts.

Conclusion

Interventions that raise plagiarism awareness and provide students hands-on experience with different types of plagiarism have a significant beneficial impact on student writing. Future assignment repetition may include more assistance in the form of practice and feedback to improve students' ability to accurately employ key literary sources and paraphrase.

References:

Ahmadi, A. (2014). Plagiarism in the academic context: A study of Iranian EFL learners. Research Ethics 10(3): 151-168. Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals- permissions DOI: 10.1177/1747016113488859.

Burdine, L. K., Mayra, BA., Vashi, N. A. (2019). Text recycling: self-plagiarism in scientific writing. Elsevier. International Journal of Women’s Dermatology 5: 134-136.

Division of Biological Sciences, Writing in Your Own Voice: An Intervention that Reduces Plagiarism and Common Writing Problems in Students’ Scientific Writing, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California

Goh, E. (2013). Plagiarism behavior among undergraduate students in Hospitality and Tourism education. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 13(4), 307-322. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313220.2013.839295

Levine, Joy & Pazdernik, Vanessa. (2018). Evaluation of a four-prong antiplagiarism program and the incidence of plagiarism. a five-year retrospective study, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher. 10 (08). 14-34

https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1434127

Merkel, Warren. Collage of Confusion: An analysis of One University’s Multiple Plagiarism                      Policies.     Journal     Elsevier      System     96     (2021)     102-399.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102399

Definition of Descriptive Paragraph

 

 

Descriptive paragraph is paragraph which expresses or describes place, thing and person in such vivid detail that the readers can easily visualize the described place, thing and person, or can feel that they involve in the experience.

Some descriptive paragraphs may be technical, for instance, describing about things or place such as car or classroom; on the other hand, it may describe an event or a place and include more figurative language (simile, metaphor etc.) or describe felling or emotion. Therefore, before writing a descriptive paragraph, it is important to consider the purpose and the audience.

 

      Descriptive paragraph is intended to describe place, person, and thing so that the reader will be able to visualize the descriptions. Writing descriptive paragraph, generally, you have to regard as the following generic structure of descriptive paragraph: 

 

a.       Identification

Identification is a part in which you identify or write the recognition; moreover, it can be a general statement about place, person, or thing that you want to describe.

b.      Descriptions

Descriptions are vivid detail of place, person, or thing that you want to describe so that the reader can easily imagine or picture the descriptions, or they can feel that they involve in the experience. 

c.      Conclusion

The last part of descriptive paragraph is optional (i.e. it may be included or not). In this part, you conclude the paragraph or restate the identification or general statement.

 

Example:

Catty

Catty is my beautiful grey Persian cat. He walks with pride and grace, performing a dance of disdain as he slowly lifts and lowers each paw with the delicacy of a ballet dancer. His pride, however, does not extend to his appearance, for he spends most of his time indoors watching television and growing fat. He enjoys TV commercials, especially those for Meow Mix and 9 Lives. His familiarity with cat food commercials has led him to reject generic brands of cat food in favor of only the most expensive brands. Catty is as finicky about visitors as he is about what he eats, befriending some and repelling others. He may snuggle up against your ankle, begging to be petted, or he may imitate a skunk and stain your favorite trousers. Catty does not do this to establish his territory, as many cat experts think, but to humiliate me because he is jealous of my friends. After my guests have fled, I look at the old fleabag snoozing and smiling to himself in front of the television set, and I have to forgive him for his obnoxious, but endearing, habits.

A process paragraph is a description of how to do something or how to make something. It explains the steps you need to follow to complete an activity.

 

A process paragraph typically begins with a topic sentence, which clearly labels the process and explains its relevance to readers. Any materials needed are listed, followed by the stages of the process; most of the time, this is in chronological order. Each step is typically numbered and includes examples and elaboration with specific details. This is particularly important for task-oriented process paragraphs so that a reader can duplicate the process.

Process paragraphs should provide the rationale for each step and provide warnings when necessary. Terms that might be unfamiliar should also be explained. A task-oriented process paragraph should end with a way for readers to know if they have successfully duplicated the process.

Editing is important when writing a process paragraph; some writers may skip a step that seems too obvious to need explaining. One way to test a process paragraph is to see if someone unfamiliar with the process is able to do it using the paragraph.

This is an example of process paragraph:

 

How to make chocolate brownies

 

Ingredients:

1.   1 kg flour

2.   ½ kg sugar

3.   6 eggs

4.   Butter

5.   Bar of chocolate

6.   Baking powder

 

Steps:

            A chocolate brownie is a simple and delicious dessert to make  First, heat the chocolate and butter until melt. If it has melted, lift it from the stove. Then, pour the flour into a bowl, and add the sugar, egg, and baking powder. Next, stir them until smooth. After stirring that, pour the chocolate and butter that has been melted into the dough. Mix them well. Then, put the dough into the oven for about 15 minutes. Finally, after it’s mature, put in the serving plate, and you can garnish them with cream, cherry, and chocolate sauce. Now you are ready to enjoy your chocolate brownies.

 

Yellow : is the topic sentence.

Brown : is the concluding sentence.

 

 What Is The Narrative Paragraph ?

Narrative paragraph is a paragraph that tells a story. The paragraph basically contains a series of events that are usually with a time sequence as well as other information such as the setting (state or place) of the event taking place and who is involved.

 

Type Narrative Paragraph :

- Using First-Person Narration
In first-person narrative (autobiography), the writer tells his experience through his perspective and is directly involved in the story. Pronoun (pronouns) used in this type are first-person pronoun I (singular) or we (plural).

 

- Using Third-Person Narration

Lead to what happens to others. This type uses third-person pronoun she, he, it (singular) or they (plural). The writer here acts as an observer or storyteller, not directly involved with the incident.

The Ways To Write A Narrative Paragraph :

1.                    Plan to tell your narrative from the first or third person perspective

2.                  Use a consistent tense

3.                  Create an engaging topic sentence

4.                  Present any major characters involved in the story

5.                  Set the scene of the story

6.                  Plan to erite a narrative paragraph of at least nine sentence.

 

Generic Structures of Narrative Paragraph :
1) Orientation
Sets the scene: where and when the story happened and introduces the participants of the story: who and what is involved in the story.

2) Complication
Tells the beginning of the problems which leads to the crisis (climax) of the main participants.

3) Resolution
The problem (the crisis) is resolved, either in a happy ending or in a sad (tragic) ending

4) Re-orientation
This is a closing remark to the story and it is optional. It consists  of  a  moral  lesson,  advice  or  teaching  from  the writer

Narrative is that kind of discourse which answers the question “what happened?”. It is concerned with times, actions, and events in motion (Warriner, 1986 : 461). Narrative paragraph tells a story by relating a series of events in time order. Narrative includes all writing that provides an account of an event or a series of events (Eschholz and Rosa, 1993 : 55).

Narrative is also a type of writing in which the details or the ideas in a sequence of events or steps of the process are arranged on the basic time. The details are arranged in chronological order and transitional words or phrases expressing time, such as : soon, immediately, afterwards, as soon as, are commonly used, etc. The use of these devices gives the readers a clear picture of the sequence of events.

Narrative paragraph is used when we want to recount an event or an experience or to tell a miniature story. We relate the events in straight chronological order. It can be stated that a narrative paragraph is one of four basic types of prose, which tells a story by relating a series of events in chronological order. To narrate is to tell a story, to tell what happened.

To make a good narrative paragraph, first we need to including all the significant events, second we don't need to bring up un-significance points, third it follows a logical time sequence, fourth it doesn't drag on, its pace is brisk and last thing it has a point that can be drawn from the story.

Many writers prefer to narrate a sequence chronologically; that is as it actually occurred, starting at the beginning and stopping at the end. Others choose to recognize time in flashback. Here, the end of the story might be told first with the beginning and middle added on make the ending understandable. And there are other ways we can recognize time. We can build to a climax by crowding more incidents into shorter and shorter period of time.

Transitions of words, phrases or sentences are all important in narrative. We are familiar with such ordering expressions as first, second, third, finally, later, next, last, etc. We can use them to direct by her traffic in our stories. When we use flashback, we need words and phrases like: earlier all at once and so on.

A good narrative paragraph at least has four essential features.

First : context, we make clear when the action happened and where it happened and to whom.
Second : point of view, we establish and maintain a consistent relationship to the action.
Third : selection of details, we should carefully choose what to include, focusing on those actions and details that are most important to the story.
Fourth : organization of the events of the narrative in an appropriate sequence, often a strict chronologically with a clear beginning, middle, and the end.

What is a Transitions signal?

Transitions signal are linking word or phrases that connect ideas and add cohesion to writing they signpost or indicate to the reader the relationships between sentenced and between paragraphs making it easier for the reader to understand the idea.

Grammar of transition signals

Broadly speaking, transition signals can be divided into three types:

a. sentence connectors

Sentence connectors are used to connect two sentences together. They are joined by a full-stop (period) or semi-colon, and are followed by a comma. The following are examples of sentence connectors.

1. Transition signals are very useful. However, they should not be used to begin every sentence.

2. Transition signals are very useful; however, they should not be used to begin every sentence.

3. Contrast signals are one type of transition signals. In addition, there are others such as compare signals and addition signals.

4. There are three main ways to improve cohesion in your writing. First, you can use transition signals.

b. clause connectors

Clause connectors are used to connect two clauses together to form one sentence. They are joined by a comma. The following are examples of clause connectors.

1. Transition signals are very useful, but they should not be used to begin every sentence.

2. Although transition signals are very useful, they should not be used to begin every sentence.

3. Contrast signals are one type of transition signal, and there are others such as compare signals and addition signals.

c. other connectors

Other connectors follow different grammar patterns. Many are followed by noun phrases. Some are verbs and should therefore be used as verbs in a sentence. The following are examples of other connectors.

1. Despite their importance in achieving cohesion, transition signals should not be used to begin every sentence.

2. Good cohesion is the result of using repeated words, reference words, and transition signals.

3. It is clear that careful use of transition signals will improve the cohesion in your writing.

4. Contrast signals are one type of transition signal. Another type is comparison signals.

The Functions include of Transitions Signal 

1. To show the order or sequence of events

2. To indicate that a new idea or an example will follow 

3. To show that a contrasting idea will be presented, or to signal a summary or a conclusions.

 

Kind Of Transition Signal For General Used

1. Transition signals to indicate an additional idea 

2. Tansition signals to contrast

3. Transition signals to indicate the signal time

4. Transition signals to comparesignals.