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FAQ on Avoiding Plagiarism

What is plagiarism?

According to the Ashworth College Handbook, “Plagiarism is an act of taking someone else’s words or ideas and using them or representing them as one’s own work. This includes not properly citing the source of the words or ideas” (2019 Ashworth College Catalog, p. 58). Most colleges have a similar definition.

What’s the most common mistake that Prof. Nixon sees in assignment submissions?

The most common mistake I see in submissions is failing to put quotation marks around direct quotations. Even if you cite the source afterward, if you fail to include the quotation marks to show that the words are not your own, it’s a form of plagiarism.

Why is it important to tell your readers/listeners where your information comes from?

There are numerous reasons.

  1. It makes you sound trustworthy and credible to your listeners.
  2. It provides credit to the authors of the information you are sharing.
  3. It helps your listeners to do their own further research on your topic.
  4. If you don’t cite your sources, it’s plagiarism. And plagiarism can lead to failing an assignment, failing a course, or even being expelled from a college. (See your own college catalog for specifics.)

How do I cite my sources on a reference page?

At the college where I currently teach, we use the American Psychological Association format, otherwise known as APA style. APA has some extremely specific guidelines that we must follow. Luckily, there are some places you can go for help with APA style.

My favorite place for learning how to use APA format is Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab. If you learn better by watching a video, the lab offers one on YouTube. 

The part of APA to be most concerned about for the courses I teach is making a list of your references, as much of APA style has to do with writing longer papers, and not really for writing outlines and speeches.  (Check with your own professor to see if this is the same for your courses.)

If you’re still struggling with formatting your references in APA style, visit Citation Machine. This website, which has both free and paid offers, lets you enter a URL for a source, and then it pulls in the information it needs to cite the source properly.

I’m writing a speech script. Do I have to cite sources in it, too?

Yes. You won’t put the author’s name and the page number in parentheses, as you would in a paper, because that would be awkward to say aloud. 

The best advice I’ve seen on how to seamlessly weave your source citations into your script comes from Bucks University. Take a few moments to read the article Citing Sources in an Oral Presentation.

Where can I go for help to make sure I don’t plagiarize?

Your college will likely have a writing lab of some sort that can assist. Check with your professor for suggestions.

It’s been forever since I had to write a speech or paper. How can I make sure I don’t plagiarize?

In brief, tell where you got your information from, both in the body of your speech or paper and on your Works Cited / Reference page.

Use quotation marks if you choose to use the exact words of a source rather than putting the information into your own words.

Make sure that every source mentioned in your assignment appears in the Reference page, and that every source in your list of references appears in your assignment.

For more tips on how to avoid plagiarizing, visit the Ashworth College Learning Resource Center at https://lrc.ashworthcollege.edu/plagiarism-resources/

Do I just put a list of the URLs that I used at the end of my assignment to show what sources I used?

No. You will need to briefly cite your sources in your assignment (paper or speech script), and also provide a list of the sources you used at the end on a References page.

For a reminder on how to cite sources, see https://lrc.ashworthcollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Plagiarism-Quick-Guide.pdf

Yikes. I just got feedback from you, and you told me I plagiarized. I didn’t mean to do it — I just didn’t know better. What do I do now?

First, (if you’re one of my students) read through the complete message you received from me.

Second, take a deep breath. 

Then, if the plagiarism occurred on your first submission of an assignment, some colleges offer you the opportunity to revise for a potentially higher grade. Please do this if the option exists for you!

Are there different kinds of plagiarism?

Yes, and they are all treated similarly at many colleges. At Ashworth College where I currently teach, with your first assignment that has plagiarized material in it, you will receive an Academic Warning. If there is a second one, you will go on Academic Probation. And if there’s a third, it’s likely you will be dismissed from the college. Check your college catalog for specifics.

If you’d like to learn about the different types of plagiarism, see the Turnitin article The Plagiarism Spectrum.

What questions do you still have?

Do you still have questions? Your best bet is to contact your own professor. But if you have a general question, I am happy to assist. Just comment here.

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Rubrics Cube: Three Times Students Can Benefit From Rubrics

Rubik's Cube

In the almost four decades that I have been teaching college, one of the changes to how we teach that I appreciate the most is the use of rubrics for assignments. For professors, rubrics are helpful to ensure consistency in grading, for example. And for students, there are three times you would benefit from reviewing the assignment rubric.

FACT: I’ve never heard of a student earning a lower grade on an assignment as a result of referring to the rubric. And I’ve evaluated hundreds of thousands of assignments.

Before

Before you start working on an assignment, reviewing the rubric will help you understand what the components are so you can create your battle plans for completing the assignment. You’ll also see what components of the assignment are worth the most, which might help focus your attention appropriately.

Questions about something in the rubric? Ask your professor! We genuinely want to see you succeed.

During

During the writing and editing phases, it’s a good idea to check your work against the rubric to make sure you don’t leave out anything important. I recommend comparing your work to the rubric several times as you write and edit.

If you have time, wait a day after you complete an assignment, and then review it against the rubric one last time before submitting it. It’s likely you’ll catch something that you missed earlier.

After

This always surprises me a lot: some students only look at their number/letter grade, but fail to look at the rubric after their professor has evaluated the assignment. In the completed rubric, you’ll see where you did well (yay! do that stuff again) and where you fell short of the expectations (drats! now I know what to do differently next time). In addition to the checked boxes in the rubric, your professor will likely give you additional, more specific, qualitative feedback.

At Ashworth College where I now teach, students have two opportunities for success on each test/quiz and assignment. Choosing to ignore the feedback from the first submission of an assignment is unwise; your professor is pointing you in the right direction for a better grade by completing the rubric!

So what do you think? Are rubrics helpful for students? Or is this just a professor’s pipe dream? Please let me know in the Comments.

I'm Listening

Photo Credit: smultrontott Flickr via Compfight cc
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How to Survive a Conference Call

In many businesses today, it’s common to have conference calls to share information when coming together to meet physically is not a viable option. Here’s some advice for a successful conference call.

  • Know ahead of time if you’ll be participating with audio only, or both audio and video.
  • Test out your equipment ahead of time so you’re sure you know how to use it.
  • If you’re the only one at your location on the conference call, use a headset with a good microphone, rather than relying on a speakerphone or holding the phone to your ear.
  • If there are multiple people at your location on the conference call, reserve a conference room (if possible) and make sure everyone is seated where their voices can be picked up by the speakerphone’s microphone.
  • To avoid distracting background sounds for the other participants, mute your microphone when you are not speaking. (Typing or shuffling papers during a conference call may seem quiet to you, but not to anyone else on the call.)
  • Do your best to exhibit the kind of behavior you would in a face-to-face meeting. For example, stay focused on the speaker(s), rather than multi-tasking.
  • When it’s your turn to talk, introduce yourself briefly, even when you’re talking with people you know. For example, “This is Debbie at Oswego, and ….”
  • When the call is over, ensure you have hung up / ended the call before discussing anything about the call with others. You never know who might still be on the call, even when you think it’s over.

Specifically for video calls using a service like Zoom, WebEx or GoToMeeting:

  • For a video call, dress appropriately head to toe.
  • Minimize visual distractions in the background. If possible, set up your video camera so that a blank wall is behind you.
  • Close all tabs in your web browser except any that are specifically needed for this call. And do not display your bookmarks.
  • Turn off any pop-up notifications that may appear on your computer screen.
  • When you are talking, look directly into the camera, not at the face on the screen.

If you’re coordinating or leading the call, also take these suggestions under advisement:

  • If you know that the attendees live across the country or even the world, make sure you are extra clear about what the time zone for the start of the call. (The website TimeAndDate.com has helpful resources for determining the time across zones.)
  • When it makes sense to do so, record the call for others who could not attend.
  • Keep the call as short as is reasonable. A one-hour conference call seems much longer than a one-hour in-person meeting.

For a humorous take on video conference calls, watch this video by Tripp and Tyler. Though it’s (intentionally) over the top, I think I’ve experienced every one of these mistakes, just not all in one call.

Image Credit: http://www.virtualstudio.tv/blog/post/96-3-tips—-hosting–running-effective–successful-conference-calls

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What a Bento Box Taught Me NOT to Do in a Speech

Have you ever eaten at a Japanese restaurant? Japanese cuisine is among my favorites, and I love getting a bento box. With a bento box, you’ll get a small amount of several types of food, each neatly separated from the other in their own little compartments.

One mistake that a novice speaker often makes is thinking of their speech as five disparate parts, like a bento box: introduction, three main points, and conclusion. But if you deliver your speech to your audience in bento box style, it will sound choppy and unconnected.

The way to fix this is by carefully planning your transitions in your speech, leading your listeners smoothly from your introduction through to your conclusion. Read Lisa B. Marshall’s tips on incorporating transitions into your speech at How to Create Stronger Transitions in a Speech.

What tips on transitions do you have to share? Please let us know through your comments below.

barbara_is_listening

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28 Tips for Studying for Final Exams

Image Credit: “Despair” by Juliana Coutinho

Final exams are approaching on college campuses around the world. Finals can be stressful, even for the most prepared students. Here are some tips to help you succeed:

Preparing for the Final

  1. Find out what your entire final exam schedule is so that you’ll know how many finals you will have on each day.
  2. Prepare a written schedule for yourself indicating when you will study for each test. Leave some time in your schedule for exercise and relaxation, too.
  3. If the professor offers a study guide, use it.
  4. If the professor offers a review session for the exam, go to it.
  5. If you study well in groups, form a study group.
  6. Know if the final is comprehensive (covering everything since the beginning of the semester or quarter).
  7. Find out what kind of exam it will be. You’d study differently for a multiple-choice (Scantron) final than an essay (blue book) one.
  8. If the final will be taken online, find out if you have to go to a specific computer lab on campus at a specific time, or if you’ll be allowed to take the final on your own computer. Also find out how many chances you will have to take the final. Assume it’s just one chance unless you hear differently from the professor.
  9. If you have your previous exams available, scour the exams for things that you think will be on the final.
  10. Flag your notes by highlighting or using Post-It notes.
  11. Don’t pull an all-nighter. (Though some people are successful with studying all night and then taking a test with no sleep, I wouldn’t recommend you try it for the first time on a final exam.)
  12. Calculate your grades in the class. Determine what score you will need to get the grade you’re hoping for in the class. You may discover that you can’t possibly get an A, no matter how well you do on the final, but to get a B, you only need to get a few questions right.
  13. If you’re an auditory learner, record yourself reading your notes aloud, then play the recording back several times.
  14. If the exam is an open-book exam, this does not mean that you don’t have to study at all. In fact, one of the most challenging exams I ever took as an undergrad was an open-book essay exam. Flag your textbook based on where you believe the questions will come from.
  15. Consider using one of the available smartphone apps to help you prepare for your final.
  16. Create a detailed Final Exam Battle Plan.

On the Day of the Final

  1. Feed your brain. Eat a meal and drink at least two bottles of water.
  2. Don’t overdo it with the caffeine. You want to be alert but not jittery. If you’ve never tried an energy drink before, the day of an important final is not a good first time.
  3. Are food and drinks allowed in the classroom where your final will be? Sometimes, the rules are different for exam days than other days. If you can have food with you, choose things that will not disrupt other students.
  4. Know what to bring with you to the final. Do you need a blue book? A Scantron? (And if you need a Scantron, which specific type do you need?) A pencil? A pen? When in doubt, overpack.
  5. Even if you don’t usually wear a watch, take one with you to the final. It’s unlikely you will be able to look at your cell phone to check the time during the final.

During the Final

  1. For a paper-based exam, read through the entire final exam before you start answering any questions at all. This way, you will know what you’re facing. Seriously. Do this. It’s probably the most important thing you’ll do during your final.
  2. If the final is an online exam, find out if you can revisit questions, or if after you click past a question you cannot go back to it again.
  3. If you’re using a Scantron and you skip a question to finish later, make sure you’re answering your questions next to the correct answers. (When I took my GRE to get into grad school, I skipped a question on the first page of the booklet, but never skipped a number on the Scantron. When I realized it, I only had 10 minutes to go back and put the answers with the correct questions. Talk about stress!)
  4. Keep a close eye on the time you have allotted. (If you know there’s no clock in the room where your final is held, wear an old-fashioned analog watch. Most professors do not allow smartwatches to be worn during exams.)
  5. Some students benefit from answering the most difficult questions first, while others do better completing all the easier ones. Do what works for you.

After the Final

  1. Do not share with other students what was on the final exam. In virtually all universities, this is a violation of the honor code.
  2. Take a breath and relax. Then forge ahead to the next final.

Now it’s your turn: What final exam tips do you have to share? Please let us know through your comments below.

barbara_is_listening

 

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14 Ways to NOT Suck As a Guest Speaker

Photo Credit: “brinkley at dovedale” by Vicki Hughes

[Originally published Fall 2010. This post was featured by Lisa B. Marshall in her The Public Speaker podcast. Thanks, Lisa!]

When you’ve been invited to be a guest speaker for an organization’s luncheon or other meeting, you don’t want to be that speaker. And it can be terribly easy to be that speaker: You know, that high-maintenance one, or that boring/irrelevant one. You want to be the one who is memorable for positive reasons. Here’s a list of 14 ways to NOT suck.

  1. Learn as much as you can about your audience before you speak. (This is a good tip for any public speaking situation.) Even if you don’t know much about the organization beforehand, you can learn a lot during the mealtime, if that’s part of your engagement with them. During the meal, listen more than you talk. When your presentation begins, weave in examples that you know are relevant to this group.
  2. Find out from your contact at the organization what the norms are for speaking engagements like this one. Will the audience members expect handouts? Is there usually a Q&A session? What’s the best way for you to share your contact information with every audience member?
  3. Let your contact know what your A/V needs are as far in advance as possible, and only request what is necessary. Avoid last minute surprises, as they often cannot be accommodated — and they turn you into that speaker.
  4. Plan your presentation so that you can expand it or contract it as needed. Even though you may have been told you have 45 minutes, you may discover that the business portion of the meeting has run long, and you end up with just 30 minutes. Make no mention of shortening your presentation to your audience; just do it. Gracefully.
  5. Allow extra time in travel to arrive at the meeting location, especially if you have never been there before. Some things to keep in mind: Is there construction along your route? Do you cross train tracks on the way? When do the trains typically stop traffic? Do you know how to get into the parking lot? How far is it from the exterior doors to your meeting room? And never trust your GPS 100% to get you to a new location.
  6. Know how to use the technology you will be using, inside and out. Practice hooking up all the cords and cables and know how long it will take you. Know how to easily blacken the screen during your presentation when the slides are not needed (in PowerPoint, simply press B to blacken the screen, and then any other key to bring the slide back up). Do you have something new with you? In front of your audience is not the place to learn how to use your new presentation remote.
  7. Plan for the technology to fail. Always have hard-copy notes for your presentation, just in case you cannot rely on a PowerPoint slide to jog your memory for what to say. Save your presentation as a PowerPoint and as a PDF, and store it on your computer and a USB drive. (Yes, it’s like wearing a belt with suspenders. Twice. And I’m okay with that.)
  8. Never let your audience see anything on your computer other than the slide deck or other information you intend for them to see. They don’t (or at least shouldn’t) have any interest in watching you boot up your computer, open your file and put it in presentation mode. Keep the projector screen blank until you have your opening slide up. (And never be that speaker who preps her presentation in full view of the whole room while someone else is still speaking; I find this terribly rude to the other speaker.)
  9. Don’t count on the Internet working 100% perfectly. If I plan to show a YouTube video clip, I always download the video to my computer and show it from there.  (I’ve recently been using YouTube Downloader, a free app, and it works quickly and easily for me on my PC.) If I plan to demo a certain website, I’ll use Snag-It to take and save a few screen captures to show in case I cannot access the site during my presentation.
  10. Provide contact information on each slide or at the end. I like to have a detailed contact info slide as the last one in my slide deck, and I leave that slide up during the Q&A session.
  11. If you refer to websites or blogs in your presentation, create a set of social bookmarks for your audience so they can go to one URL to find all the links and not spend time during your presentation attempting to furiously scribble down all the addresses. I now use Pinterest for my social bookmarks. Let your audience know early in the presentation where they can find all the links.
  12. Upload your slides to SlideShare at least a day before your presentation if you want your audience (and others) to have access to them. You can choose to keep the slides private until just before or after the presentation, if you wish.
  13. The show must go on; be prepared to speak even if you don’t look quite perfect. For example, yesterday, I got caught in a deluge just as I opened my car door arriving at a speaking event. Even with an umbrella, I was drenched (kind of like the cute, wet puppy at the top of this post — at least in my mind). My shoes and blazer sleeves were literally dripping when I entered the venue. What did I do? Dashed into the restroom, grabbed some paper towels, mopped up what I could, and put a smile on my face.
  14. Arrive with your speaker’s toolkit in tip-top order. I think I almost got a hug from the conference room tech guy at my last speaking event because I had everything I needed, and more. What’s in mine? Here’s what I typically carry with me:
  • Computer & power cord
  • Power strip
  • External speakers with their power cord (just in case there’s no sound system attached to the projector)
  • 3.5mm cord to connect speakers to computer (even if I have my Bluetooth-enabled computer and speakers with me, I have the cord as a backup)
  • Projector (only if I know that there is not one available for me onsite)
  • Presentation remote
  • Extra set of batteries for anything that uses batteries
  • Hard candy or throat lozenges
  • More business cards than I think I could possibly need

So in a large nutshell, these are my 14 best tips on how not to suck as a guest speaker for an organization. What additional tips would you offer?

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What The Grilled Cheesy Taught Me About Public Speaking

Yesterday, I went out to lunch with my son before he went to work at a doggy day care. We had been looking forward to eating at the newly reopened Melts With You, which is now part of The Green Room in De Pere, WI.

James wanted a burger. And I was craving a grilled cheese sandwich, so I ordered the house special. The Grilled Cheesy has not one, not two, but three (count ’em: three!) cheeses in it. I love the melty goodness that comes from their recommendation of sharp cheddar, havarti, and gouda cheeses on sourdough bread.

The Grilled Cheesy (Photo credit: Barbara Nixon, 2018)

So what in the heck does this have to do with public speaking? Here’s what.

The bread and the three cheeses in the Grilled Cheesy reminded me of what goes into a great speech. Bear with me.

The two slices of bread are like your introduction and conclusion. If they are not included, things get messy and sloppy. They hold the sandwich — and your speech — together.

The three cheeses are like your three main points in your speech. You could have just one cheese / main point, but that would be pretty unsatisfying. With two, they’d just be competing with each other. But add in that third one . . . that’s where you get perfection. (And three main points are recommended for most speeches.)

Then, when you melt the cheeses together, that reminds me of how important transitions are to your speech. Without the melting, the three cheeses stand hard and alone; they don’t even stick to the bread. But with transitions (where you smoothly lead your listener from one point to another), your main points flow smoothly and become more cohesive.

Is this a stretch? Maybe a little. Just like the cheese in my Grilled Cheesy when I ate it yesterday. It was truly devine.

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Yanny or Laurel? Or does it depend on your point of view?

Image Credit: Funny or Die

Unless you’ve been under a rock instead of on the Internet, you’ve likely heard about an audio clip that’s been going around, where some people hear the word “Laurel” while others hear the word “Yanny.”

If you haven’t yet heard the 5-second audio clip, do it now:

What do YOU hear? (I only can hear “Yanny.”)

Then please take a few minutes to read this article from Slate titled “We’re Only Beginning to Truly Understand Laurel vs. Yanny.”

And why is something like this Laurel/Yanny thing important for communicators? What’s your take on it?

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Word Nerds Unite: 19 of William Safire’s Best Fumblerules of Grammar

Alte Underwood Schreibmaschine
Image Credit: “Alte Underwood Schreibmaschine” by Peter Mayr

When I was a college student back at Auburn University in the 1980s, my father mailed me a typewritten list he had prepared on his Underwood typewriter. This was a list of some “rules” of grammar that he thought were humorous. I agreed. (We were both word nerds.)

Though I don’t have the specific original sources for each of these, I believe that they all came from William Safire. Some of them are from his “On Language” column in the New York Times, while others are from his book Fumblerules: A Lighthearted Guide to Grammar and Good Usage. Enjoy!

  1. Help stamp out and eliminate redundancies.
  2. Don’t use no double negatives.
  3. Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.
  4. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
  5. Surly grammarians insist that all words ending in “ly” are adverbs.
  6. Avoid colloquial stuff.
  7. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
  8. Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration.
  9. Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
  10. Use the semicolon properly, always use it where it is appropriate; and never where it isn’t.
  11. Avoid commas, that are not necessary.
  12. If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
  13. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixed metaphors.
  14. Reserve the apostrophe for it’s proper use and omit it when its not needed.
  15. Don’t string too many prepositional phrases together unless you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
  16. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns on their writing.
  17. A preposition is something you should never end a sentence with.
  18. Who needs rhetorical questions?
  19. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; use viable alternatives.