1. The student was wrong to plagiarize. He or she should have paraphrased the writing instead. That way, he or she would have gotten the same point across without copying the exact words. If the student had to use direct quotations, he or she could have cited the source by putting a link to it and putting the copied sentences in quotation marks.
2. Instead of using the exact words from the article, the student could have paraphrased and said something like this: There is a feeling of peace and calmness in this painting. Maybe the contrast between the dark shades of blue and the bright warm reds, golds, and oranges symbolize childhood memories of happier, simpler times. The night sky represents the dull sadness of Van Gogh's life as an adult but the stars are there to symbolize the distant memories that live on. That was an example of paraphrasing. I used the same idea of the original text but instead of copying the words, I used my own.
3. It can be tempting to plagiarize, but their are ways to avoid it. When I need to paraphrase something, it helps me to use a thesaurus and find synonyms to replace words from the original text in order to be sure I am not copying directly from the text, after reading it, cover it up and write out your paraphrase. Then, I check the text to make sure I haven't plagiarized any of it. If I must use a direct quotation, I try to be sure to give credit to the author by including a citation.
Plagiarism is wrong and although it may seem easier to just copy something and try to pass it off as what I wrote, in the long run, it's better to put my own thoughts in my own words. It makes the writing more authentic. I don't have to risk getting in trouble and above all, it's just the right thing to do.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
2 Blog Entries I Enjoyed
I recently read Eliza's entry in which she compares Ron and Harry from the Harry Potter series. She starts out by explaining that they are good friends and both have very different hardships. Harry is an orphan and an only child whose parents have left him money and fame. Ron comes from a large, very poor family. She explains their differences clearly. The way she compares and contrasts the two characters is simple, but still interesting. She's straightforward and concise, but she keeps the reader's attention.
I also read Izzy's response to Romeo and Juliet, where she discusses theories about why Romeo and Juliet are attracted to each other and if they are really in love. She does a great job of discussing the main theme of the story, stating her own theories and backing them up with her personal opinions as well as textual evidence.
I liked both of the blog entries I read and I want to read more of Izzy's and Eliza's writing in the future. I feel like I have learned a lot about how they use details that keep the reader interested and how their writing is clear and focused. I'd like to keep reading their entries and use their examples as ways to improve my own writing.
I also read Izzy's response to Romeo and Juliet, where she discusses theories about why Romeo and Juliet are attracted to each other and if they are really in love. She does a great job of discussing the main theme of the story, stating her own theories and backing them up with her personal opinions as well as textual evidence.
I liked both of the blog entries I read and I want to read more of Izzy's and Eliza's writing in the future. I feel like I have learned a lot about how they use details that keep the reader interested and how their writing is clear and focused. I'd like to keep reading their entries and use their examples as ways to improve my own writing.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Juliet
When reading Shapkespeare's Romeo and Juliet, like most teenage girls, I am able to relate to Juliet. I've just started to get to know her character. Juliet is about my age (thirteen going on fourteen), but since the play is set in a different time period, she seems much older than me. If I were living in those times, chances are I would be engaged or married already. My brother and sister who are both 17 would probably have their own children. Back then, people didn't live as long as they do now, so they would get married and start families in their teens.
As strange as it may seem, it was considered normal for a girl to be married by the time she was thirteen or fourteen. However, it seems that Juliet Capulet was ahead of her time. She doesn't feel ready to marry yet, even though her parents have put together an arranged marriage for her and Paris, a wealthy cousin of the prince of Verona. Juliet still wants to hold on to her childhood, but her mother thinks that she should grow up and get married. Juliet is confused. She is afraid of the unknown future. I think that Juliet is torn between wanting to hold on to her youth and her freedom and wanting to obey her parents. She carries the burden of being their only child who did not die at a very young age. Because of this, I think she feels obliged to please them. It can be very pressuring.
Juliet feels like she is too young for love. Its a bit ironic because her parents are encouraging her to get to know Paris and become more mature. Juliet does not think that she is ready, but she does not yet know that when she goes to the ball that her parents have planned, she will immediately become attracted to Romeo Montague, the son of her family's enemy.
As strange as it may seem, it was considered normal for a girl to be married by the time she was thirteen or fourteen. However, it seems that Juliet Capulet was ahead of her time. She doesn't feel ready to marry yet, even though her parents have put together an arranged marriage for her and Paris, a wealthy cousin of the prince of Verona. Juliet still wants to hold on to her childhood, but her mother thinks that she should grow up and get married. Juliet is confused. She is afraid of the unknown future. I think that Juliet is torn between wanting to hold on to her youth and her freedom and wanting to obey her parents. She carries the burden of being their only child who did not die at a very young age. Because of this, I think she feels obliged to please them. It can be very pressuring.
Juliet feels like she is too young for love. Its a bit ironic because her parents are encouraging her to get to know Paris and become more mature. Juliet does not think that she is ready, but she does not yet know that when she goes to the ball that her parents have planned, she will immediately become attracted to Romeo Montague, the son of her family's enemy.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
November Blues
Although I really like to read, I'm extremely picky about books and I have a bad habit of starting books, getting bored with them and abandoning them. That's what happened when I started November Blues a few months ago. Recently I picked it up again and started over. Reading it made me wonder why I had ditched it in the first place. I felt sorry that I had and I'm glad I gave it a second chance.
Like many books I've enjoyed, November Blues is told from two different perspectives(Unit 3 vocabulary word!) One narrator is November, a pregnant teenager. The father of her child is dead and her mother has a whole future planned out for her. When November narrates, she talks about how she always felt bad for teen moms and knew how hard their lives were, but she never really knew until she became one of them. I guess that's how everything is; you never truly know what something is like until you experience it firsthand.
The other narrator is Jericho, the cousin and best friend of November's late boyfriend, Josh. He's also the ex-boyfriend of Ariel, a girl who used to be best friends with November and her best friend Dana, but left them all when she started dating someone else. Jericho feels somewhat responsible for taking care of November and her baby. He knows that Josh would want that.
Like many books I've enjoyed, November Blues is told from two different perspectives(Unit 3 vocabulary word!) One narrator is November, a pregnant teenager. The father of her child is dead and her mother has a whole future planned out for her. When November narrates, she talks about how she always felt bad for teen moms and knew how hard their lives were, but she never really knew until she became one of them. I guess that's how everything is; you never truly know what something is like until you experience it firsthand.
The other narrator is Jericho, the cousin and best friend of November's late boyfriend, Josh. He's also the ex-boyfriend of Ariel, a girl who used to be best friends with November and her best friend Dana, but left them all when she started dating someone else. Jericho feels somewhat responsible for taking care of November and her baby. He knows that Josh would want that.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Viola in Reel Life
If you had a family and friends that supported you, a hobby that you're knowledgeable and passionate about, and you lived in one of the most interesting, beautiful and diverse places in the world, why would you want anything to change? Viola Chesterton, the main character in Adriana Trigiani's novel Viola in Reel Life surely didn't. When 14-year-old Viola was forced to leave behind her family, friends, school and home to go to an all-girls boarding school in South Bend, Indiana, she wasn't at all happy about it. I can't really blame her. Like Viola, I am lucky enough to live in New York City and experience all it has to offer every day. I would never want to leave the place that Viola says is "the coolest place on the planet". Throughout the whole book, I felt that I could really identify with Viola and relate to her feelings.
Viola lived in Brooklyn her whole life, so naturally, she's grown attached. She feels like no place can compare to the city and that boarding school will be dull and depressing. ("I'm marooned. Abandoned. Left to rot in boarding school." pg. 1) To amuse herself, Viola makes a secret video diary of her life at boarding school called the Viola Reels. Viola is very passionate about the art of film and she feels like she knows that that's what she wants to do for the rest of her life. I can relate to this, because for years I've loved acting. I'm pretty sure that I want theater to always be a part of my life. I couldn't imagine living without being able to act or going to a school without a drama program. For Viola, making movies is one of the few things she has left of her old life.
Viola thinks that Indiana won't be a interesting to film as New York is, but she soon realizes that she's wrong. On her first day at boarding school, Viola is filming out in the fields. Later on when she's watching what she's filmed, she sees a mysterious lady in red standing in the field. Viola doesn't remember seeing her before and assumes that she's a ghost of some sort. This leads to doing research and learning about who this ghost woman is and even helps her open up to her roommates and realize that the world is bigger than just New York City and that interesting things can happen anywhere.
Like Viola, I have learned multiple times that even though trying something new doesn't always seem like it'll be fun, life is full of surprises and you don't have to be at the center of all the action to have an exciting experience.
Viola lived in Brooklyn her whole life, so naturally, she's grown attached. She feels like no place can compare to the city and that boarding school will be dull and depressing. ("I'm marooned. Abandoned. Left to rot in boarding school." pg. 1) To amuse herself, Viola makes a secret video diary of her life at boarding school called the Viola Reels. Viola is very passionate about the art of film and she feels like she knows that that's what she wants to do for the rest of her life. I can relate to this, because for years I've loved acting. I'm pretty sure that I want theater to always be a part of my life. I couldn't imagine living without being able to act or going to a school without a drama program. For Viola, making movies is one of the few things she has left of her old life.
Viola thinks that Indiana won't be a interesting to film as New York is, but she soon realizes that she's wrong. On her first day at boarding school, Viola is filming out in the fields. Later on when she's watching what she's filmed, she sees a mysterious lady in red standing in the field. Viola doesn't remember seeing her before and assumes that she's a ghost of some sort. This leads to doing research and learning about who this ghost woman is and even helps her open up to her roommates and realize that the world is bigger than just New York City and that interesting things can happen anywhere.
Like Viola, I have learned multiple times that even though trying something new doesn't always seem like it'll be fun, life is full of surprises and you don't have to be at the center of all the action to have an exciting experience.
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