Welcome to the fourth L185 Elluminate tutorial! Plagiarism: some considerations. Your final oral presentation: things to remember! Microsoft Office

Aims In this fourth Elluminate tutorial session, you will discuss and consider what plagiarism is, how to avoid it and why it is important not to commit plagiarism in your university studies. You will also discuss and consider what is involved in preparing for your final oral presentation on L185 as Task 2 of the EMA. Remember: it may be necessary for your course- related question(s) to be answered on the Forum, later, or indeed by a personal . Microsoft Office

What is plagiarism? The short definition of plagiarism provided by the Open University is: Plagiarism Plagiarism is using the work of other people to gain some form of benefit without formally acknowledging that the work came from someone else

More on what plagiarism involves If you submit an assignment that contains work that is not your own, without indicating this to the marker (acknowledging your sources), you are committing ‘plagiarism’ and this is an offence. This might occur in an assignment when Using a choice phrase or sentence that you have come across. Copying word-for-word directly from a text. Paraphrasing the words from a text very closely. Using text downloaded from the internet. Borrowing statistics or assembled facts from another person or source. Copying or downloading figures, photographs, pictures or diagrams without acknowledging your sources. Copying from the notes or essays of a fellow student. Copying from your own notes, on a text, tutorial, video or lecture, that contain direct quotations.

It is a really good idea to spend some time on the Developing Good Academic Practices’ website at: The ‘Developing Good Academic Practices’ website This website covers a range of activities to help you avoid plagiarism.

Plagiarism …why it’s just plain silly to do it! When writing assignments, you are actively encouraged to show the results of your reading by referring to and quoting from works on your subject. After all, if you have done all that reading around the subject, why shouldn’t you show this to your tutor, or the marker of your work? Not to show how much you have read is surely.. Just plain silly!? Indeed, you generally gain higher marks for correctly showing how much you have read on the subject and using your sources correctly and appropriately…. BUT …copying from such sources without acknowledgement is seen as plagiarism and will not be accepted by the University

So …. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT is important; ACKNOWLEDGING your sources is important … but, what does ‘acknowledgement’ actually mean? Raise your hand if you know the answer.

Acknowledgement … Acknowledgement involves at least two practical steps that are essential to avoid plagiarism – 1) putting an ‘in-text’ reference to your source text in your argument and 2) putting a full reference to your source text in a list of references at the end of your assignment. An example of an in-text acknowledgement: It has been noted (Smith 2007) that some students prefer to work alone on such tasks. The full reference in the list of references: Smith J (2007) ‘A study of student engagement in learning’ in Education 16/3, pp Here, your ‘source’ is an article in an academic journal called ‘Education’ and written by James Smith, published in 2007.

Other ways to acknowledge Smith as your in-text source … Smith (2007) notes how some students prefer to work alone on such tasks. In a recent study, Smith (2007) found that some students prefer to work alone on such tasks.

And, two authors? How would those in-text acknowledgements be different if the article had been written by James Smith and his colleague, Frank Jones? Raise your hand if you think you know the answer.

Two authors … In a recent study, Smith and Jones (2007) found that some students prefer to work alone on such tasks Smith and Jones (2007) note how some students prefer to work alone on such tasks It has been noted (Smith and Jones 2007) that some students prefer to work alone on such tasks.

So … … what are the two key things you need when acknowledging a source in- text??

… Answer The author’s (one) or authors’ (more than one) SURNAME(S) and the YEAR of PUBLICATION.

Spotting examples of plagiarism In the following activity, you will see some examples of what students may do when writing assignments. Some are clearly examples of plagiarism; while some are not. For each example, decide whether you think it is an example of plagiarism, or not. Use the voting buttons to show what you think. Your tutor will then explain whether you were right or wrong …! The source material for this activity comes from an activity by Swales and Feak at Based on an exercise in Academic Writing for Graduate Students by Swales and Feak, University of Michigan, 1993 What am I doing here?

Plagiarism or not?? 1) Copying a paragraph verbatim from a source without any acknowledgement – you don’t provide a reference to the source in your text, and you don’t include the source in your list of references 2) Copying a paragraph and making small changes – e.g. replacing a few verbs, replacing an adjective with a synonym; you put the source in the list of references but not in the text. Adapted from the original source: Based on an exercise in Academic Writing for Graduate Students by Swales and Feak, University of Michigan, 1993

Plagiarism or not? Adapted from the original source: Based on an exercise in Academic Writing for Graduate Students by Swales and Feak, University of Michigan, ) Cutting and pasting a paragraph by using sentences of the original but omitting one or two and putting one or two in a different order, no quotation marks; there is in-text acknowledgement e.g. (Jones, 1999) plus there is also inclusion in the reference list at the end of the assignment 4) Composing a paragraph by taking short phrases of 10 to 15 words from a number of sources and putting them together, adding words of your own to make a coherent whole; all sources are included in the reference list but not as in-text acknowledgement.

Plagiarism or not? Adapted from the original source: Based on an exercise in Academic Writing for Graduate Students by Swales and Feak, University of Michigan, ) Paraphrasing a paragraph with substantial changes in language and organisation; the new version will also have changes in the amount of detail used and the examples cited; you provide in text acknowledgement e.g. (Jones, 1999) and also inclusion in the reference list at the end of your assignment. 6) Quoting a paragraph by placing it in block format with the source cited in text & also in the list of references.

And, what about you? You’ve now had an introduction to some of the issues involved in plagiarism – one of the biggest ‘offences’ a student can commit! And, something you need to avoid in all your academic work at the Open University. What about you? Do you have any queries or concerns about plagiarism? Is there anything you are not sure about? Raise your hand if you have anything to say, or ask, and your tutor will give you a chance to share what’s on your mind.

The Oral Presentation (Task 2) of the eEMA Now, you will consider what is involved in doing the 3-5 minute oral presentation which is Task 2 on the L185 eEMA. This is worth 40% of the marks awarded to the eEMA.

Remember TMA 3 For TMA 3, you had to produce a 3-minute presentation. Before moving on to think about the EMA presentation …think about what you did for the oral component of TMA 3 …

Your performance on TMA 3 … What did you learn from the task of doing the oral component of TMA 3? Raise your hand when/if you have something to share with the group.

What would you do differently …? Based on your experience of TMA 3, what would you do differently … a)in your preparation for an oral presentation? b)in the planned structure of an oral presentation? c)in the way you deliver an oral presentation? Raise your hand when you have something to share on any of the above

The L185 EMA: the 40% oral component Block 6 Sessions 4 and 5 In this session there are two tasks that form the EMA – here we are interested in Task 2 … Task 1 involves you writing an academic critical essay Task 2 asks you to convert this written report into an oral presentation, lasting 3 – 5 minutes.

Task 2 of the eECA You need to prepare a 3 – 5 minute presentation based on the topic you have used in your written assignment. The title of the presentation is: Is happiness in our genes? Your critical discussion essay for Task 1 is the key to this task. You should use your essay as the starting point. You shouldn’t just read what you have written …. but instead, you need to give an oral presentation of what was written, changing a written argument into a spoken presentation.

Brainstorm … As part of your presentation on ‘Is happiness in our genes?’ what could you include in your: -Introduction -Main, middle section -Conclusion/ending NOTE: don’t forget the basic structure of any presentation!!!

True or False? Do you think these five statements about your oral presentation are TRUE or FALSE? Some are true and some are false. Your tutor will give you a chance to ‘vote’ using the voting buttons in your Elluminate room. 1)My presentation will sound better if I read from a written script, word-for- word 2)I can use some basic notes to remind me of key points and stages 3)The first thing you need to say when you start your presentation is the title of your presentation 4)It is important to know how long the talk is supposed to be. 5)I must use the ART software provided on the course website for this recording.

ANSWERS 1)My presentation will sound better if I read from a written script, word-for- word NO, this is FALSE. Reading word-for-word from a script makes you sound very unnatural. 2)I can use some basic notes to remind me of key points and stages YES, TRUE this is a good idea, as it keeps you organised, but remember 1) above! 3)The first thing you need to say when you start your presentation is the title of your presentation NO, FALSE. The first things you need to say are your NAME and your unique Personal Identifier (PI) NUMBER. 4)It is important to know how long the talk is supposed to be. YES, TRUE and stick to it! It’s 3 – 5 minutes, NOT 15 minutes!! 5)I must use the ART software provided on the course website for this recording. NO, FALSE you can use any other software you are more familiar with, as long as the output file is in an MP3 format.

Marking criteria for the oral presentation Marks (total: 40)Assessment Criteria 10Identification and exploration of relevant key issues as required by the task including relevant sources 8Organisation of presentation 8Appropriate style 8Accuracy and range of vocabulary 6Pronunciation and fluency

Given the Assessment Criteria, what questions should you be asking yourself BEFORE submitting Task 2? Raise your hand and give your suggestions. So …

Here are some possible questions to be asked before you submit … Have I covered most of the key issues and points on the topic? Have I left out anything essential? Have I included anything irrelevant? Have I used any references? Have I organised the ideas clearly? Have I used an appropriate style? Have I used the correct grammar? Is my vocabulary suitable and wide-ranging? Is my pronunciation loud enough and clear? Is there a natural flow of my talk? Is there anything I can improve?.

How to structure a presentation In Block 3, you saw that a presentation normally has 3 parts. Do you remember what each part needs to involve? Raise your hand if you have an answer. a)Beginning b)Middle c)End Microsoft Office

Presentation structure … As you saw earlier in the course, this is what each part of a presentation involves: a) Beginning: You tell the audience what you are going to say b) Middle: You say it c) End: You tell them what you said. Microsoft Office Additionally, good speakers usually provide short summaries of what they have said as they go through their presentation.

A reminder … the language of introductions Here are some useful phrases. Can you think of any more? Raise your hand if you can. This morning, I’m going to be talking to you about … In this presentation, I’m going to tell you something about … Today, I’ll explore … Today, I’m going to talk to you about … In this presentation, I’m going to be explaining … Microsoft Office

Any questions? Now, it is time to ask any questions you have about the course. Raise your hand, and ask your tutor, if you have any questions about L185 English for Academic Purposes Online.

… thank you for attending … All the best with the presentation!