Shoukr, Ahmed

English 1A
CRL2
Summary of the article:
In essence this article attempts to break the traditional view of plagiarism as a malpractice that
has always existed and should be punished harshly and give a wider perspective of how the
modern definition of plagiarism came along, the many types of work that could be considered
plagiarism but is reality is very different, and how the current plagiarism rules effectively hinder
many students from effective pedagogy. First, the author explains that the idea of plagiarism is a
very modern idea stemming out of the need for authors to make money from an increasingly
literate world whereas in medieval times, the concept of authorship did not exist and people were
widely expected to copy and use each others ideas and add onto them. While this history gives
the reader a good perspective on the history of plagiarism, the author does not expect universities
to switch to a policy of autonomous authorship, but instead suggests plagiarism policy be revised
to include the many intentions a student may have for plagiarizing. To do this, the author split the
definition of plagiarism into three different categories: cheating, non-attribution, and
patchwriting. Howard suggests cheating is straightforward and should be met with a harsh
penalty. Non-attribution, which could be a result of a students inexperience in citation, should be
met with a harsh penalty or teach the student how to properly cite. Finally, patchwriting, which
could be a result of a students lack of understanding of the material, should be met with helping
the student understand the material and a request for revision of the material. The author
acknowledges that this new policy is not permanent as the online world, with tools such as
google docs that allow collaboration, could change the idea of authorship with time.
2-3 Central concepts, ideas, or words to explain:
1. Patchwriting is when a writer copies a segment of another authors work while changing
some of the wording and the structure of the segment to make it look like his own and
does not cite the author. This form could be derived from a students lack of
understanding of a concept, which the professor can judge for himself by asking the
student and reviewing his paper, and determine the students motives. If the student needs
help, then the professor should help him and ask for revision. It is never acceptable to
submit patchwriting in final work.
2. Autonomous author is an idea during the medieval period that the author should not have
to be cited and others could take his ideas as they wish and add onto them because it will
allow them to make much more progress by having a large head start. However, this is
not a feasible policy today as we value writers thinking for themselves. Although the
author suggests that no idea is ever completely original as we are influenced by the ideas
of many.
3. Hypertext is a new form of online text where an author could post a link on their article to
another article. This may suggest that the article is not completely his own and therefore
somewhat eradicates the idea of a stable category of plagiarism because there is no idea
of authorship.
3 different quotations and explain why theyre important:
patchwriting is a pedagogical opportunity (788)

Patchwriting allows many students to learn about a concept that they may not completely
understand and work with other students to help each other understand a concept. It should never
be used as a final draft but can be extremely useful in the study of knowledge and the
possibilities that come along with learning from others ideas.
The notion of the author as an individual creator of original works is a relatively recent
invention (789)
This was used by the author to show that plagiarism is not necessarily a bad thing as it was used
in the past by many to take others ideas and add onto them, creating new possibilities they may
not have had if they werent able to take the exact ideas of other authors.
immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets defaced what they take, and

good poets make it into something better, or at least something different" - TS Eliot
(796)

This quotation manifests what the author is trying to get across in the whole article. The
punishment of plagiarism should be dependent on the intention of the student, and not
necessarily any concrete definition of plagiarism we may have. Even if a writer takes another
writers work exactly the way it is and want to add their own ideas onto it, that should be fine as
long as they add something worthy, and not just take the work to make themselves get a better
grade or look smart.