help with studying???

becky004

Thanks Amba thats good to know for future. I won't be able to use anything from the essay I bought as it doesn't relate to what I'm writing about, but it has helped me see what sort of depth I need to be going into.
I must admit I know a colleague's bought a dissertation from ebay, copied it word for word and just got a First Class Honours, seems a bit pointless to me. I have 2 small children and will be happy with a pass at any level but want to learn something while I'm doing it, being as my Manager has forced it upon me!

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Hope this helps. At graduate level never write in the first person but quote others published work to support the arguement, so if you want to make a point write 'x suggests blah blah blah.....however Y believes that.....' and then reference it. Figure out the average number of references used in your subject, and the internet is a good way finding this out, and aim for that number.
The internet is invaluable for obscure stuff so use it and reference the work, but it's worth remembering that most tutors will be familiar and comfy with commonly referenced work and some can get a bit itchy about the obscure stuff. The most important thing to do is answer the question - give the marker what they can mark because there's no points for going off topic!
Good luck, my first written assignment was dreadful but I got my degree in the end.

grumpyoldgit_2

Get hold of some of the Open University support materials - they will help you with structure etc of essays - they used to have lively chat boards where you will learn a lot from fellow "distance learning" students.
Should be easy enough to find on Google

melancholly

i've done some marking of undergraduate papers, and quite a few had some glaringly obvious sections copied - i know other people who typed sentences from reports into google and found online where the section had been taken from. a lot of people get away with it, but it is very very serious if anyone gets caught! like everyone else on here has said, reference everything rather than claiming it as your own - some places will fail you for the year (or worse) if they find you guilty of plagarism.

Barcode

I must admit I know a colleague's bought a dissertation from ebay, copied it word for word and just got a First Class Honours

More fool them - if their MA is in any way relevant to their job, they will come unstuck. If they are pursuing a PHD, they will be clueless about what is expected. It seems good in the short-term, but long-term, your friend has done themselves a disservice.

I know our department has some sort of software and random essays are selected and ran through it - and the penalties are severe. I know of one expulsion where somebody cheated quite blatantly in an exam. I'm not sure what the consequences would be in an essay.

Sometimes, I've been so confused with my various sources that I've *forgotten* to reference; but I'm very thorough and I always spot things when I go back and reread. I suspect some cases are like me, except they are too lazy to reread, edit and reference the source. They are then surprised when they are rightfully accused of plagiarism.

Last year, an acquaintance lost 80% of their second year marks since she claimed somebody 'stole' her essay from her laptop. Since the proff couldn't decide who plagiarised who (let's face it, whoever decided to copy who is pretty dumb given that two identical essays are going to stand out) they both lost out.

My grades are not always brilliant, but I know I've done my best, and that's far more rewarding than seeing say, a first when I know I haven't done anything to earn it.

mitcho_uk

Referencing your work is pretty straight forward so I wouldnt get to worried about it. I struggled abit in the first few assignments I had to write at uni as I had never been taught how to correctly reference my sources. When you reference your work you are showing off what you have read and elaborating on your point by backing up your thoughts with that provided by academics.

Try not to get too hung up on using the internet as a reference tool. It is very easy to access information on the internet and some will explain your subject area in a manner in which you understand clearer than academic text books. The weighting of internet references is not very strong compared to that of books, Journals and reports.

What I would suggest is that you read around your subject on the internet to gain understanding then I would look it up from a relevant source and quote that source. Also have a look at what the website has referenced as there source as you maybe able to get hold of it.

If your really struggling with referencing PM me and ill try to help, although I am in the last year of my degree and have a lot of work on lol.

tubbsandeddie

Always reference or at least say something like "recent opinions on the subject include...". Plagarism is when you try to pass someone else's work off as your own. All progress is based on what went before and everyone uses other peoples ideas.
Always try to write a balanced argument ie give all points of view without siding too obviously with one view or another. Remember, it may be marked by someone with strong views opposed to yours, at 2am and who has had a bad day.
An essay will usually do better if it is simply an exposition of many opinions, weighing up the pros and cons, rather than if it is written as if the writer has a firm belief that one opinion is right and all others are wrong.
Obviously this does not apply to every essay, but think before being too one-sided and don't be afraid to use others work as long as you don't try to take the credit as your own.
I had a friend expelled in their final year because they pasted one paragraph of someone elses work into their essay. If they had said "such and such said recently '......'", There would have been no problem and I doubt it would have caused her to get a lower mark.
There really is no need to plagarise at all. It is not expected that all one's work is original and not using what has gone before. Give acknowledgment and no-one can fault you.
Other points made earlier in this thread are very useful including:
Answer the question! No marks if it isn't what the quesion asks, no matter how clever.