Finding Claims & Support (Note: See the next chapter)

Evaluating Sourced Material

Activity –

Distinguishing between properly documented and plagiarized outside sources used in student examples.

Guidelines –

Students will be evaluating whether the content taken from “Misinformation and Biases Affect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally” has been used appropriately when documented in a sample student paper.  The objective is to identify whether the sample student paper is documented correctly or if plagiarism has occurred (Word-for-Word plagiarism or Paraphrased plagiarism).

In order to avoid plagiarism, the following conditions should be met:

Signal phrase, content (word-for-word or paraphrased content), in-text citation, works cited entry (reference).

In the following examples, examine the original source material along with the sample student work to determine if plagiarism has occurred.  Focus on the bold content from the original source to assess if the content in the student version has been used correctly.

#1-

Original Source –

When we drilled down on the misinformation-spreading accounts, we found a very dense core group of accounts retweeting each other almost exclusively – including several bots. The only times that fact-checking organizations were ever quoted or mentioned by the users in the misinformed group were when questioning their legitimacy or claiming the opposite of what they wrote.

 Works Cited –

Ciampaglia, Giovannis Luca and Filippo Menczer. “Misinformation and Biases Affect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally.”  88 Open Essay: A Reader for Students of Composition & Rhetoric.  2019, pp. 117-122. https://www.oercommons.org/courses/88-open-essays-a-reader-for-students-of-composition-rhetoric/view. Accessed 17 July 2021.

Student Version –

After examination, the authors identified that they “found a very dense core of group of accounts retweeting each other almost exclusively.”

Works Cited –

Ciampaglia, Giovannis Luca and Filippo Menczer. “Misinformation and Biases Affect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally.”  88 Open Essay: A Reader for Students of Composition & Rhetoric.  2019, pp. 117-122. https://www.oercommons.org/courses/88-open-essays-a-reader-for-students-of-composition-rhetoric/view. Accessed 17 July 2021.

____ Documented Correctly

____ Word-for-Word Plagiarism

____ Paraphrased Plagiarism

#2

Original Source –

Cognitive biases originate in the way the brain processes the information that every person encounters every day. The brain can deal with only a finite amount of information, and too many incoming stimuli can cause information overload. That in itself has serious implications for the quality of information on social media. We have found that steep competition for users’ limited attention means that some ideas go viral despite their low quality – even when people prefer to share high-quality content.

Works Cited –

Ciampaglia, Giovannis Luca and Filippo Menczer. “Misinformation and Biases Affect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally.”  88 Open Essay: A Reader for Students of Composition & Rhetoric.  2019, pp. 117-122. https://www.oercommons.org/courses/88-open-essays-a-reader-for-students-of-composition-rhetoric/view. Accessed 17 July 2021.

Student Version –

As Ciampaglia and Menczer note, “the brain can deal with only a finite amount of information” (119).  Trying to process too much information can impact one’s view on the quality of content, thus promoting unworthy content through social media.

Works Cited –

Ciampaglia, Giovannis Luca and Filippo Menczer. “Misinformation and Biases Affect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally.”  88 Open Essay: A Reader for Students of Composition & Rhetoric.  2019, pp. 117-122. https://www.oercommons.org/courses/88-open-essays-a-reader-for-students-of-composition-rhetoric/view. Accessed 17 July 2021.

____ Documented Correctly

____ Word-for-Word Plagiarism

____ Paraphrased Plagiarism

#3

Original Source –

One cognitive shortcut happens when a person is deciding whether to share a story that appears on their social media feed. People are very affected by the emotional connotations of a headline, even though that’s not a good indicator of an article’s accuracy. Much more important is who wrote the piece.

Works Cited –

Ciampaglia, Giovannis Luca and Filippo Menczer. “Misinformation and Biases Affect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally.”  88 Open Essay: A Reader for Students of Composition & Rhetoric.  2019, pp. 117-122. https://www.oercommons.org/courses/88-open-essays-a-reader-for-students-of-composition-rhetoric/view. Accessed 17 July 2021.

Student Version –

 As humans, we are affected by the emotional connotation of a headline.  Instead of assessing other aspects of the article as to whether it should be shared on social media (who the author is, possible bias, validity of the story), we let our emotions be the driving force in posting forward on social media.

 Works Cited –

Ciampaglia, Giovannis Luca and Filippo Menczer. “Misinformation and Biases Affect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally.”  88 Open Essay: A Reader for Students of Composition & Rhetoric.  2019, pp. 117-122. https://www.oercommons.org/courses/88-open-essays-a-reader-for-students-of-composition-rhetoric/view. Accessed 17 July 2021.

____ Documented Correctly

____ Word-for-Word Plagiarism

____ Paraphrased Plagiarism