Week 5: Internet Resources and Credibility

Week 5: Credibility and Citations

As a private school student there are things that we must do that public school students don’t. At first you don’t realize it because us private school students are used to it. We are used to the work, being stereotyped as rich, and being smart donkeys. Cheating is wrong. We are taught this from an early age. Don’t do this, don’t do that. And we do as we are told. We are scared to take risks, scared to go against the rules, scared to stand up to authority for fear of punishment. We cry a single demerit. The mass majority of us fit the model. God damn it. (private schools themselves are great though. please don’t punish me… SEE WHAT I MEAN!? )

Anyway, what does this have to do with this week’s topic of credibility and citation? Easy. 1. If you don’t use a credible source you’ll look stupid. (think of your reputation of being smart man). 2. If you plagiarize you will end up crying your heart out at being suspended, expelled or other (courtesy of the Honor Code Council) And finally 3., if you don’t cite where you got the information (really bad example, you peasant) [gosh, way to be mean] you could end up in a lawsuit.

(“Okay… so now what?“) [“Well my friend, If you payed attention to this week’s assignment page: ‘create a guide for others about finding and using credible sources’ (MDL Week 5).”] (“But like you said in the paragraph above, ‘We are taught this from an early age.’ (PleasentPeasent). I already know this.”) [“Look here you, Let me just remind you then.”] (“Why?”) [“ugh! For the grade of course, look at how many lines we've already wasted. God they probably think I’m a weirdo.”] (“Who?”) [“The other people in this course who care enough to read to this point in the blog post. *points at reader*”] (“Oh wow, *waves* Hi, have you heard the music at the top of the blog yet? No? What a shame! The writer is lonely and wanted to make the play list for you.”) [“Dude!?”] (“What!?... Look, at least you cited your sources earlier in this paragraph.”) … -_-

In the order to use internet sources. “Make sure the website is well maintained and current. If the url has a domain of .biz, .net, or .org, it doesn't mean you need to do do more digging. Check out the author’s bio -- make sure he or she is an expert in the field. If the author is biased for or against something, tread carefully. You don’t want to be stating opinions as facts.” (Words to live by, by Ignition module 5). For example, if you wanted to use this website for some reason. Step 1: The website is well maintained and updated at least once a week. Step 2: .com is sketchy. Step 3: this site is just managed by a high school blogger. (“HaHaHa, this person looks stupid and emotionally unstable.”) [“Hey!”] Step 4: the first paragraph… yeah… no.

If the site matched up to the criteria, feel free to use it. But don’t copy and paste, because that would be plagiarizing. Instead there are two things you can do. First you can use a direct quote. This means that you copy and paste the information, use quotation marks and give a citation after it. This mean that you copy and paste, put it in quotation marks and then at the citation to the end of it. Secondly, you can paraphrase. Paraphrasing means that you rewrite what the author said and then cite where you got the information. The most important part of this is that you add a citation to the bottom of the paper or photo. The citation tells where you got the information from. The citation, which usually appears at the bottom of the paper, tells the name of the source and the author that you got the information form. An easy way to get this is by using a tool called www.easybib.com. The reader, or in your case, teacher will be able to see where you got the information from and usually trust the student, especially if it is a private school, that the sources are safe and legitimate.

Dear grader: This post is over 750 words. Out of all the randomness, there is more than 325 words of actual information in the last two paragraphs. Count them.  Most all the information was found on Ignition and I consider Ignition a tool or aid in the class. Gomennasai! Peace! Bye.

A website: