Price tells us that students need to learn the conventions of their "academic discourse community," and that our community of peers and instructors here at school should be a part of the conversation about the "evolving definition" of plagiarism. What should that look like here at FSU as we attempt to bring our own students into the conversation while also trying to be a part of it with out instructors?
Rife discusses, at length, some of the important reason writing teachers need to accept the responsibility of teaching their students about fair use. We are told that we need to "show" our students the risks associated with using protected materials. In addition to the language suggested for syllabi, and the suggested activities, what might some assignments look like which would help facilitate a better understanding of what fair use is?
1. While reading Rife's piece, I thought a lot about Price's work in relation to the discussion about the unsureness students have in understanding what fully constitutes as plagiarism. It is explicitly noted that a big reason for this may be cultural differences as the West seems to have stricter guidelines as to what constitutes as "original" and "in one's own words." To me, I feel as though including the fair use doctrine and the four-factor test in the discussion (maybe even making it a part of the syllabus or having an in-class activity surrounding the details of both documents) might make the expectations of our specific institution a bit more clear to the students. One cannot help the cultural differences that surround plagiarism, but we can help to provide more specificities in regard to the most widely accepted rules of plagiarism in our region.
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