Rewriting 101: Results from an experiment

During the Spring, 2002 semester, I decided to have my Law & Society class rewrite a quote three different ways. First, they were to use and cite the full sentence. Then, they were to use some of the exact words from the sentence. Finally, they were to completely reword the material. Here are the results. I have taken the liberty to do minor editing to the quotes to make them accurate. For example, a good number of the students cited the book as "Jesilow and Pepinsky," getting the authors out of order (writers should always list the authors in the order in which they appear on the publication rather than alphabetizing them in citations).

The original quote and source:

"Virtually all believe that an already excessive crime problem has grown two or three times larger during the last twenty years and that the threat to our lives and property has become a crisis" (Pepinsky and Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

 Jesilow, P. and Pepinsky, H.E. (1992). Myths that Cause Crime (3rd ed). Santa Ana, CA: Seven Locks Press.  

The results for taking just the idea (but citing nonetheless to give credit for that idea):

People everywhere agree that crime has steadily increased in the past few years and that this growth interferes with the safety of our lives and of our personal belongings (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

The majority of individuals view crime as growing out of control and thus causing many to feel that their material goods and family well‑being is in jeopardy (Pepinsky and Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Most Americans subscribe to the notion that crime in this country has doubled and even tripled since the early seventies and that the situation is now a critical one (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Most people believe that crime has increased and that has created much concern (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).  

Members of the community have a preexisting notion that for the past twenty years crime has more than doubled and this increasing rash of violence has caused many to become fearful (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

There is, for the most part, a national consensus that crime rates have risen substantially over the past two decades (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Most of society feels that the crime problem is drastically increasing with time and now seriously jeopardizes our physical and material safety (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

A lot of people think that crime has risen and is a big problem (Pepinsky and Jesilow, 1992, p. 17)

Most Americans believe that over the past two decades, the nation's crime problem has risen by more than two hundred percent to a level that threatens our well being (Pepinsky and Jesilow, 1992, p.17).

The belief that crime has become such a problem that any homeowner is in danger of break‑in is false gossip passed around by local officials in need of funds (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17). [editor's note: this statement is justified based on the rest of the text on page 17]

People have begun to worry more about how they live and their belongings because they have a constant fear of the rising criminal activities that are taking place (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Most Americans, who were already under the impression that there was a major crime problem in our society, believe that it has actually gotten much worse in recent years and that there should be an increased concern for personal welfare (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Most people believe that in recent years that the crime problem has grown (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Many people believe that personal threats have become a major problem due to crime problems in existence which have grown in the last decades (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Our society holds true that crime is an increasing scare from that of the past (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).
Here are some individuals who cited the authors as saying something they didn't. The authors argued that we do not really know if crime rates are rising because crime statistics are not the same as crime (statistics reflect many inadequacies, like recording errors, etc). These students misinterpreted the text and cited the authors as saying the crime rates had indeed rose. This is something all writers need to be wary of; it is not proper to misstate an author's opinions. To ensure that this does not happen, writers should make sure they have read the material and understand what the author is saying:

 

Over the past years, crime has been rising and people are fearful (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

The crime problem has risen and is now a threat to us. (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

The crime problem has grown and the threat has increased (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

The crime rate has grown to a real problem for the people of this country and needs to be taken care of before the problem gets so bad there is no hope for a cure (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992. p. 17). [editor's note: this one really extends Pepinsky & Jesilow's comments. Wonder what they would think of this one?]

We all realize that crime has become a huge problem over the past two decades (Pepinsky and Jesilow, 1992, p.17).

Crime rates are rising over time and it is becoming a major problem in society (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

The idea has been brought to the attention of the public that, crime being on the rise for the past two decades, has become a serious situation due to the threat on our daily lives and activities as American citizens (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).  

There is an increasing threat to people today involving crime, that has developed over the past twenty years (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Results of rewording while using just a few words from the original quote:            

Many people feel that the crime rate has grown "two or three times larger during the last twenty years" and this "crime problem" can effect our lives for the worst (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).  

Everyone agrees that the growth of our "excessive crime problem... during the last twenty years... has become a crisis" because it threatens our ways of living and our personal belongings (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Many people feel that an "excessive crime problem" has risen and "the threat to our lives and property" has become an epidemic (Pepinsky and Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

All believe an "excessive crime problem has grown" during the last two decades and the "threat to our lives and property has become a crisis" (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Many people in the United States think "an already excessive crime problem has grown" in the last two decades and thus has become more than just such ‑ but has escalated to the "crisis" level (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Most people believe that a significant increase in crime has occurred recently and that the "threat to our lives and property has become a crisis" (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

For the past two decades, society has been conditioned by the police officials and the media alike of the existence of a crime problem that has "grown two or three times larger" and imposes danger to citizens' welfare (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

With all the media coverage on crime, many people trust in the idea that there is a "threat to our lives and property" (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Most people hold that an extensive crime problem has since been growing much "larger during the past twenty years" and all that we are and do "has become a crisis" (Pepinsky and Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Most people in society feel that there is an "excessive crime problem" that is increasing by the decade and seriously jeopardizing our "lives and property" (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

A lot of people believe that an "already excessive crime problem" has doubled or tripled during the past two decades and that the "threat to our lives and property" is now a big problem (Pepinsky and Jesilow, 1992, p. 17)

Almost everyone believes "that an already excessive crime problem" has risen by over 200% over the last few decades and the impact on our lives has become stifling (Pepinsky and Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

D uring the past twenty years an "excessive crime problem" has grown two-fold causing a threat to our lives and property (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p.17).

According to most of the people in today's society, there is a belief "that the threat to our lives and property has become a crisis," due to the fact the crime rates have doubled, nearly tripled, in the past two decades (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p.17).

Most "believe that an already excessive crime problem" has risen during the last two decades and that the possible threat to us and our "property is a crisis" (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

Most people accept that an overwhelming problem of crime "has grown two or three times larger during the last twenty years" (Pepinsky and Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

It's the consensus of most Americans that what is already considered to be a major crime problem "has grown two or three times larger during the last twenty years" (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).

One of the uses for statistics nowadays is to pass the myth "that an already excessive crime problem has grown two or three times larger during the last twenty years and that the threat to our lives and property has become a crisis" (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p. 17).  

Almost all "believe that an already excessive crime problem has grown ... larger" during the last two decades and that the threat to us has "become a crisis" (Pepinsky & Jesilow, 1992, p.17).

At the end of the assignment, everyone wrote what they learned from the exercise. I include their comments below for the benefit of others:

Essentially when I thought I was correctly quoting in previous papers, I might have been plagiarizing. This of course was not on purpose. The guide that was provided clearly illustrates the right and wrong ways to quote other's information. I will definitely print this out for further reference.

Through this assignment, I learned it is difficult to choose words that are different from those of the authors. It seems as though the author has perfect word choice and that of my own pales in comparison. As an effect, I find myself struggling to be up to par. Not only did I realize this, but also how to correctly cite within the text and write a bibliography.  

This assignment was somewhat difficult. I saw how hard it was not to copy someone else's words verbatim. I just wanted to add a word or two from Pepinsky but I couldn't. Plagiarizing is very easy to do, but it's hard not to do. I really learned a lot on this first assignment. Now, I'm aware of what not to do.

This writing assignment has shown me how easy it is for someone to write a sentence that they think is their own but in reality it is a copy of an already existing sentence. Now that I wrote these three kinds of quotes, I understand that plagiarism does not have to mean that you stole someone else's writing word for word. I see that plagiarism can be as simple as taking three or even only one word from someone else's work and calling it your own. I am aware that I have to cite not just other people's words but also their ideas. Now I have a better understanding of when and how to correctly cite my work.

From this assignment I have learned that it may be pretty easy to plagiarize an item without even realizing that you have done so. I now know that you must really be more careful when writing papers and essays for anyone. The best thing to do if you aren't sure is to double check.

I have learned that you do not have to use all the same words for it to be considered plagiarism. Even if you just use the idea of the sentence, you have to give credit to the author.  

From this assignment, I was able to understand what plagiarism was and how to avoid it. I always knew about plagiarism, but never had a good understanding of what was and wasn't plagiarizing. Now I know, so I can write the best paper or essay possible without getting myself in trouble.

This assignment and reading the website has shown me that plagiarism is much more common than I thought it was. I was also surprised at how easy it is to commit the offense, especially unintentionally. It's nice to now have a guide to use when I am unsure in the future.

From doing this exercise I learned how easy it was to not only steal someone else's words, but to steal someone's idea. In the past I have had trouble citing sources, not because I was trying to pass off someone else's work as my own, but because I just didn't know how to do it right. Now I know that even if I take a fraction of what someone says I have to cite it. And I also learned that "copy and pasting" is not the way to write a paper!

In this assignment, I learned the different ways of getting a particular point across. This helped in learning the different ways to avoid plagiarism through the use of proper citing. I also learned what is acceptable and what isn't when using a particular article as reference.

This assignment has taught me how to cite correctly. I did not know how to cite when using some exact words from a quote, now I know. This was a good exercise to refresh my memory on how not to plagiarize.

Through this assignment, I have gained a better understanding of how to correctly cite a source that I use for a paper. By plagiarizing, I risk getting expelled from school, and by partaking in this exercise I give myself more of an opportunity not to plagiarize and more of an opportunity to get myself an A.

I thought the page about plagiarism was helpful in completing this assignment. The various examples helped me to understand how to cite words (ideas) and sources. It also helped me to summarize an author's point and cite it properly, avoiding plagiarism. Although I have had several courses in which I used these guidelines, it was a decent review.

This exercise has shown me how easy it is to plagiarize. Although the idea has been stressed since I began at Rutgers, I never really thought I had to worry because I do not plagiarize. Now, though, I see that even the idea of someone else has to be credited.

I've benefited from doing this assignment because now I know the correct way to cite words and/or paragraphs from the works I wish to cite. I will not be expelled or fail your course due to this assignment. Thank You.

From this experience, I have learned that there are many ways of avoiding plagiarism. I have also learned the importance of citing works that are used, whether they are taken directly or indirectly out of text.

I have learned that it is not good to plagiarize because I could get in a lot of trouble and fail and even get kicked out of school.

I learned (or at least I think I did), how to properly quote the work of another individual and how to document it in my own work.

This assignment taught me that my teacher is well aware that plagiarism exists and knows how to spot it. This gives me a pretty good idea that plagiarism is a bad idea. Therefore, I will not be plagiarizing any of my work.