Example 1: Plagiarize the original text by copying portions of it word-for-word.
A teacher who gets a particular ranking in year one is likely to get a different ranking the next year. There will always be instability in these rankings, some of which will reflect “real” performance changes.
Example 2: Plagiarize the original text by paraphrasing its structure too closely, without copying it word-for-word.
A teacher who receives a ranking in year one is likely to get a different ranking the following year. There will always be instability in these results, some might reflect real performance changes.
Example 3: Plagiarize the original text by paraphrasing its structure too closely, and include a citation. Even though you cited it, paraphrasing too closely is still plagiarism.
A teacher who receives a ranking in year one is likely to get a different ranking the following year. There will always be instability in these results, some might reflect real performance changes (Ravitch 270-271).
Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School System. New York: Basic Books, 2011, pp. 270-71.
Example 4: Properly paraphrase from the original text by restating the author’s ideas in different words and phrases, and include a citation to the original source.
Ravitch explains that to measure a teachers professional growth from year to year is no perfect science. I believe the problem is defining a measurable variable to establish if professional growth has taken place. She further criticizes the growth measurement system that utilizes student test scores to determine a teachers growth. She cites a New York Times economist who explains that there are large margins of errors in this type of assessment of teachers professional growth (Ravitch 270-271).
Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School System. New York: Basic Books, 2011, pp. 270-71.
Example 5: Properly paraphrase from the original text by restating the author’s ideas in different words and phrases, add a direct quote, and include a citation to the original source.
Ravitch explains that to measure a teachers professional growth from year to year is no perfect science. I believe the problem is defining a measurable variable to establish if professional growth has taken place. She further criticizes the growth measurement system that utilizes student test scores to determine a teachers growth. She cites New York Times economist Sean Corcoran, who explains that there are large margins of errors in this type of assessment of teachers professional growth. Corcoran says, “found that the average “margin of error” of a New York City teacher was plus or minus 28 points.” (Corcoran qtd in Ravitch 270-271). Ravitch continues stating, “a teachers who has ranked at the 43rd percentile compared to his or her peers might actually be anywhere between the 15th percentile and the 71st percentile” (Ravitch 270-271). Ravitch then compares the accuracy of educator ratings to the consistency of a coin toss. (Ravitch 270-271).
Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School System. New York: Basic Books, 2011, pp. 270-71.
Based on the avoiding plagiarism assignment, you clearly grasp the important concepts. But there are several grammatical errors or typos that should not have appeared in a writing exercise. Here are ones that stood out in example 5:
a teachers professional growth; a teachers growth; (Both are missing an apostrophe: a teacher’s growth)
New York Times economist Sean Corcoran (New York University economist)
Ravitch continues stating, “a teachers who has ranked. . . (Rewrite as: Ravitch states that, “a teacher who has ranked. . .)
Finally, to avoid confusing the reader, place single quotation marks around any internal quotations, like this:
Corcoran “found that the average ‘margin of error’ of a New York City teacher was plus or minus 28 points.” (Corcoran qtd in Ravitch 270-271).