192 CHAPTER 7 | FRom SummARy To SynTHESiSScrutiny cuts both ways. Journalists are needed today for the work
they do as much as they ever have been. While the wisdom of crowds
might provide a new form of fact checking, and the ubiquity of technol-
ogy might provide a more robust view of the news, citizens desperately
need the Fourth estate to provide depth, context, and analysis that only
comes with experience and the sharpening of the craft. Without the
work of journalists, the citizens — the electorate — lose a critical voice
in the process of civic decision-making.
This is the media ecosystem in which we live in this election cycle.
Candidates and voters speak directly to one another, unfiltered. News
organizations use the Internet to connect with and leverage audiences
in new ways. Activists, issue groups, campaigns, and voters all advocate
for, learn about, and discuss issues on the same level platform. youTube
has become a major force in this new media environment by offering
new opportunities and new challenges. For those who have embraced
them — and their numbers grow rapidly every day — the opportunity to
influence the discussion is great. For those who haven’t, they ignore the
opportunity at their own peril.1314avoiding PlagiariSm
Whether you paraphrase, summarize, or synthesize, it is essential that
you acknowledge your sources. Academic writing requires you to use and
document sources appropriately, making clear to readers the boundaries
between your words and ideas and those of other writers. Setting boundar-
ies can be a challenge because so much of academic writing involves inter-
weaving the ideas of others into your own argument. Still, no matter how
difficult, you must acknowledge your sources. It’s only fair. Imagine how
you would feel if you were reading a text and discovered that the writer
had incorporated a passage from one of your papers, something you slaved
over, without giving you credit. you would see yourself as a victim of pla-
giarism, and you would be justified in feeling very angry indeed.
In fact, plagiarism — the unacknowledged use of another’s work,
passed off as one’s own — is a most serious breach of academic integrity,
and colleges and universities deal with it severely. If you are caught pla-
giarizing in your work for a class, you can expect to fail that class and may
even be expelled from your college or university. Furthermore, although
a failing grade on a paper or in a course, honestly come by, is unlikely
to deter an employer from hiring you, the stigma of plagiarism can come
back to haunt you when you apply for a job. Any violation of the principles
set forth in Table 7.1 could have serious consequences for your academic
and professional career.07_GRE_5344_Ch7_151_210.indd 192 11/19/14 1:59 PM