MWP2: Precis 3: “Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Cheating: The Influence Of Direct Knowledge And Attitudes On Academic Dishonesty”

                In the article “Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Cheating: The Influence Of Direct Knowledge And Attitudes On Academic Dishonesty” (2010) by David A. Rettinger, et al, the authors claim that an increase in reporting of cheating would deter cheaters because others would see cheaters being caught. The authors support this claim with an experiment involving social variables and aspects, which the findings state that people are more likely to cheat when they see others go unpunished for cheating. The purpose of this article is to inform about research regarding cheating in order to present more information about how to deter cheating. The audience for this article is a group of college-educated people, because it is very long, includes a few statistical charts, and is written like a lab report, which suggests educated people would read it.

Rettinger, David A., et al. "Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Cheating: The Influence Of Direct Knowledge And Attitudes On Academic Dishonesty." Ethics & Behavior 20.1 (2010): 47-64. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Mar. 2012.

MWP2: Rhetorical Precis "Methods of cheating and Deterrents to Classroom Cheating: An International Study"

In the article “Methods Of Cheating And Deterrents To Classroom Cheating: An International Study” by Michael B. Witek, et al., the authors claims that cheating has increased since 1942 and that some methods can be used to deter cheating. The authors support this claim by providing statistical information and graphs which prove that cheating has increased since 1942 and also by reporting data of an experiment where a group of people were asked how certain deterrents of cheating and punishments of cheating would help the issue of cheating. The purpose of this article is to inform people how to attempt to prevent cheating in order to reduce the amount of cheating. The intended audience for this article is a group of college educated people, because difficult terminology is used and statistical data and a long length are utilized by the paper, along with the organization of a lab report.

Michael B. Witek, et al. "Methods Of Cheating And Deterrents To Classroom Cheating: An International Study." Ethics & Behavior 18.4 (2008): 373-391. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Mar. 2012.

MWP2: Working Thesis

                Current methods for battling cheating do not work, and new solutions taken from different points of view are required, such as increasing the respectfulness of teachers and changing the classroom environment, increasing the punishments for cheating, having teachers take other precautions, and an increase in the social awareness of cheating.

"Zoom in on the Problem" Summary

            Cheating is a very large problem in schools today.  Cheating is when one student uses the work of another, with or without the other’s permission. Cheating can include taking answers from another student on a test, copying another’s homework answers if the instructor prohibits such activity, and various forms of plagiarism. The issue which is focused on here is cheating on tests, which avoids the subject of plagiarism altogether and falls more under the category of “academic dishonesty.” Cheating is morally wrong, and is considered a serious problem by people. Cheating, in general, affects the cheaters the most, because the one who does the cheating is missing out on the knowledge obtained when not cheating. Teachers are also affected by cheating, because they have to deal with cheating and its effects, and also attempt to prevent cheating. Also, cheating affects the administration of schools, which have to take punitive action against cheaters, which increases the amount of work they have to do. Finally, cheating also affects those who do not cheat, because it creates an unfair advantage for those who do cheat when the one who cheats is not caught; this, in turn, can lead to the one who was following the rules to attempt cheating, to “level the playing field.” Many people have different theories as to what causes cheating; however, all of the causes are not yet known, but laziness and simply not caring about the respective class are definite causes. People have tried for many years to stop this cheating; however, so far, none have been successful in preventing cheating, and some may argue cheating has actually increased recently. The people who have tried to remedy this problem have not succeeded because the issue is being looked at the wrong way; it needs to be examined from a different point of view, and new solutions need to be presented, which may need to focus on other people rather than simply the students to obtain results. If the problem is not solved, cheating will continue, and eventually people will give up attempting to find a solution, which will lead to a generation of students who either cheat or were negatively affected by cheating. To summarize: People should attempt to find new and different solutions to the problem of cheating because the current methods to remedy the problem do not work to maximum efficiency.

Problem Paper: "Predictors of Cheating and Cheating Attributions..." precis

In Tamera B. Murdock, Anne S. Beauchamp, and Amber M. Hinton’s article “Predictors Of Cheating And Cheating Attributions: Does Classroom Context Influence Cheating And Blame For Cheating?,” the authors claim that acceptance for cheating in school can be attributed to perceptions of the fairness of the classroom and traits of the teacher, such as respectfulness and competence. To support this claim, the authors present their study in which a group of students were given scenarios regarding things such as the classroom fairness and teacher traits, and asked to answer questions about various justifications for cheating, which concluded that students do cheat more when they perceive the classroom and teacher negatively. The purpose of this article is to present the findings of a study in order to try to find more reasons for why students cheat. The intended audience for this article is a group of psychologists, because the study is very organized and uses high level terminology, but also includes statistical data that is more difficult to interpret.

Works Cited

Murdock, Tamera B., Anne S. Beauchamp, and Amber M. Hinton. "Predictors Of Cheating And Cheating Attributions: Does Classroom Context Influence Cheating And Blame For Cheating?." European Journal Of Psychology Of Education - EJPE (Instituto Superior De Psicologia Aplicada) 23.4 (2008): 477-492. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Mar. 2012.

Rhetorical Precis on Chapter 13 of Good Reasons

In the thirteenth Chapter, “Proposal Arguments,” of Good Reasons (2012), Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer claim that proposal arguments consist of an argument that someone should do something. The authors back this claim up by giving step-by-step instructions on how to make a proposal argument and provide good reasons and ways to do this, including “Stating a proposed solution” and “Demonstrating that the solution is feasible,” whilst also providing two examples of proposal arguments. (Faigley and Selzer 186) The purpose of this Chapter is to instruct on how to create a proposal argument in order to increase the ability of the reader to create good proposal arguments. The intended audience of this Chapter  is a group of college students, because the vocabulary and topics described are at a college level, and one of the examples consists solely about life at a college, specifically.

Works Cited

Faigley, Lester and Jack Selzer. Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments. Chicago: Pearson, 2012. Print

MWP1: Precis 8: “Can Music Preference Indicate Mental Health Status In Young People?”

           In the article “Can Music Preference Indicate Mental Health Status In Young People?” (2008) by Felicity Baker and William Bor, the authors state that more studies need to be done about music’s effect on youth. The authors support this statement by presenting many different studies by a variety of organizations that contradict each other, with each source coming to its own unique conclusion. The purpose of this article is to present a collection of information in order to prove that there is no definitive answer about the effects of music on adolescents. The intended audience for this article is a group of people who are familiar with psychology but are not experts, as the language is difficult but not ridiculously long and is still able to be understood by the average person.

Baker, Felicity, and William Bor. "Can Music Preference Indicate Mental Health Status In Young People?." Australasian Psychiatry 16.4 (2008): 284-288. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.