Ownership of Written Text and Academic Integrity

Personal choice and motivation to write on a particular topic means that a writer is invested in belonging to a discourse community, which is a group that shares a specific interest. For instance, one can contend that engaging with a group of embroidery enthusiasts may not be everyone’s special interest. Belonging to such a community will require some basic understanding of the practice (for example, cross stitch versus chain stitch) leading to advanced knowledge (for example, photo stitch). In the same way, selection of a topic is a learning objective and not an arbitrary decision. In other words, the choice of a topic is closely related to owning the responsibility to learn adequately, not just to pass a course but also to develop personal connections.

Let’s say, a writing course instructor decides that as a class they will develop an understanding of academic writing by exploring a common albeit broad focus area, such as the influence of media in society. In relation to course goals and assignments, the learner should shift their focus toward preparing a list of associations.

Strategy 2. List, observe, connect

• • What do I know of media’s social influence?
    • Social media platforms
      • Frequency of personal use
      • History of social media platforms
      • Development of such platforms (coding, algorithms)
      • Spread of social media: Outreach and impact
      • … Additional criteria can be included here.
    • How do I communicate in my social groups/ with family and friends?
    • Availability of media platforms in my country (Is there restricted access to certain sites?)
    • Changing nature of media communication (digital news sites, fake news, doctored images, suspension of accounts due to rule violation)
    • … Think of other personal associations.
  • I am a … (add your academic discipline of choice) major. What role does the media play in my academic field?
  • Have I been assigned readings on the topic?
  • Do I need more resource support to understand the topic?
  • … Add other questions that connect the course and topic.

Listing associations is a valuable starting point for crafting authorial voice and standards for personal integrity at academic institutions. Authorial voice is closely related to a writer’s identity. The personal pronoun ‘I’ and passive-versus-active voice are common grammatical markers for voice. The use of authorial voice has been viewed by researchers (for example, Canarajah, 2015) as a performance of the writer’s position, bias, and preferred arguments on an issue which may change over time and with experience. Academic integrity is another common reference point for researchers, educators, and learners that impacts the ethos behind authorship. Academic integrity can also be interpreted as a call for action: Participate in knowledge building through resolute, responsive, responsible, and honest engagement with your field of interest.