Midterms Reaction Paper
The story of the career of former New Republic’s writer Stephen Glass taught many about the dangers of ignoring the importance of academic integrity. Academic integrity is the expectation that the members of the academic community act with honesty, truth, fairness, respect and responsibility with regards to their academic works (La Trobe University, n.d.). Stephen Glass was notorious for being caught fabricating many of the publications that he wrote (Ramkumar, 2016). His downfall as a journalist is an example of why academic integrity should not be disregarded for one’s short term benefit. Because academic integrity helps fuel new and original ideas and prevent misinformation and plagiarism, academic integrity should be enforced in any academic work.
Academic integrity should be required and expected in every academic work due to several reasons. Griffith University suggests that having academic integrity means that you are qualified for the workplace (n.d.). The film presented this fact by portraying Stephen Glass as a journalist who was not qualified in his profession because he did not have any academic integrity. Stephen Glass hid this fact by putting up lies after lies and after years of not having any academic integrity, he was finally caught and deemed unqualified for his position in the New Republic. As a viewer I learned that you cannot conceal your incompetence as a writer by faking academic integrity. Stephen Glass faked academic integrity by fabricating the sources in many of his works. Because of this, he had to face the consequences of his actions afterwards.
One of the many reasons why academic integrity should be enforced in every academic work is because it helps academic writers create more original and new ideas when writing. Academic integrity can guide you in the search for new knowledge (Western Sydney University, n.d.). Western Sydney University argues that you acknowledge the sources that you combined and used for your work when you have academic integrity because it shows that you understand the ideas that you used (n.d.). This helps you develop your knowledge and produce more fresh ideas when writing. Since Stephen Glass fabricated many of his resources, he did not deeply understand plenty of the things that he wrote. This could be seen when his arguments with his colleagues fell apart.
In addition to creating new ideas, academic integrity prevents plagiarism and fake information in academic works. According to TEQSA, plagiarism and the fabrication of information is a behavior that undermines academic integrity (n.d.). Plagiarism is the act of submitting a work without citing and acknowledging the source of information (TEQSA, n.d.). If Stephen Glass practiced proper academic integrity in his publications he would have not fabricated any information in the first place.
Academic integrity needs to be implemented in every academic work due to the fact that it is crucial in constructing brand new ideas and averting plagiarism and false information. By having academic integrity, you can show that you are qualified in writing academic works that can be trusted because it is not fabricated. Moreover, it tells the readers that you understand the topic well because of the knowledge you have developed from actual sources that you have cited, acknowledged, and not plagiarized. It is important that you avoid ignoring academic integrity because it can help keep you away from any serious consequences in the future. An academic work devoid of academic integrity might shatter you like Glass.
References
- Griffith University (n.d.). Why Academic Integrity matters. Retrieved from https://www.griffith.edu.au/academic-integrity/why-ai-matters
- La Trobe University (n.d.). Academic integrity: What is academic integrity? Retrieved from https://www.latrobe.edu.au/students/admin/academic-integrity
- Ramkumar, A. (2016, March 29). Discredited journalist Stephen Glass reveals $200,000 repayments to 4 magazines. The Chronicle. Retrieved from https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2016/03/discredited-journalist-stephen-glass-reveals-200000-repayments-to-4-magazines
- TEQSA (n.d.). What is academic integrity? Retrieved from https://www.teqsa.gov.au/what-academic-integrity
- Western Sydney University (n.d.) Why is academic integrity important? Retrieved from https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/studysmart/home/study_with_integrity/why_is_it_important