EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers

EXERCISE 63–4Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers

Read the following passage and the information about its source. Then decide whether each student sample is plagiarized or uses the source correctly. If the student sample is plagiarized, click on Plagiarized; if the sample is acceptable, click on OK.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Years after the battle [Battle of the Little Bighorn] a number of Indians claimed that the soldiers became so terrified they dropped their guns. In fact, quite a few did drop their guns or throw them aside, although not necessarily in panic. The guns occasionally jammed because the soft copper shells—unlike hard brass—could be deformed by exploding powder, causing them to stick in the breech. Furthermore, troopers often carried loose ammunition in saddlebags where it was easily damaged. Another possible reason turned up when one of [Major] Reno’s men talked with an ordnance officer. This officer subsequently wrote to the Chief of Ordnance that Custer’s troops used ammunition belts made from scrap leather. The copper shells “thus had become covered with a coating of verdigris and extraneous matter, which had made it difficult to even put them in the chamber before the gun had been discharged at all. Upon discharge the verdigris and extraneous matter formed a cement which held the sides of the cartridge in place against the action of the ejector. . . . ”

Whatever the cause, it could take some time to pry a deformed shell out of the breech, or one that had been cemented in place, which explains why troopers under attack occasionally threw aside their rifles. To the Indians it must have appeared that a soldier who did this was terrified—as of course he might have been—but at the same time he might have been enraged.

From Connell, Evan S. Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1984.

[The source passage is from pages 306-7.]

1 of 10

Question

EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers - 1 of 10: Evan S. Connell admits that many soldiers at the Battle of the Little Bighorn “did drop their guns or throw them aside” but argues that they did so “not necessarily in panic.”1

2 of 10

Question

EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers - 2 of 10: According to Evan S. Connell, a number of Indians claimed that the soldiers at the Battle of the Little Bighorn were so frightened they dropped their weapons.2

3 of 10

Question

EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers - 3 of 10: As Evan S. Connell notes, the soldiers’ guns at the Battle of the Little Bighorn might have jammed because the soft copper shells could be deformed by exploding powder, causing them to stick in the breech.3

4 of 10

Question

EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers - 4 of 10: Accepting the testimony that some soldiers at the Battle of the Little Bighorn abandoned their weapons, Evan S. Connell explains that the bullets had a disastrous tendency to stick in the soldiers’ guns.4

5 of 10

Question

EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers - 5 of 10: Evan S. Connell points out that the weapons occasionally failed to fire because the pliant copper bullets—as opposed to hard brass—had been bent out of shape by detonating gunpowder, making them jam in the breech; in addition, loose ammunition was often toted in saddlebags where it was easily deformed.5

6 of 10

Question

EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers - 6 of 10: Imagining Custer’s men struggling to pry bullets out of their jammed guns in the heat of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Evan S. Connell convincingly argues that while the soldiers might indeed have been frenzied with fear, those who decided to abandon their weapons probably did not act out of irrational panic.6

7 of 10

Question

EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers - 7 of 10: Evan S. Connell explains that in a letter to the Chief of Ordnance, an officer reported that Custer’s troops used ammunition belts made from scrap leather and suggested that residue from the leather could have caused some shells to jam.7

8 of 10

Question

EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers - 8 of 10: An officer under the command of Reno reported that the soldiers’ leather ammunition belts coated the shells with a substance that sometimes made the guns jam, according to Evan S. Connell.8

9 of 10

Question

EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers - 9 of 10: When the guns jammed, Evan S. Connell notes, it could take some time to pry a deformed shell out of the breech, or one that had been cemented in place, which explains why troopers under attack occasionally threw aside their rifles.

10 of 10

Question

EXERCISE 63–4 Avoiding plagiarism in Chicago papers - 10 of 10: “To the Indians,” Evan S. Connell writes, “it must have appeared that a soldier who [threw aside his rifle] was terrified—as of course he might have been—but at the same time he might have been enraged.”9