Currently, most students don’t take time to think before
they write. They don’t “digest” the information they’ve gathered. And because
this critical step isn’t part of their prewriting process, they sometimes end
up plagiarizing.

You see, plagiarizing isn’t merely the result of students
being lazy. It occurs because students lack the skills necessary to put
the information they’ve collected through our own personal filters and making
their own meaning.

When students are able add a piece of themselves to their
drafts, they can move beyond writing dry, encyclopedic survey pieces that mimic
their sources and begin crafting rich, distinctive prose.

How
can students learn these critical skills? I’ll share some of the suggestions in
Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep
over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.