Student Name: Joalyn Myers
Student Identification Number: GA1500172
Student Mailing Address: Bath Village, Charlestown, St. Kitts & Nevis, West Indies
Student E-mail Address: malsette@hotmail.com
Student Phone Numbers: Day: 869-665-2262 Evening: 869-665-2262 Cell: 869-665-2262 Fax: None
Course Number and Title MT600 Management Orientation
Assignment Number and Title Activity 1_01 Orientation to Graduate Studies

PART B

Undertaking a Masters Program of any kind is very time consuming and mentally challenging. It requires a lot more critical thinking than a Bachelors degree program and you have to be prepared to put in the effort. There are some concepts that were discussed in the Lecture and Research Update that will help me to complete my graduate program; three of which are: setting goals and completing tasks, systematically working through the coursework and using the APA (American Psychological Association) format for presenting work completed.

The Masters Program at Ashworth College is self-paced with no deadlines but it has a syllabus so it is easy to follow. Having no deadlines may lead to procrastination; therefore it is imperative that I manage my time to complete my studies. I would schedule blocks of regular study time by using a calendar and trying to follow it. As with all plans; occasionally other situations arise that will force me to readjust my schedule. Instead of making up the time lost I will just continue from where I left off with my new schedule. The activities given for me to complete my lessons may be too much to do at any one time, so I will break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks that are easier to handle. As I complete each one, I will tick them off and before you know it I would have completed the first lesson, then my second lesson. Here is a recent situation I experienced. I had planned to study for one and a half hours for five days this week. My first day went as scheduled. Then on the second day my baby got sick when I picked him up from daycare; so I was not able to complete my studies for that day. On the third day after studying for half an hour, my neighbor called me to help her with a project, and I finished too late to continue studying. On the fourth day I met with better luck and I completed my study session and even put in an extra half an hour to catch up from the day before. Finally on the last day of my study session for the week I had an impromptu budget meeting for work. It is clear to see that although I had seven and a half hours of studying scheduled for the week I only completed four hours. Next week I will readjust my schedule and try to accommodate my study sessions regardless of what is going on around me. This does not mean that I would not have to readjust again. I also know that it is important that I don’t give up.

Systematic study is important to understanding my coursework. Reading haphazardly and skipping out sections may be to my detriment. To get the most out of my reading assignments can be done by previewing first and reading the summary of notes if it has one and also previewing my requisite assignments. These notes will help me to start formulating my answers for my assignments while I read and review my reading assignments and keep notes; this method has proven to work. I will not understand everything on the first read so I always review my reading assignments and notes as many times as necessary. I always take note of new vocabulary terms and find the meanings in context. There are many additional required readings from Proquest and companion textbook websites that I also must examine and study to add to the information I would have gleaned from the reading assignments. The review questions help me to self check what I have learned and it is most vital to verify if I have read and understood all of the reading assignments correctly. Once I have done so I would be able to complete my required activities, discussion questions or multiple choice questions and return a high to satisfactory grade for my efforts. Ashworth College requires that assignments be presented in the APA format. This format covers in-text citations such as quotations, paraphrases and summaries, as well as reference lists and bibliographies. My assignments will not be all original thought and I may need to expand on the ideas of someone else. It is therefore important when writing papers to cite sources properly and consistently as not to plagiarize; a practice that can get me expelled from college. An example of each (quotation, paraphrase and bibliography) in this order is as follows:

1. Professionals believe that such business practices “are detrimental to employee morale” (Sims, 2003, p. 21) and should be monitored very carefully.
2. Once Shapiro (1977) reported the results of her research, health officials took the effects of stress on single mothers more seriously.
3. Sovereign, K. L. (1999). Personnel law (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Chs. 8-9, pp. 112-136.

An APA Style Guide is available at www.apastyle.org for further study.

In conclusion, although my Masters program will be tough I have to have the will power to follow through. That is why it is important that I do not procrastinate but set goals and try to complete my assignments in a timely manner. The coursework required from me at this level will be hard and requires writing lengthy papers but once I systematically go through it, I will be well on my way to completing my degree. I could present my best work but if it not in the correct APA format requested by Ashworth college it would have been for naught.

PART C

1. PowerPoint presentation on what plagiarism is, what its penalties are and how it can be avoided.

PART C

2. Script for PowerPoint Presentation on what plagiarism is, what its penalties are and how it can be avoided.

Good morning students and welcome to the first in a series of Ashworth College Orientation classes for Graduate students. .

(Slide 1) I am Joalyn Myers, Academic Advisor at Nevis College and I was invited to speak on the issue of plagiarism, which is a recurring and rising issue in many colleges that needs to be eradicated.

(Slide 2, click once) I have studied Management and Human Resources. Although my schedule at the college is tough, I do spend quality time with my husband named Jason and my two kids: Juanee – a girl and Jaston – a boy. I also enjoy reading and swimming in my spare time.

(Slide 3, click once) Today we will discuss plagiarism, what it is, we’ll look at some examples and we will especially pin point how to avoid doing it.

(Slide 4, click once) Plagiarism is basically using others work (whether it be ideas, words, music, processes etc…) and NOT giving due credit. Imagine how you would feel, if someone stole your lottery ticket and claimed the $100, 000 and did not give you any? I am sure you would be devastated. So plagiarism is similar. You would be stealing.

(Slide 5, click once) There are three basic ways students plagiarize. One – by not quoting properly and not acknowledging the source, two – paraphrasing by just changing a few words and calling it their own, and three – citing, where you use other people’s work and either fail to acknowledge them totally or you cite the wrong source.

(Slide 6, click once) Let’s go through a couple of examples. Ashworth College requires the APA (American Psychological Association) format when presenting assignments. Take note that when quoting pay attention to punctuation marks and authors. This slide shows a direct quotation when the author is not named in the text.
(Slide 7, click once) This other slide shows a direct quotation when the author is named in the text. Look at the difference in how the author is used in this quotation.
(Slide 8, click once) Students often think that paraphrasing means changing a couple of words around. But they do not realize they still maintain the structure by doing that. Thus it is a good idea when taking notes to write from memory how you understand the information.
(Slide 9, click once) When doing citations, look back at your APA notes to get the correct format. Also it is important when writing down quotes to take note where they come from right away. So that later on you would not get confused or cannot find your source and end up using the wrong one.
(Slide 10, click once) Every year students and parents take huge loans to accommodate studying at college. It would be devastating to be kicked out of school and be left with a student loan to repay and you don’t have a degree to show for it. Be mindful NOT to plagiarize in any form which leads to suspension and sometimes expulsion all together. These reports do follow you even into your professional life. You would not want that hanging over your head and prevent you from getting a good job.
(Slide 11, click once) Students often go through great lengths to plagiarize not realizing that it takes less effort not to. Take careful notes, write from memory and try to use as few quotes as necessary although you have to use some at a point in time.
(Slide 12, click once) I have come to the end of my presentation and I hope that this will help you throughout graduate school and beyond. Did anyone notice that I had a bibliography? And most importantly, I did not plagiarize. (Slide 13, click once) Thanks for listening and now I will entertain questions.

PART C

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

1. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2015, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plagiarism

2. How to Avoid Plagiarism. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2015, from http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Plagiarism

3. Texas A&M University Libraries. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2015, from https://library.tamu.edu/help/help-yourself/using-materials-services/online- tutorials/academic-integrity/academic-integrity-6.html 4. Ashworth College. (2013). A student's guide to avoiding plagiarism. Norcross, Georgia: Ashworth College.