Skip to Main Content

Identifying Plagiarism: Academic Conversation

Academic Conversation

Contributing to the Academic Conversation

Another important concept in scholarship is the idea of academic works as part of an academic conversation.

When you consider an academic work as part of a conversation, you are taking into consideration developments, discoveries, and innovations in a field over the course of time. In academia, no single article is the definitive answer to an issue. It is a tool that can help you put that work into context within its field.

It can be helpful to think about the work you create existing in a larger conversation about that topic.

Citing sources used in your work acknowledges contributions to an academic conversation, just as you would acknowledge previous contributions in a face-to-face conversation. Citations can help you consider:

  • How do your sources relate to each other?
  • How does your work build upon the work of others?
  • How does your work contribute to the conversation (going forward)?
  • It helps a reader follow the conversation about a topic more clearly.