My friend Nick Kennicott was kind enough to post a penetrating question in response to my last post about the industry built around plagiarism. Nick pointed out that "Ed Dante" argued (towards the end of his article) that the academic system tolerates if not encourages plagiarism. Can a case be made that universities are to blame? This strikes me as a complex subject, and one of those times where blogging helps me formulate and develop my thoughts. Here's where I'm at for now, and I welcome any new insights: 1. The reward system for faculty at some schools is all about research, not … [Read more...] about Who is responsible for academic plagiarism?
Thriving at College
Why is Thriving at College so long?
A few people have raised the question to me in some form or another: "Why is Thriving at College so long? I'd like to give it to my high school graduates, but I'm not sure they'd read it." Though I've replied to a few e-mails and blog posts, I thought this might be a good place to summarize my thoughts. Thriving at College is intended to be comprehensive in its scope. Other books have given in-depth treatment to the intellectual challenges Christians face from atheism and relativism, particularly in secular university environments. I wanted to address these matters, but I also wanted to … [Read more...] about Why is Thriving at College so long?
The industry built around academic plagiarism
"Ed Dante" earns $66,000/year writing other people's papers for them. He works for an online firm that receives requests, charges large fees, and writes papers for students. [Yes, these do exist.] Essays for English classes, reports for history courses, business proposals, even graduate theses in any number of subjects. You name it. Mr. Dante (no doubt a pseudonym) chronicled the nature of his rather shameless employment in a (not surprisingly) well-written, sometimes humorous, and thoroughly devastating article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education. An excerpt: In the past … [Read more...] about The industry built around academic plagiarism
Evangeline Han interviews me about Thriving at College
Evangeline Han has posted an interview with me about Thriving at College. Check out her post - she's giving away a free copy of Thriving at College. Here's an excerpt (my full answer is on her blog): In the preface of Thriving at College, you wrote that your “college years could have been better” and that you wish you can give your younger-self advice. How did you go from your college-self to a person who writes advice for college students? Many intervening years passed in between..... ...I wrote Thriving at College to help students do all four of these well: To not just keep the … [Read more...] about Evangeline Han interviews me about Thriving at College
Two New Reviews of Thriving at College
A big thank you to Holly Ordway and Evangeline Han for taking the time to review Thriving at College. And a big thank you to Kevin Fiske for pointing out that Thriving at College would make a great gift for graduating seniors. Speaking of which, hats off to WTS Books for offering an additional 5% off to those who order 10 or more copies. I can also do group discounts and case discounts via the links on the right side of this website - works conveniently via Paypal, whether you have a Paypal account or not. … [Read more...] about Two New Reviews of Thriving at College
Free E-Copy of In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson
Amazon has run out of copies of Thriving at College about 3 or 4 times in the last 5 weeks. Just this week, they got new inventory, and now are back down to 4 copies left. So let's teach them a lesson and have some fun. The goal is to blow out the 4 copies ASAP. Order a copy of Thriving at College and I'll send you a free e-copy of In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson (courtesy of Reformation Trust). Really simple: Contact me when you've bought a copy of Thriving at College from Amazon. I'll e-mail you the free e-copy of In Christ Alone. … [Read more...] about Free E-Copy of In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson