ERRLINES AND ERRORPLANES

To err is human; to forgive, divine; but to plagiarise is to simply unacceptable. We all know that journalism has been struggling to survive in UI for some years now, and many have been trying their best to bring back those glory days. But now that brazen and uncurbed plagiarism (we prefer to call it “intellectual robbery”) is the order of the day, we do not think those days will ever be back. Check out our Crash of the Week to know why we think that way. Errors and omissions are highlighted in GREEN. [Crash Types: Type 1 (Monocrash); Type 2 (Bi-crash); Type 3 (Polycrash)]

1. Errline: ACLAS PRESS (CLA)

Errorplane: BUT WHERE IS THE DIGNITY? (Opinion)                   Crash Type: Type 3 (Polycrash)

Black box information: It is very shameful how things which were once appalling and disgusting are now becoming accustomed by people of this age. A good example of this is the manner in which ladies with the backdrop of civilisation and culture drift wear revealing cloths and call it fashion. (Paragraph) Each day I set out to school, I ponder within on those old stories of my grandmother about the prestige attached to the female personalities…What I now see among nowadays females seems to be violating the prestige attached to their beings. (Paragraph) Comparing nowadays dressing to the old times dressing, we will indeed agree that there is a wide discrepancy between the two…But today, the story has changed as some ladies and women do not see it as demeaning to their prestige to go to the market and shop clothes that will only left their cleavages and boobs uncared for.

Error-nautical remark: 1. Let’s start with that last one in red-“boobs”. How do you expect people to take you serious when you are using a slang word like “boobs” in an article with a theme as serious as this? 2. “Things” do not get “accustomed by people”; it’s the other way round-people get/become/grow accustomed to things. 3. It’s “against the backdrop”, not “with the backdrop”. 4. There is a difference between “cloths” and “clothes”. You should have used the latter there. 5. You set out to do something, but you set out for a place. Hence, you cannot set out to school. 6. What exactly do you mean by “nowadays females” and “nowadays dressing”, ehn? “Nowadays” is an adverb, not an adjective, so it cannot qualify or modify a noun. You can have “females of nowadays” sha. And then, “old times dressing”- you can change that to “dressing of those days”-dat one is betta small. 7. “Demeaning” is used directly in relation to the person, not to the person’s prestige, character, etc. 8. “…go to the market and shop clothes that will only left…”-you do not shop things; you shop for them. 9. “Ponder within”-were you planning to ponder without before ni? Don’t be a big learner o.

2. Errline: AFAS PRESS

Errorplane: AFAS EXCURSION: THE FAILURE IN SUCCESS (Editorial)             Crash Type 1 (Monocrash)

Black box information: It is no more a news that the Afo-led administration has recorded another success over the last administration with the recent excursion that they just embarked upon. The administration seized the opportunity from the outset and did not give room to any barrier that wanted to barricade the road to the success of the programme. We give big kudos to the Afo-led administration for the great feat achieved. (Pargraph) However, there were some occurrences that denied the programme. The failure started right from home when there was not enough preparation for transportation which led to overloading. (Paragraph) In addition, the insufficient food at the night and the ganja boys made the camp disastrous for the sane.

Error-nautical remark: We could go on and on and on about what you felt were the “failures” of the excursion (not our business, anyway), but we would like to bring your attention to some serious mata here. Let’s start with “a news”-there is no doubt in us that you know that “news” is not a countable noun. Next, you said the administration recorded another success “with the recent excursion” and that the administration “did not give any room to any barrier that wanted to barricade the road to the success of the programme.” If these were true, how did the success in Paragraph 1 suddenly become a failure in Paragraph 2 and subsequent paragraphs, to the extent that the (excursion) programme was even “denied” by “some occurrences”? It is our opinion that words ought to be chosen very carefully when writing so as not to convey the wrong message to readers or even confuse them. After reading through your editorial, we discovered it would have been better if you had referred to those “failures” as “hitches” in the excursion programme.

3. Private Errline: WRITINGS OF THE ORE AFOLAYAN

Errorplane: WHAT MANNER OF BUDGET IS THIS: N21MILLION FOR STUDENTS UNION WEEK Crash Type: Type 3 (Polycrash)

Black box information: That Miss AkpaChidinma P. bears the intent of giving the generality of University of Ibadan students’ populace the best and most glamorous event…isn’t the cause of my disharmony. (Paragraph) The legislative house, headed by Rt. Hon. Egunjobi Ife, in its usual manner, were prompt to act by reducing the sums…it is germane to identify and bring to fore the inconsistencies inherent in the budget. (Paragraph) On this day, a whooping sum of N150,000 would be expended on sound system. Then, I’m made to wonder, what manner of sound system does Miss Chi intend to use on that day, will the sound system be louder than the biblical trumpet sound believed to be heard on the last day? Or will it be louder than that which was reported in the Bible to fall the Walls of Jericho?

Error-nautical remark: This is the Naira sign: N. Next, never forget the apostrophe in Students’ Union. Next, “populace” has no place in that first sentence, hence, what would be correct is: “the generality of University of Ibadan students”. Shikena! Next, “disharmony” doesn’t really fit in there. “Disharmony” isn’t really used to describe someone’s feelings. We can have racial disharmony, social disharmony and things like that, but not “my disharmony”. “Disquiet”, however, would have been perfectly okay. Next, even though “germane” is a synonym for “relevant”, they cannot be used interchangeably at all times. When something is “germane” to something else, it is connected with that other thing in an important way. “Germane” is a word used in a relationship between two nouns, e.g. “Keep your words germane to the discussion”; it is not a word used in a relationship verb and noun, e.g. “It is germane to identify the inconsistencies”. “Relevant” would be the word to use in that case. Next, there is a difference between “whooping” and “whopping”. There’s “whooping cough” and there’s “whopping sum”, but “whooping sum”? We don’t know about that one o.

CRASH OF THE WEEK

Errline: THPO (Tedder Press)

Errorplane 1: MAN PROPOSES WITH 99 iPHONES AND SHE SAID… (News)               Actual/Unaccredited Source: www.pulse.ng (11-11-2014)

Errorplane 2: OBJ IS NIGERIA’S PROBLEM-BAKARE (News)                  Actual/Unaccredited Source: THE NIGERIAN TRIBUNE (17-11-2014)

Errorplane 3: MUKHTAR RAISES HOPE FOR AUTOMATED COURTS (News)                         Actual/Unaccredited Source: THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER (17-11-2014)

Errorplane 4: MILITARY RECAPTURES CHIBOK FROM BOKO HARAM (News)                            Actual/Unaccredited Source: THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER (17-11-2014)

Errorplane 5: I WILL BE PRESIDENT IN 2015-OKOROCHA (News)                           Actual/Unaccredited Source: www.luckygist.com(10-11-2014)

Errorplane 6: AS OIL PRICES FALL: 2015 BUDGET TO BE REVIEWED- OKONJO-IWEALA(News)               Actual/Unaccredited Source: THE NIGERIAN TRIBUNE (17-11-2014)

Errorplane 7: 2015: IT’S TOO LATE TO TALK OF CONSENSUS IN APC NOW (News)                         Actual/Unaccredited Source: THE NIGERIAN TRIBUNE (17-11-2014)

Errorplane 8: ALL THE 13 OUTGOING GOVERNORS OF THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAVE REJECTED THEIR DEPUTIES AS THEIR SUCCESSORS, INVESTIGATIONS BY THE PUNCH HAVE REVEALED (News)                      Actual/Unaccredited Source: THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER (10-11-2014) (Original Title: 13 PDP GOVS REJECT DEPUTIES AS SUCCESSORS) (Note: That you acknowledged The Punch in your title does not make you escape liability here, for even your title was plagiarised and is actually the first paragraph of the controversial article.)

Errorplane 9-: Numerous bits of sports news.

(Plagiarism: To copy another person’s ideas, words or work and pretend that they are your own-Oxford Dictionary, 8^th Edition)

Special Release on Tedder Press by Mr. Forlan Kay, (President, UCJ)

If Tedder Press, being one of the oldest press organisations on campus, has to resort to something as illegal and shameful as plagiarism in order to survive, then I’d suggest we proscribe them sooner than later. Of all the articles on their board, only a poem and the editorial were accredited and original respectively, and even the editorial had to be double-checked by our crew to be sure it too was not plagiarised. Now, what I cannot fathom is how they can take all the time to copy and paste all those works and find it difficult to just write three, four words in acknowledgement of the original writers. It’s so sad, really.