AI Generated Content

Excerpt from a published article, run through Quillbot:

A. Original Article:

• “What’s So Funny? The Science of Why We Laugh”
• Author: Giovanni Sabato
• Journal: Scientific American
• Date: June 26, 2019

B. Excerpt (original passage) from Sabato’s article:

McGraw and Warren’s hypothesis derives from the theory of incongruity, but it goes deeper. Humor results, they propose, when a person simultaneously recognizes both that an ethical, social or physical norm has been violated and that this violation is not very offensive, reprehensible or upsetting. Hence, someone who judges a violation as no big deal will be amused, whereas someone who finds it scandalous, disgusting or simply uninteresting will not.

Experimental findings from studies conducted by McGraw and Warren corroborate the hypothesis. Consider, for example, the story of a church that recruits the faithful by entering into a raffle for an SUV anyone who joins in the next six months. Study participants all judged the situation to be incongruous, but only nonbelievers readily laughed at it.

C. The above passage run through Quillbot Premium (“Creative” mode):

The hypothesis proposed by McGraw and Warren expands upon the theory of incongruity. They argue that one experiences humor when they are aware of a violation of an ethical, social, or physical norm but do not find the violation to be particularly offensive, reprehensible, or upsetting. That's why some people find breaking the rules funny while others find it scandalous, disgusting, or just plain boring.

McGraw and Warren's experimental results are consistent with the hypothesis. Take the example of a church that offers a chance to win an SUV to anyone who signs up for membership within the next six months. All of the people in the study agreed that something was amiss, but only the agnostics openly found humor in it.

D. Alternate Routes to Avoid Plagiarism

• Paraphrase the original passage in your own words and include in-text citations. (See the Paraphrasing Mishaps section below for more information.)
  • In the Scientific American article “What’s So Funny? The Science of Why We Laugh,” author Giovanni Sabato refers to a study published in Psychological Science in 2010 by A. Peter McGraw and Caleb Warren. McGraw and Warren’s theory, based on the theory of incongruity, is called “benign violation.” Their research confirms the hypothesis that if someone is offended by the violation of a social norm, then they will not find it humorous. On the other hand, the theory states that if someone considers a violation to be harmless, then they will find it funny. The study used the example of a church trying to recruit people by raffling an SUV to new members. Participants agreed that this was incongruous, but only the nonreligious participants laughed at the story (Sabato).
• Add your own commentary or example after the paraphrased information from the source.

This study shows that incongruity alone is not enough to explain what makes something funny. Just because something is unexpected, that doesn’t automatically make it humorous. For example, if a student walks into class to discover that the substitute teacher is their own mother, they will probably be somewhat mortified, but their classmates are likely to be amused by the unlikely situation because it doesn’t cause any discomfort to them.

Excerpt from another student’s essay, run through Quillbot:

Original Essay (written by another student):

Submitted in May 2022 in partial fulfillment of ENG 1010

Excerpt (passage from original essay):

Some people may argue that, although Remem’s perfect digital memory helps people get proper justice, it may be detrimental in other ways. They ask, Will people ever be able to forgive and forget what they did to them? Seeing as Remem records every moment of our lives that we can recall at any moment, would we ever be able to live down those times that hurt? And in short, yes. Even with organic memory, most will remember those times that really hurt. Whether someone insulted you, stabbed you in the back, whatever it may be, if it was bad enough, we never really forget. That’s why Remem doesn’t really affect that part of our lives. Remem offers you the chance to see things how they really are. If anything, it helps you in this regard. In the episode of Black Mirror, “The Entire History of You,” the main character, Liam, is faced with a difficult situation. He suspects his wife, Fi, is cheating on him. With the help of Remem, or the Grain, he was able to discover the truth. She was cheating on him, and he was done with her. Without this, he would have been played like a fiddle and Fi would have gotten away with her wrong doings.

The above passage run through Quillbot Premium (“Creative” mode):

Even if Remem's flawless digital memory helps people receive just compensation, some would claim that it has other negative effects. They query Will people ever be able to forget what they done to them and forgive them? Would we ever be able to move past those painful moments given that Remem captures every moment of our life that we may remember at any time? In a word, yeah. Most people will remember those painful moments even if they have organic memory. We never truly forget anything that was horrible enough, regardless of whether it was an insult or a backstab. Remem thus doesn't really have an impact on that aspect of our existence. You have the opportunity to perceive things for what they truly are using Remem. You benefit from it in this regard if anything. “The Entire History of You," a Black Mirror episode, shows Liam, the main character, is put in a challenging circumstance. Fi, his wife, is allegedly cheating on him, he believes. He was able to learn the truth with the aid of Remem, or the Grain. He was done with her since she had been unfaithful to him. Without it, Fi would have gotten away with her wrongdoing, and he would have been treated like a fiddle.

Alternate Routes to Avoid Plagiarism:

• If you are having trouble coming up with your own ideas to write about, make time to discuss the assignment one-on-one with your instructor, a Writing Center consultant, or a classmate.
• Try some brainstorming tools to help you generate your own ideas.

Example: The introductory paragraph of a student essay run through Grammarly Pro

Original Introduction (adapted from a submission by a student in ENG 1010 in Fall 2024):

A little bit of information on how Screen Time effected me bad starting in middle school like 8th. I was supposed to be in bed by a strict bed time which was to be in bed by 10:30 meaning tv, phone, etc everything turned off and I had to go to sleep around that time in which my dad gave me that strict bedtime. He would of came into my room sometimes even to make sure I was sleeping and not awake. But sometimes I would fake sleep and wait for my parents to actually be asleep so I can get up get on my phone and play any kinda games I want or watch any kinds of videos on my pone that I wanted to. So then of course I stayed up way too late didn’t get enough sleep and was always falling asleep in class or just not paying attention or even being on my phone in class scrolling instead of paying attention to the teacher. So yeah, Screen Time has been pretty out of control for me since day one when I got my first phone in middle school and even until now in college especially since I don’t have my mom or dad telling me to get off my phone and study or go to sleep.

The above introduction run through Grammarly Pro:

I would like to share a bit about how screen time has impacted me, starting in middle school, specifically in 8th grade. I was supposed to be in bed by 10:30 PM, which meant that all screens—TV, phone, etc.—were supposed to be turned off. My dad enforced a strict bedtime, and sometimes he would check on me to ensure I was actually sleeping and not awake. However, there were times when I would fake being asleep and wait for my parents to go to bed so I could sneak out and use my phone. I played games or watched videos late into the night. This, of course, led to me staying up far too late, resulting in not getting enough sleep. As a result, I often found myself falling asleep in class or distractedly scrolling through my phone instead of paying attention to the teacher. This behavior contributed to poor academic performance and a constant sense of tiredness. Fortunately, I've learned from these experiences and now have strategies in place to manage my screen time. I set specific times for phone use and prioritize sleep. Overall, my screen time has been quite out of control since I got my first phone in middle school, and it continues to be a challenge now that I'm in college, especially since I no longer have my parents reminding me to put my phone down and focus on studying or getting enough sleep.

Alternative Routes to Avoid Plagiarism:

• Stick to the free version of Grammarly or the standard spelling and grammar checking tools available on Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
• Plan ahead so you have time to work with your instructor or a Writing Center consultant to revise your rough draft in order to develop your ideas further and improve your writing style while still maintaining your own unique voice as a writer.