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How to reference in your grimoire

If you intend on sharing your grimoire with the public or you're a fan of a more academic style of writing then you're gonna want to reference your sources to avoid any kind of plagiarism.

You may have already learned how to reference at your college/uni, in which case follow that method, but if you haven't let me show you what i've been doing in my grimoire.

The referencing style I was taught in my degree is a form of APA 7th edition. This style is best for essays and small research papers and since my grimoire is essentially a bunch of mini contextual essays stuck together I thought it was appropriate.

Here's the format:

Author Surname, Author Initials. (Date of publication/release). Title of source: sub-heading/title of chapter. Publishing company/website. Place of publication/website link. [Format]

So for example, the book I'm currently reading is Buried by Professor Alice Roberts. If I were to reference this book in this format it would look something like this:

Roberts, A. (2023). Buried, An Alternative History of The First Millennium in Britain: Water and Wine. Simon and Schuster. London. [Book]

(Its up to you whether you decide to put the chapter before the book title, it doesn't make a difference, but I prefer doing it this way.)

This reference will need to follow an in-text citation. You can do that by adding a little number in parentheses next to your quote or paraphrase that corresponds to the number on your list of references OR you can make a mini reference following this method:

(Author Surname, Author Initials. (Date of publication). Page number if required)

So following this method an in-text citation would look like this:

(Roberts, A. (2023). p1)

Tips

If you are citing a source with multiple authors, organised them alphabetically by surname, your in text citation only needs to include the first one.

If you're referencing an online upload of an old source like Internet Archive or Project Gutenberg, include the original authors name first, uploaders name/ID second and mark which is which in parenthesis, then the date of original publication if you can find it, followed by the date it was uploaded to the site.

If you are referencing a film/TV episode, use the name of the director and include (Dir) next to their name.

If you can't find a date of publication/upload then write DNA instead.

Always put your references at the back of your grimoire. If your grimoire contains multiple chapters, group them by each chapter and then organise either alphabetically or chronologically. If your in-text citation uses numbers, organise your reference list chronologically. If you're using a mini reference, organise your reference list alphabetically.

This last bit is especially important for practitioners who intend to publish their work. Please please please do not skip referencing! I've read so many traditionally published witchcraft books who's authors don't do this or do it half-assed and I can't stand it.

Readers deserve to know where your information is coming from so they can be the judge on whether or not it's appropriate for them to practice themselves. Not doing so creates a cycle of ignorance among readers and new practitioners that encourages the spread of cultural appropriation, poor media literacy and poor historical and scientific understanding. Always cite your sources.

writing an A+ essay for the humanities courses by your TA, step by step:

First step is always to read your guidelines very carefully and take note of the format; this means the word limit, referencing style (MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard), and spacing. Write down the steps your professor expects (announcing your topic, first draft, meeting etc.) and their due dates.

finding your topic

🎀 start with your syllabus, is there any topic that you'd like to delve in to more? something that catches your attention? is there anything in your notes that you'd like to explore?

🎀 alternatively, you can take a look at your reading list and take note of journals that the articles were published in. you can write down some of the journal names and read through their latest publications through your library access for inspiration.

🎀 after you have a general idea of what you'd like to research, do an initial web search, a jstor search, and a library search. skim through the abstracts and selectively read what looks interesting to have an idea on this area of study and note down the kind of questions they try to answer in these papers.

🎀 book an appointment with your professor. chances are you're already required to let them know what you'll be writing on before you hand the paper in. so go to their office hours and tell them this is what you'd like to research, even if you're kind of scared or anxious or nervous, go and talk to them. they'll ask you some questions about how you'd like to go around researching your topic, and you can tell them about the kind of questions you found that could be interesting to pursue. they can advise you on how to narrow your topic down or point you towards some useful material. with that, you can start researching!

how to research

📚 while there is no one-size-fits-all research method, something helpful to do is picking out books on the topic and going through the bibliography. don't try to read everything ever written on this topic, but look at the abstracts and key words and skim through papers & books to find things relevant to your topic.

📚 definitely look into your professor's recommendations and you can jump from there, just bibliography hop and note down page numbers and citations on your word page that you'd like to use.

📚 as you read and note quotes, after some point you'll see a pattern and a shape of an argument forming in your head. arrange your quotes into logical sections that follow that argument and read a bit more to see if you can specifically find things written about that argument you've discovered. continue noting quotes.

📚 remember that for an undergrad paper, your professor will advise you on how many references you should ideally have in your paper and you should follow that. in your quotes stage, try to shoot a little bit higher than the advised number of bibliography you're expected to have. always, ALWAYS write your citations correctly with page numbers, even if you've paraphrased their arguments for your notes.

writing your paper

🩷 now, at some point you'll need to slow down on reading and start writing. you have some writing on your word page already, and chances are, you're already sitting with an over-the-word-limit paper just containing quotes. this is ideal.

✨️ start with trying to articulate your argument, and summarising the thread you've built with quotes. what is it that you're trying to answer here? how does it relate to your material (your primary source, this could be a literary book, an archaeological evidence, a building, an object, a painting, etc)?

🩷 do a little sectioning with your quotes, label 2 or 3 sections and group the quotes this way. then, write down what this group does, what do they argue for, what is the context of this argument, and how it relates to your argument.

✨️ go through all your sections like this. you can strike down some quotes, or choose to paraphrase them (you still need to cite them when you do this). try to use quotes that communicate with each other, or build a bridge between your different quotes. Add two more sections labeled: introduction, conclusion.

🩷 in the introduction you should give a brief context of your primary, verrrry brief, and then your argument that is stated as clearly as possible. you can give a short path as to how you're going to argue and what kind of proof you have; and also write down how you've organised your paper.

✨️ in the conclusion you summarise your argument and write down the implications of this in the general context of this area of study; what does it mean for this topic in general, what impact does it have, does your argument fill a gap, does it contradict the general consensus, does it prove that the general view is correct? you could write down what could be further studied for extra flair.

editing

🪸 check your citations, references, and bibliography. check them again. are they in the correct format? do they include all the information you need to provide? is it alphabetical? have you correctly gave references everywhere you needed to do and did not accidentally plagiarise anything?

🪸 check your spelling and grammar. try to do this about three days after you've written the paper. if you're pressed for time, have someone else read it for you. you will not be able to catch your grammatical errors after writing it because you become blind to your own writing after a certain time. if you want that A, the paper should look polished and have the correct formatting.

🪸 make sure your name is on the paper so you'll see it marked with an A+. Well done!

Okay so this is bothering me.

Doing research on tail docking I keep running across the claim that there was a tax in England on pet/non-working dogs, and docked tails were used as a way to show that a dog was used for work and thus exempt:

It sounds fine. It even makes sense when looking at dogs in England at the time that are docked versus ones that aren't.

But the thing about this claim- which I see referenced in academic journals: I CAN'T FIND A FUCKING SOURCE FOR IT.

I've found an article on a different dog tax that makes no mention of working dogs or docked tails, which is sometimes incorrectly cited as a source for this. I've been shown a countess mentioning this tax in a parliament debate thingy. The closest I've found to an original source is an old article in a periodical that makes reference to 'ancient forest laws.'

I haven't though found a single source that shows evidence that this tax was ever a thing.

WHERE did this come from? Was is just hallucinated in 2007 in front of parliament? Did the article about a different tax get incorrectly cited and then that citation just got repeated because nobody actually checks citations? Is this an inference someone made? Am I just missing a very obvious keyword in my searching?

If someone has a source for this claim I would love to see it!

In the article that you referenced (Maturation of the adolescent brain), the only source I could find for age 25 as the end of brain development is a report/study that only included participants from age 10-24. (Gavin L, MacKay AP, Brown K, et al.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Sexual and reproductive health of persons aged 10–24 years – United States, 2002–2007. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2009;58(6):1–58. )

If there is another source to this claim, then do correct me, but using that specific study as a proof that brains finish developing by 25 is incredibly misleading.

Hi there! I'm really glad that you were willing to actually check my sources and such, that's super important. At the end of the article there's a reference page if you scroll all the way down which includes the 61 sources that they used. So no worries, they did do in-depth research.

Dove Medical Press, where the article is from, is also a peer-reviewed journal, so they've got many experts in the field to look over the piece and give it the go-ahead before publication.

If you go to the side of the page you can also see something called "Cited by other articles." When you use their drop down menu and select "See all in PubMed" you can see that the article has been cited 298 times as of writing this. While I'm not about to individually check to make sure all the citations are from peer-reviewed pieces, I know that some of them are, which means that not only was this article peer-reviewed, but many other peer-reviewed pieces had no issues with any claims drawn from this article.

Thank you for sending an ask! Like I was talking about in my reblog, it's important to properly considered the information you're being given. I hope you have a lovely day!

Page Authority: Beyond Backlinks

Boost Your Search Rankings: Master E-E-A-T and Core Web Vitals. The concept of "page authority" has long been associated with the number and quality of backlinks pointing to a page. This notion stems from the early days of search engines, when backlinks served as one of the primary signals of a page's importance and authority on a given topic. However, as search engines, specially Google, have evolved, the metrics for evaluating true page authority have expanded far beyond backlinks alone. While still relevant, backlinks now represent just one piece of the authority puzzle. The future of sustainable search visibility lies in developing holistic authority rooted in exceptional user experience. The Origins and Evolution of "Page Authority" Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, search engines like Google relied heavily on backlinks to approximate the importance and authority of a given web page. Pages linked to by many other reputable sites tended to rank higher in results. This created an obsession in the SEO industry with amassing backlinks from anywhere possible, even if it meant purchasing low-quality links or spamming irrelevant websites. The mindset was that more backlinks equated to higher page authority and rankings. As search engine algorithms matured, however, Google realized that not all backlinks were created equal. Low-quality links from spammy or irrelevant sites could actually hurt a page's authority. Google shifted to focus on the relevance and quality of backlinks by analyzing factors like: - The authority of the linking page itself based on its own merit and backlink profile. - The anchor text used in the link and its relationship to page content. - The overall link environment on a page, rewarding natural links versus excessive optimization. This laid the foundation for Google's next phase of evolution in evaluating page authority... The Rise of E-E-A-T as a Ranking Factor(s) In recent years, Google has placed increasing emphasis on "E-E-A-T" as a key factor in determining page authority and search rankings. What is E-E-A-T? E-E-A-T stands for: - Expertise - Experience - Authoritativeness - Trustworthiness It refers to the depth of knowledge, expertise, and trustworthiness demonstrated by both the content of a page as well as the creator or site hosting that content. Pages with strong E-E-A-T tend to provide more value to users by delivering accurate, in-depth information from credible sources. As a result, Google rewards them with higher authority and rankings. Assessing E-E-A-T But how does Google actually measure something as abstract as "expertise" or "trustworthiness"? While the specifics of its ranking algorithms are closely guarded secrets, Google has provided guidance on some of the elements it analyzes to gauge E-E-A-T, including: - The expertise of the content creator: Are they an established authority on the topic? Do they have credentials or demonstrate extensive experience covering the subject? - Depth of content: Does the page offer thorough explanations and analysis beyond surface-level information? - Accuracy of information: Is the information well-researched and cited from reliable external sources? - "Real World" reputation signals: Does the site have positive reviews reflecting expertise and trustworthiness? Are other reputable sites linking to it organically? Sample Scenario: A user searches for "managing high blood pressure". Two results appear: - Article A: This article is written by a board-certified cardiologist with extensive clinical experience. The information is highly detailed with actionable lifestyle tips, medication explanations, and clear citations of peer-reviewed studies published in reputable medical journals. - Article B: This article appears on a general wellness blog. The author is not identified, and the content is a mix of basic advice and anecdotal recommendations without referencing any scientific sources. E-E-A-T Consequence Google's algorithms would likely perceive Article A as having significantly higher E-E-A-T. This is due to these factors: - Experience: The cardiologist's background and documented clinical experience demonstrate firsthand knowledge that goes beyond purely theoretical information. - Expertise: The article is clearly attributed to a doctor, establishing a high level of subject matter expertise. - Authoritativeness: The content is credible, thorough, and aligns with established medical knowledge in the field, likely reflecting years of training and practice. - Trustworthiness: The citations of reputable sources enhance the information's reliability and trustworthiness. Validation with Sources - Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines: Refer directly to Google's guidelines, which prioritize information from credible sources and highlight the importance of demonstrating E-E-A-T Outcome Article A with its stronger E-E-A-T signals is more likely to rank highly on SERPs for relevant searches related to managing high blood pressure. This is because it meets the needs of users looking for trustworthy and reliable health information. Optimizing for Core Web Vitals: The User Experience Factor E-E-A-T provides the foundation for authority and rankings, but optimizing user experience is the essential catalyst that brings pages to life. Google has emphasized Core Web Vitals (CWVs) as key indicators of real-world user experience. Optimizing CWVs should be a top priority for all sites seeking to build sustainable page authority. What Are Core Web Vitals? Core Web Vitals are metrics that quantify three crucial aspects of user experience: - Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance - the time it takes for the main content of a page to load. - First Input Delay (FID): Tracks interactivity - how quickly a page responds to user input like clicks or taps. - Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Assesses visual stability - unexpected movement of page elements after loading. By striving to optimize LCP, FID, and CLS, webmasters can dramatically improve user satisfaction. For example, optimizing images, enabling compression, reducing JavaScript, and using a content delivery network can help pages load faster and score well on LCP. The Impact of High CWVs on Rankings Google has explicitly confirmed that high CWVs hurt search rankings. (Source: Google Support) Poor performance on these metrics directly harms the user experience, leading to higher bounce rates and reduced time on site - signals that pages lack authority and value. Conversely, pages with excellent CWVs provide a satisfying experience that engages users. As Google continues rolling out its "page experience" ranking updates, optimizing for CWVs will become even more critical. Rethinking "Authority": A Holistic View As search algorithms evolve, backlinks alone provide an incomplete and outdated measure of authority. A holistic view embraces additional real-world signals including: Organic Traffic and Engagement High search visibility and organic traffic are strong validators that a page satisfies user intent. Pages earning substantial traffic through high rankings tend to be fulfilling and authoritative resources on a topic. For example, when searching for "coffee brewing tips", a page on a specialty coffee site outranking content from Nestle or Folgers could indicate greater authority despite less brand equity. Metrics like time on page and low bounce rates also indicate that real users find value in content. Google is able to analyze user engagement signals to identify truly authoritative pages. Natural Link Acquisition The number of backlinks still matters, but focus should shift to links earned naturally over time rather than manipulated link building. If content is compelling, other sites will organically reference and recommend it. For example, an in-depth guide to keyword research may organically gain links from related blogs and resources on SEO and content marketing, reflecting its authority on the topic. Natural links from diverse sources - editorial sites, forums, social media etc. - are a far better indicator of authoritativeness than excessive optimization and link purchases. Brand Equity and Recognition Pages on established sites with strong brand recognition in their niche have inherent authority. For example, pages on MayoClinic.org on health topics carry more weight than lesser known sites. Domain authority transfers to individual pages, rewarding sites that have built reputations as trusted resources on a given topic. Analyzing competitors with stronger brands and domain authority in your space can reveal gaps presenting opportunity to build authority through high-quality content. Best Practices for Building Sustainable Page Authority With a holistic view of today’s page authority factors, here are some best practices to employ: Prioritize User Experience Optimize for Core Web Vitals and overall user satisfaction above all else. Fast load times, smooth interactivity, and stable layouts make pages feel authoritative. Produce In-Depth, Original Content Become a true expert on topics you cover by researching thoroughly and providing unique insights. Well-cited, accurate information demonstrates E-E-A-T. Strategically Connect with Authority Sites Rather than mass outreach, focus on earning links naturally from websites respected in your space. Quality beats quantity. Adopt a Long-Term Mindset Sustainable authoritativeness comes from a steady focus on optimizing real user experience rather than chasing temporary tricks and shortcuts. Keep E-E-A-T front and center. Conclusion: The Future Lies in Holistic Authority Building In today's search landscape, true page authority extends far beyond the number of backlinks alone. While still relevant, backlinks now represent just one facet of authoritative signals based on real-world user experience. By optimizing for E-E-A-T and Core Web Vitals first and foremost, pages can build holistic authoritativeness rooted in satisfying user intent with deep, trustworthy content. As Google's algorithms continue to evolve, focusing on user experience will only grow more crucial. The websites that thrive in the future will be those that embrace authority building as an ongoing process centered on expertise, quality content, and positive user engagement. With a comprehensive approach, sustainable high rankings and traffic will follow. Backlinks retain influence, but must be earned through relevance rather than manipulation. The path to page authority is paved through remarkable user experience. Read the full article

Citing and Referencing the Journal

Properly citing and referencing the sources used in a journal article is crucial for academic integrity and to give credit to the authors whose work has been used in your research. There are several different citation styles, such as APA, MLA, and Chicago, and it is important to use the citation style that is required by the journal you are submitting to.

When citing sources in your journal article, it is important to include all the necessary information such as the author's name, publication date, and page numbers. Depending on the citation style, you may also need to include the title of the source, the publisher, and the DOI (Digital Object Identifier). It is also important to be consistent with the citation format throughout the article.

In addition to in-text citations, it is also important to include a reference list at the end of the article. The reference list should include all the sources that were cited in the article, and should be arranged in alphabetical order by the author's last name. The reference list should also be formatted according to the citation style required by the journal.

It is also important to be aware of the different types of sources that can be cited in a journal article. These include books, journal articles, websites, government reports, and personal communications. Each type of source requires different information to be included in the citation and reference list, so it is important to be familiar with the requirements for each type of source.

When referencing online sources, it is important to include the full URL or DOI, as well as the date of access. This is important because online sources can change over time, and it is important to be able to verify the information that was accessed at the time of the research.

At Global Research Letters, we understand the challenges that come with citing and referencing sources, and we are dedicated to providing you with the resources and support you need to ensure that your journal article is properly cited and referenced. We offer a range of citation tools and guides that can help you understand the requirements of different citation styles and make sure that your article is formatted correctly.

GRL Journals also provides access to a team of experts who can help you with any questions you may have about citation and referencing. Whether you need help formatting your reference list or understanding the requirements of a specific citation style, our team is here to help.

In addition to providing support and resources for citation and referencing, we also pride ourselves on staying up to date with the latest developments in academic research. We regularly update our citation tools and guides to ensure that they are current and accurate, so you can be confident that your journal article is properly cited and referenced.

In conclusion, proper citing and referencing is an essential part of any journal article, and it is important to be familiar with the citation style and requirements of the journal you are submitting to. It also helps to give credit to the original authors and to make it easy for readers to verify the sources used in the research. Being consistent, including all necessary information, and being aware of different types of sources can help you to create a proper and high-quality reference list.

Website:- https://grljournals.in/

How to Publish Paper:- Publish Paper

Check Out our Team:- Editorial Team

Citing and Referencing the Journal

Properly citing and referencing the sources used in a journal article is crucial for academic integrity and to give credit to the authors whose work has been used in your research. There are several different citation styles, such as APA, MLA, and Chicago, and it is important to use the citation style that is required by the journal you are submitting to.

When citing sources in your journal article, it is important to include all the necessary information such as the author's name, publication date, and page numbers. Depending on the citation style, you may also need to include the title of the source, the publisher, and the DOI (Digital Object Identifier). It is also important to be consistent with the citation format throughout the article.

In addition to in-text citations, it is also important to include a reference list at the end of the article. The reference list should include all the sources that were cited in the article, and should be arranged in alphabetical order by the author's last name. The reference list should also be formatted according to the citation style required by the journal.

It is also important to be aware of the different types of sources that can be cited in a journal article. These include books, journal articles, websites, government reports, and personal communications. Each type of source requires different information to be included in the citation and reference list, so it is important to be familiar with the requirements for each type of source.

When referencing online sources, it is important to include the full URL or DOI, as well as the date of access. This is important because online sources can change over time, and it is important to be able to verify the information that was accessed at the time of the research.

At our website, we understand the challenges that come with citing and referencing sources, and we are dedicated to providing you with the resources and support you need to ensure that your journal article is properly cited and referenced. We offer a range of citation tools and guides that can help you understand the requirements of different citation styles and make sure that your article is formatted correctly.

GRL Journals also provides access to a team of experts who can help you with any questions you may have about citation and referencing. Whether you need help formatting your reference list or understanding the requirements of a specific citation style, our team is here to help.

In addition to providing support and resources for citation and referencing, we also pride ourselves on staying up to date with the latest developments in academic research. We regularly update our citation tools and guides to ensure that they are current and accurate, so you can be confident that your journal article is properly cited and referenced.

In conclusion, proper citing and referencing is an essential part of any journal article, and it is important to be familiar with the citation style and requirements of the journal you are submitting to. It also helps to give credit to the original authors and to make it easy for readers to verify the sources used in the research. Being consistent, including all necessary information, and being aware of different types of sources can help you to create a proper and high-quality reference list.

Website:- https://grljournals.in/ How to Publish Paper:- Publish Paper Check Out our Team:- Editorial Team

Top Tips to Write a Wonderful Essay

An essay is intended to examine the quality of your rational reflection as well as your capacity to convey that reasoning in an academic written format. This blog discusses some important factors to consider while writing essays for university. Let the essay help London help you in the best possible way.

While reading a student's essay, markers should ask themselves questions like:

Ø  Does this essay fully respond to the given task?

Ø  Does it provide a solid, well-supported position?

Ø  Is the expression clear and the pattern suitable?

Ø  Is it making proper use of relevant sources?

Ø  Is the essay structured logically? Is there a distinct introduction, body, and conclusion?

Tips to Consider for Writing a Great Essay

Essays are one of the most interesting things to write. You can always eliminate the complications by following the below-mentioned top tips. Read on to know more in detail.

1.     Analyzing the Question

Student essays are created in response to certain prompts. Because an essay must directly deal with the subject, your initial step ought to be to examine the question. Make certain that you understand exactly what is expected of you. If you are unable to understand, take professional help from an ideal essay writing service London.

Essay topics typically consist of three parts:

·   Content terms: Specific task-related key concepts

·   Restrictive terms: The extent to which the topic relies on

·   Directive terms: What you are required to do in connection to the topic, for example, study, examine, characterize, contrast, and review.

2.     Using Evidence, Reasoning, and Scholarship

To persuade your readers of your point of view, you must employ proof and logic, which includes referencing and analyzing relevant literature.

·   Evidence is tangible facts that back up your statement. It frequently includes particular instances, facts, statements, statistics, and drawings.

·   Reasoning links evidence to your thesis. Rather than simply providing facts, you must examine them and demonstrate how it validates your thesis.

·   Scholarship is utilized to determine how your argument connects with previous research on the subject. The scholarship may be utilized as evidence and logic to back up your claim.

3.     Writing Clearly

An essay with strong, evidence-based claims can only get a high mark if it is worded correctly. Clarity is achieved by meticulous review and editing, which may elevate a mediocre essay to a great one.

When editing your essay, attempt to look at it as if it were written by somebody else. The best essay help London would also suggest you the same.

Consider the following concerns:

Structure in general

·   Have you conveyed your case properly in your introduction?

·   Is the real structure consistent with the "route map" you described in your introduction?

·   Have you clearly stated how your primary points contribute to your argument?

·   Have you adequately indicated to your reader the changes between each of your primary points?

Paragraphs

·   Is every paragraph introducing a primary key idea?

·   Does each sentence within the paragraph contribute to the primary idea?

·   Is there proof and argument in each paragraph?

·   Is each paragraph logically connected to the one preceding it?

Sentences

·   Is every statement intelligible?

·   Is this the proper spelling?

·   Is the connection between phrases obvious to your readers?

·   Have you avoided recurrence and duplication?

4.     Citing Sources and Evidence

Lastly, double-check your references to ensure they are precise and full. Some professors demand you to follow a certain citation style (for example, APA), while others might allow you to use your own. Whatever design you choose, you must adhere to its rules appropriately and consistently.

Writing essays can be easy and smooth if you connect with the right essay writing services London now. Alongside this, consider going through the above-mentioned most important tips for the betterment of your writing. When writing an essay, you often forget to structure it. Let the best team of professionals help you do so which would gradually help you become a better writer.

Essay Production

Through starting to write my essay I've identified a few gaps in my sources of which I have furthered my research. The above website has really strong information regarding Rogério Duarte and his design work. Prior to this source, I only really had two sources that talked about Duarte's work of which were written by the same authors. I thought it important to diversify my citations in order to ensure that I had reliable information and to prove that I had searched more widely for the information I was consuming and referring to in my assignment.

I also found some really good information in this book called "Brutality garden: Tropicália and the emergence of a Brazilian counterculture." by Christopher Dunn. It goes into a lot of detail about the song Roda Vida which I found from the interview with my Grandfather - and discusses the festival he alluded to as well where Buarque performed the song live in order to make a political statement.

As far as essay planning goes - I have cemented a structure for my essay; I want my first body paragraph to be an introduction into the military dictatorship as well as the birth of Tropicália and specifically how the dictatorship came to bring about the art movement. I want to explore some of the key moments during the dictatorship, and also bring up some of Tropicália's influences and key figures. My second paragraph will go into more detail about Tropicália and examine some of the main figures. I want to discuss Rogério Duarte who is the most famous Tropicalist graphic designer and examine his work, especially his album covers and posters which often related to Tropicalist musicians or had key messages of anti-nationalism. This will lead onto my third paragraph which will discuss ways in which Tropicalist artists spoke out against the dictatorship through their songs, art, and designs. I find this to be one of the most interesting parts of the movement as I believe that the Tropicalist artists directly inspired the public to speak out against the military and take action. During the era, art was used in protest and to unite the population which I think cements the movement as a very important part of Brazilian history - showing the effect of art on society.

From our last lesson in class I also focused on the final key details to remember to include in my essay. I had to come up with a title, 5 keywords, and also ensure that I was referencing at least one image and more than 3 references. Luckily, I already was citing more than one image and a lot more than three references total, however, I hadn't come up with a title or any key words yet. Some possible keywords I came up with through brainstorming were: Military, Art, Design, Music, Tropicália, Brazil, Movement, 1960s, Dictatorship, Coup, Activism, Change, Aesthetics, Veloso, Silkscreen, Photomontage, Illustration. However, I ended up settling for the following: Art, Brazil, Dictatorship, Design, Tropicália For my title, I was initially going to go with

Tropicália: How the 1964 Dictatorship Inspired an Artistic Movement which gave Brazilians their voice back.

but I have instead chosen to use the following as my final title

Tropicália: Expression of Ideas and Voices Through the Brazilian Art Movement during the 1960s

The Problem with Citing Paulus Hector Mair

I know that you’ve answered a bunch of questions about scythes before but I’m surprised there haven’t been any mentions of Paulus Hector Mair’s (a master fencer’s) writing on the matter. He also writes about sickles.

kizoqt

First of all, we have mentioned him before. He last came up about four years ago in response to a question about scythe dueling.

Calling Paulus Hector Mair a master fencer is overstating his qualifications. He was was trained as a fencer, but worked as a civil servant in sixteenth century Augsburg, Germany. He was eventually executed for embezzlement of city funds in 1579. Ironically, that crime is why we’re talking about him today.

Mair would have been a forgotten footnote in Augsburg city politics. He was a minor noble who burned through his family’s fortune before turning to embezzlement to support his hobbies. One of those hobbies was the collection of various dueling treatises.

He spent an absurd amount of wealth collecting various historical fencing treatises, and then edited and compiled a swath of them into, what’s now referred to, as his work.

You can think of him as the sixteenth century equivalent to your weird friend who obsessively collects rare RPG sourcebooks, and then and them compiles a massive single version, complete with some homebrew modifications, without any regard to citations. Good luck figuring out what came from where, and what’s been modified.

Mair is relevant, and even somewhat important today, because he collected a lot of material that was not otherwise preserved. The problem is, he wasn’t particularly careful about documenting what he had, or where it came from. Some portions can be properly attributed to their original authors. Unfortunately, the section on scythes is not one of these cases.

There are ten illustrations of scythe techniques. Mair attributes these to, “the ancients,” though it’s unclear which civilization he was referring to. (In some other cases he uses “the ancients” to refer to Alexander The Great’s campaigns, so it’s possible he meant pre-Hellenic Greece.) It’s also unclear what the source was for those scythe techniques. It’s quite possible Mair was simply, “making it up as he went along,” and to the best of my knowledge, there is no known source for that text (ignoring Mair himself.)

Also worth noting, the illustrations in the surviving Dresden manuscript appear to be contemporary with Mair. So, even if he was referencing much older artwork, we don’t have that. We only have the Renaissance era diagrams and Mair’s text.

When you try to research the use of the scythe (not including the war scythe) in combat, the vast majority of sources track back to Mair, but Mair never used the scythe in duels. He explained how to use the scythe in duels, but didn’t actually say where, when, or even if that ever happened, simply attributing it to, “the ancients.”

In that sense, Mair is the only real source for scythe dueling, but he’s also not an entirely reliable source. In researching this, I’m left in the uncomfortable situation that it’s kind of like looking at a Renaissance era Know Your Meme article. Here are all these goofy pictures of people dueling with scythes, and completely straight faced text explaining what you’re looking at. Did anyone ever actually do this, or were the pictures a joke that eluded Mair?

-Starke

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The Problem with Citing Paulus Hector Mair was originally published on How to Fight Write.

is Wikipedia or Wiktionary a reliable source?

as in, do you think the information there is actually true?

if not, what else do you recommend?

In my extremely uneducated opinion, I think so.

Wikipedia/Wiktionary have extremely vigilant admins, so most of the stupid edits your teachers warned you about is caught quickly. Articles, especially those about academic topics like linguistics are usually written by educated individuals who get their information either directly from their own research or from other scholarly articles or findings. Both include their references and citations so you know they were taken from reliable sources.

When researching for my own posts, I almost always look at multiple sources and use the information that is common between all the sites I look at (cross-referencing). While there are slight differences between their ideas, such as different ways of spelling words in dead languages (eg.*ǵʰeh₁- vs *ghē-), different translations of archaic words and sometimes one website includes another's idea as just one of multiple theories while the other presents it as fact, they are usually the same.

Wiktionary and Wikipedia are sometimes less detailed in their explanations than other websites specifically dedicated to etymology, but what they're saying matches up, and they usually cite their sources.

So, yes.

Also other useful sites for looking up etymologies/root words include:

- https://www.etymonline.com/

- https://membean.com/wrotds/ (I’m not sure you can specifically search for root words without an account, but if they have a post on it it comes up on a google search)

Learn How to Properly Cite Research Paper Materials

Whether it is your first paper or your fiftieth, it can be easy to get wrapped up in the process of learning how to properly cite research papers. If you do not follow the correct guidelines, you will not be able to use your research papers properly. By taking the time to learn about proper citing, you will be on the right track toward a successful career in academic writing.

To cite a research paper, you must know exactly what is included in it. The term paper, as defined by Webster, is a written document that presents research and other information in a concise, logical manner. The term also indicates that it presents a point of view, usually of some importance. A "fact" is a simple piece of data. In order to properly cite your paper, it must be clearly pointing to a piece of data.

When learning how to properly cite research papers, it is important to understand that you are permitted to disagree with the source of that data. You are allowed to question their methods, results or conclusions. You are also permitted to offer alternative methods, which may not coincide with those of the original study. However, when drawing comparisons between your study and the work of the original researcher, you should always draw your own conclusion. For example, if you find that a conclusion drawn from statistical studies bears little resemblance to the conclusions reached by other researchers, you are free to write that down as a counterpoint to the original study.

When searching for how to properly cite research paper information, it is important to be aware of the different names for the same data. For example, Dr. Smith's research paper is often cited as his contribution to the field of psychology. In actuality, however, he contributed nothing. His name was used in order to provide a more prestigious platform for him to place his name and work. His studies, however, were never published in a peer-reviewed journal.

One of the biggest mistakes made when students begin researching how to cite research papers is rushing to get their own research submitted to journals and publishers without first doing proper research. The main reason for this is that most students don't want to spend time doing the proper research. After all, it will take them four years to graduate and there's no way they'll have that extra four years to do a huge amount of research! If you are one of these students, it is important to understand how to cite research paper information correctly. Once you learn how, submitting your paper will go much smoother.

First of all, when citing research papers, you must be clear about whether you are commenting on the original research or commenting on its methodology or results. This is very different from a review, which is basically an assessment of the paper's overall quality and is generally given short notice. When you're citing research papers, you must be able to give a reasonable description of the research methodology and its conclusions. If you don't do this, you may risk being accused of plagiarizing the work and, depending on the paper's conditions, your professor could cancel your course.

Another mistake is to simply leave the page or pages where you would like to place your citations in place. If the information can easily be found online, then it's easy to just copy the reference and paste it into a page or two of your thesis. However, if you want to cite your sources with some degree of precision, you should check to see if the internet is actually free. Unfortunately, it often isn't. Libraries are only a few clicks away, and if you're using a university search engine, then it might take you hours to find a suitable site.

Finally, many people make mistakes when they are trying to learn how to properly cite research paper materials. The most common is not citing the source, but instead including their own name in the author's citation. This can technically be done, but it can also be misleading. By including their name, the writer shows that they agree with the work - which may not be the intended point. While referencing other's works with their names as authors is perfectly acceptable, including their name in the author's citation can give the impression that they have edited or even authored the research paper.

Day Ninety-Eight

Ooof. Today was a long one. I actually just got home. 

My World lesson was a good one, though. Students read and analyzed Warsan Shire’s poem “Home” last class/for homework, so we started class today by discussing what they thought of it, and then I quoted a couple lines and asked if students knew what they might be referring to, which was my transition into talking about doing research. One of the lines is “no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land,” and I asked if students knew who Alan Kurdi was. They didn’t, so I asked how we could find out, and, of course, they said, “Google!”

So I Googled his name, pulled up some information about his death, and read it to them. Few of them come into class knowing how to properly cite researched information- they may have gotten some practice if they had English last semester, but that’s it- so I paraphrased what I’d read on the board, and showed them how to do an in-text citation and a full MLA citation (both manually and using the tool in Google Docs). After that, I had students find out some info about two other things referenced in the poem (child soldiers and La Bestia), and cite that info themselves. 

Lastly, I assigned current events, which obviously require those research and citation skills. For those who haven’t been long-time readers of this blog, I tell students to create a little multimedia presentation to explain something that’s happening in the world right now- their choice- and cite the information properly. It’s good practice, and gets them reading and/or watching the news. 

It all went super well in my Block 1 class. Students were a little bit hesitant, at first, to discuss the poem, but once one person told me one of the lines she’d found impactful, others followed, and then everything was fine. They picked up the citations stuff super quickly and their current events look so good. In my Block 2 class, things started out well. We even went on a tangent because when I did the research and citation example using Alan Kurdi, students reacted quite strongly to his story and had lots of questions about what had happened, I ended up showing a clip from 4.1 Miles so they could see how overcrowded refugee rafts were, how flimsy their life vests were (if they had them at all), how windy and dangerous the sea is... and then they had more questions, and some of those loud boys I’ve mentioned in past entries expressed some empathy with the refugees they hadn’t thought much of a day ago. 

Buuuut then later, when they were looking up current events, they kept shouting about how Joe Biden’s going to make the USA communist, and vaccines will kill us or give us autism, and “they” are coming to take guns away. It’s the shouting that’s really grating. I mean, so is the inaccuracy, but the shouting is what’s going to drive their classmates crazy. I’m going to assign seats tomorrow and see if that brings the volume down. If not, I’ll have to start sending them out of the room, which isn’t something I like doing, but I have to consider their impact on everyone else. Here’s hoping it won’t come to that, or, if it does, not often. 

Anyways, I ended up staying late to grade assignments and prep for tomorrow. I changed up about half the lesson I’d originally planned, so I had to make some new photocopies, that sort of thing. I ended up chatting with Mrs. T, too, and that was good. We both talked about how things have been going, and what we’ve got coming up, and she approved of the changes I made to tomorrow’s lesson. Sometimes, it’s just good to talk out an idea and have someone else confirm that it’s a good one, you know?

A review of Queen: The Early Years

Well I have finally finished reading Queen: The Early Years, and now that I have read all 198 pages of this book I feel very confident in saying:

Yall I don’t think this is a good book. Like I really, really do not think this is a good book.

I’ve talked about some of this once or twice before, but I wanted to get all my thoughts about this in one place so, here we go. Brace yourselves, this is going to get wordy (as all my posts invariably do).

The Sources (or lack thereof)

The author wrote this book based on interviews with “over 60 friends and colleagues” of the band. Contrary to an earlier post of mine, he does provide a full list of the people he spoke with, however a lot of these connections are... dubious at best.

He does interview former band members of the groups they were each with before Queen, which might be the only good bits of this book. But a lot of the people he talked to fall under “friends of friends” or “casual acquaintances” or “knew them for a few months decades ago” and not really people who had deep insights into Queen as people, which is fine but he’s presenting their information as if they did.

He also doesn’t give any qualifiers for the information presented - and unless it’s a direct quote from someone, he doesn’t even tell you where he’s getting 90% of the “facts” in his book from. There are no in-text citations, apart from those sporadic quotes, and no bibliography list anywhere in this book.

Instead, he just presents everything he’s writing as the absolute truth with next to nothing to back up what he’s saying, apart from cherry-picked quotes from people who have their own biases in these conversations to begin with. He writes about how many of these people fell out of touch with Queen for 30+ years, and there are several moments during reading where I was wondering whether these stories that were being quoted were true or if it’s the sort of thing that these people made up for the purpose of getting their name in print (especially stories about Freddie).

In the interest of fairness, he does admit in the two-page epilogue that he knows the people he talks to will have their own slant to their stories but he claims that all biographies are “a random assembly of thoughts and recollections” as if to absolve himself of the work of verifying anything being told to him, or at least putting in the effort to let the reader know that things cannot be verified rather than simply presenting everything as pure objective fact.

Authorial Bias and Band Portrayal

The author very much comes across as writing about the band to fit his preconceived ideas of who they are. There are definitely points in the book where he presents images of the band that almost seem like caricatures - Freddie made out to be the deeply self-loathing gay who everyone knew wasn’t actually straight, Brian to be the aloof controlling perfectionist - with little to no nuance given to their actions or stories.

But there are also a lot of moments when it seems like the author doesn’t like the band at all and that he’s writing this book in an attempt to tarnish their image?

Like I wrote in one of my earlier posts, he literally says that Freddie and Brian had the power in the band and that Roger and John had “token” roles. He also implies that Queen only started attributing songwriting credit to the band as a whole beginning with The Miracle to prevent singles royalties from going to Freddie’s estate when he died. The author also often feels the need to put the blame for failed friendships solely on the band, and on several occasions implies that they “betrayed” the people who helped them out in their early career.

Because of this, and because he conveniently doesn’t provide sources for anything he says, it makes me call into question basically everything he writes in this book. Are these stories and facts all accurate, or is he spinning the truth to fit the story he wants to tell?

It’s worth noting also that he apparently asked Brian, Roger, and John for their input, and they and all their official representatives declined. It’s always a red flag for me when someone writes about Queen without the band’s involvement, but the author presents this situation as if he had been deeply wronged by this and implies that any bias in the book was because he didn’t have “their” side of the story - and not because he simply failed to do any work to validate what 60+ strangers were telling him.

I also want to give a warning that how he writes about Freddie’s sexuality is painful in a lot of places. It’s a combination of ideas that don’t hold up well in the 25 years since publication (for example, he says in one place that since Freddie went to an all-boys boarding school it was obvious that he would end up being queer) as well as loose anecdotes shared by people who didn’t know him well, but all felt that they had to give input about his sexuality.

It feels like every time this author interviewed someone about Freddie, he felt obligated to include their “opinion” on whether it was obvious that Freddie was gay in the early 70s or not. It’s a heavy and strange focus that gets really uncomfortable to read about after a while, and one that I don’t think is really appropriate to have been included to the degree that it was.

Misinformation

The author flat-out puts wrong information into this book. I will admit that most of what I picked up on during my read is trivial, but it’s the sort of trivial that makes me question his authority to write anything accurately and also (I believe) has led to misinformation being spread in other Queen writings.

He says that Brian’s parents could have afforded to buy him a guitar, and that the building of the Red Special was essentially an act of ego. This is directly contrary to everything that Brian has ever said on the topic, which is that his family was too poor to afford to buy him a guitar and that the Red Special was built out of an act of necessity. (This also ties into the author’s biased writing of Brian as a controlling perfectionist.)

He gives incorrect dates for concerts and tour information, as can be proven by other first-hand sources like ticket stubs and tour posters. (For example, he says that Queen played six shows in New York’s Uris Theatre in 1974, when we know they only played five.) Again, this is a minor thing but if he’s getting details like this wrong why should I trust his broader stories or conclusions that have no other verifying sources to be correct?

I also think his book is the origination for the story about Brian getting gangrene due to a dirty vaccine needle in 1974. I have a problem with this claim in that I don’t think it’s actually true, but this book is now the earliest source of the story that I’ve seen by over a decade. However since the author doesn’t cite anything in this book, I have no idea how he found this information (or whether he made it up himself).

I also suspect that this is the book that Mick Rock copied information from when compiling the timeline in his book Classic Queen, which was published 12 years later in 2007. Mick Rock not only copies the gangrene story (again, with no further information or citations given) but also includes a very specific reference to Brian complaining about not feeling well while on tour on April 21st, 1974 - a date which is also specifically referenced in The Early Years, again without any citation for where this information came from.

No one takes Mick Rock seriously as a good source for Queen information (beyond info about the photo sessions themselves, which is about the only thing within his scope of expertise). Now it seems like he might have copied those “facts” from this book, which means we might very well have a situation of one questionable book being copied by another until misinformation and lies get assumed to be true just because they’re in more than one place now, never mind that none of this is getting backed up by anything concrete.

Tiny details because I’m big mad about this book just in general

Maybe this is just my copy (which is a physical book, not a digital copy) but there are a lot of typos in this book. Mike Grose becomes Mike Crouse from one paragraph to the next. Words are misspelled, punctuation is missing... It’s a little jarring to see in a book that was actually physically printed up, and makes me wonder if this went through any sort of editing process whatsoever.

Conclusions, or something of the sort?

I need to admit here that I am very angry about this book, because particularly in the later chapters I think the author starts speculating about band dynamics and things from later in their career in a way that is entirely wrong and inappropriate.

However, for the most part, I did enjoy the first part of this book. Roger’s and John’s early chapters seemed to be fine (and from what I’ve been told, the information in Roger’s chapters is backed up in other, better researched, sources). The book started falling apart for me around Brian’s and Freddie’s chapters, though, and as it progressed it just kept going off the rails.

I’m actually really frustrated and disappointed by this, because there’s a lot in this book that reads like it could be true. There’s a lot here that sounds very believable, that seems to align with what others have said about the band, and that I didn’t blink twice at until the cracks started showing up and everything got called into question.

There’s nothing exactly wrong with writing a “biography” based solely on loose anecdotes, especially given that this was written in 1995 shortly after Freddie’s death and before a lot of the more contemporary sources had come out (like Brian’s books and the things him and Roger have said in more recent years).

But I do think that the author has a responsibility for doing some vetting of these stories, either by trying to verify what’s been said or making it apparent to the reader that some of the information is hearsay or has to be taken with a grain of salt. The Early Years doesn’t do that, though. This book is presenting itself as a labor of love from a tired, dedicated author who has toiled over tracking down these stories while being rebuffed by the band itself, and at no point does anything come with a caveat about what’s being said.

The author wants you read this book and assume everything in it is true. The author wants you to feel sorry for him that he couldn’t interview Queen directly, and frankly it seems like he wants you to side-eye the official Queen story (or at least question their morals and motives) in favor of agreeing with the narrative that he presents.

And that’s the big issue that I have with this book. Most of the information in here could very well be true - but as a reader, you aren’t given the tools you need to judge that for yourself and instead are encouraged to sympathize with the author and his work, and to take what he says as objective fact and not look at any of it too deeply.

And because of that, the entire book falls apart for me. If I know that the author is printing small details of misinformation, and I don’t have any way of verifying what is being printed here, and the author starts presenting conclusions and narratives that run counter to everything else that has been said about Queen... how can I trust that anything in this book is accurate on it’s own?

Hey aelaer, I have a question and since you seem to have been writing fanfic forever, I think you're a good person to ask this. I have a crossover idea with Doctor Strange and another universe, but to my dismay someone has already written something similar (not the same universe). I did have my story plotted out already, but there's some key concepts that can't be avoided I don't know if I should give up. I don't want to be accused of plagiarism even if the story is completely different.

Hi, thanks for thinking of me for your question! I have a tendency to ramble (and I ended up writing an essay for this) so let me answer you immediately: yes, you should still write it.

Now the rest of the answer delves into the why, in entirely too much detail as I am wont to do.

According to plagiarism.org, Merriam Webster defines the following items as plagiarism:

to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own

to use (another’s production) without crediting the source

to commit literary theft

to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

For instance, if I were to state that the above was my own words, I would be plagiarizing both Merriam Webster and plagiarism.org (which is just irony at its finest).

Figuring out how to avoid plagiarizing words is easy: don’t copy-paste words that aren’t yours and declare them as yours. Slight rewording of the content doesn’t keep it from being plagiarism, either. The issue of ideas, however, is a good deal more difficult to quantify, especially in the creative space.

The Office of Research Integrity starts off by giving us a base point of idea plagiarism with the sciences in the following statement:

“In the sciences, as in most other scholarly endeavors, ethical writing demands that any ideas, data, and conclusions borrowed from others and used as the foundation of one’s own contributions to the literature, be properly acknowledged. The specific manner in which we make such acknowledgement may vary depending on the context and even on the discipline, but it often takes the form of either a footnote or a reference citation.”

This makes sense. In many educational systems kids are taught to properly site sources for information, which extends to ideas within the scientific community. If you are building your thesis on cancer research upon the discoveries of other researchers, they need to be referenced and cited properly (and it builds credibility for your own studies).

But how does this apply to creative writing, or indeed any creative medium? Obviously you don’t see footnotes for every source of inspiration in popular fiction across creative media, and it’s not like magical schools are banned from fiction because JK Rowling wrote a series about such a place. How do the rules of plagiarism of ideas that have a clear guideline in formal writing adapt to the creative arts?

To answer this question I am first going to turn to the modern legal system. Every country has its own set of laws regarding the protection of original works and ideas, but for the sake of ease the following is based on US laws and definitions. If you’re interested in your own country’s specific laws (and how they differ from what is stated here) I recommend a quick Google search.

Copyright is a concept that puts some (but not all) acts of plagiarism into a legal liability. It came into form as the printing press (and printed works) became more popular, but has grown significantly over the past 150 years as new technology and new ways to distribute media have come into play. As Wikipedia succinctly summarizes, “In law, copyright is the exclusive right, given to the creator of a work, to reproduce the work, usually for a limited time. Copyright protects the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fairuse doctrine in the United States.” This is how parody and criticism are protected, for instance.

It’s important to note that copyright protects the specifics, but not the actual idea. For instance, Marvel (and thus, Disney) have the copyright to the story of Stephen Strange, the arrogant surgeon that had a terrible car crash and went to Kamar-Taj and learned the ways of the Mystic Arts. However, if someone were to write about Trevor Baker, the arrogant baseball player that lost his arm in a car accident and went to a secret society in Japan to learn magic to become a sorcerer, there is no copyright protection. The idea is the same (and perhaps plagiarized), but there is enough difference to make it its own work.

You may note that, under that copyright definition and the current state of US law, all fanfiction are copyright infringements. Alongside that, all fanfiction can be considered a plagiarism of ideas in the eyes of some original creators. However, you’ll find that most authors, studios, and creative organizations are tolerant and sometimes encouraging of fanfiction and other fan-derived works so long as it’s not done for profit and clearly stated to be a fan-derived work (one time commissionsseem to be a grey area that most seem okay with, but something like art prints of copyrighted or trademarked characters is not something I’ve found definite rules for, and I imagine that it is also on a case by case basis; publishing written fanfiction works widely for profit is a big no for most creators). For more on this subject and how fan-derived works have fared legally, take a look at this wiki article, which mostly looks at cases within the United States but is still an interesting read. For more details about specific cases you can go to the sources linked.

You’ll note that, since copyright law does not protect ideas, that it doesn’t really fall into the scenario prompted in the original ask. The reason I bring up copyright is that it is important to recognize the differences between copyright and plagiarism.

I think Sara F Hawkins (an actual attorney, unlike me) states it best in her article about it. She has a whole list of the differences between copyright and plagiarism, but I think for the sake of this topic, this point is especially relevant to us: “Plagiarism is a violation of moral, ethical, or organization norms not laws.”

So let’s look at this case from those three viewpoints (for the sake of ease, I am using this definition to show the difference between ethics and morals. I don’t know if it’s right, but it’s useful).

Moral: The plagiarism of ideas and where it stands on a moral ground really varies from person to person. For instance, one may accuse me of plagiarizing @amethyst-noir​‘s ideas with the embellished or different spins on the prompts and asks received in her inbox. However, my moral stance would be that this falls into inspiration rather than plagiarism because there is enough of my own work within these prompts. This is a stronger argument as I also have her full support (as well as the support of a couple of the anons), but even if I didn’t, I think that if you put enough of your own spin onto the base of an idea, you craft it enough to make it your own. Many, many stories follow the same general plot lines and tropes; that does not mean they are all plagiarizing each other. Furthermore, the original ask makes it sound like you, anon, did not know this story existed after crafting the outline, making the argument null. How can you plagiarize something you did not know existed? You can’t, not from a moral standpoint.

Ethical: Unfortunately this one is a bit harder and the one you seem most concerned about. There is no one culture amongst the fan fiction community, and even every fandom has its own set of different communities with their own sets of norms, leaving this not entirely possible to predict. Instead I would rather critically examine the key plot points that are the same as this writer and figure out if they are relatively common tropes or entirely too specific to each other. For instance, if there’s a kidnapping, that’s in half the fiction out there. It’s way too broad a trope to be considered an idea one can really plagiarize. However, if both your story and theirs feature a kidnapping of the same character in the same spot with the same method after a very similar series of events, then there may be more people that see the similarities between them.If you want to take precaution against overzealous fans of the other work, upon publication of your own story, you can outright mention that you found a work similar to yours well after beginning your story and that any similarities are unintentional, with a link and a positive plug to the story in particular. You could even reach out to the author themselves before publishing, but I don’t think this is necessary, especially since you are crossing over a wholly different world (which already distinguishes itself as a different piece of work in regards to the base idea in most cases).

Organization: The authority on transformative works is usually considered to be AO3. AO3 would not pull a work for very similar ideas; if that were the case, the hurt/comfort, chatroom, and E-rating categories would be much, much smaller than they are now. So no worries on that end.

I cannot predict the behavior of your reviewers, anon, and without specifics I cannot say how similar your work is to this work already published, but I hope that everything I outlined above gives you an idea of where to go from here.

I am going to end this essay of an answer with something I found in my research on this subject. I came across this fantastic article by a Jonathan Bailey about the plagiarism of ideas and how they apply in US patent law (unlike copyright law, you can patent ideas), and what it would mean for the creative space if they were applied similarly. I recommend reading the whole article, but this passage especially stood out to me:

The best thing that we can do is realize that, in the eyes of the law, the value of a creative work is in its execution, not the idea behind it. As such, we have to take it upon ourselves not only to be original, but to carry out our visions the best possible way.

I think that should be a mantra everyone working with both original and derivative works should take to heart. Supposedly every story has already been told, so we may as well just tell the stories with our own spin, in our own words, and our own specific ideas that make them distinctly ours. That is how we make them unique and memorable.