Final answer:
Readers assume that scholarly writing has not been disseminated before unless noted, a key aspect of ethical writing and scholarship. It upholds trust, credibility, and contributes to academic integrity by avoiding plagiarism and properly attributing sources. Peer review is part of ensuring academic standards, but distinct from the implicit contract on originality and accuracy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ethical writing and scholarship are premised on an implicit agreement where readers expect that the content is not only accurate and original but also adheres to certain academic integrity principles. The correct option for what readers assume when they read scholarly work is a) Not been disseminated before unless noted otherwise. This implies that any prior distribution of the work must be clearly indicated, typically through citations and references. This practice reinforces the trust and credibility essential in scholarly communication and is a crucial element of ethical attribution. The scholarly effort should provide novel insights or synthesize existing information in a way that contributes to the body of knowledge within a particular field.
General essay advice emphasizes the importance of staying on topic, using ethical attribution to avoid plagiarism, and understanding the research genre you're contributing to. Ethos plays a significant role, meaning authors should aim to maintain their ethical credibility by respecting the intellectual property rights of others and properly attributing sources. This is enshrined in ethical guidelines like those from the American Sociological Association (ASA), which stipulate how research should be conducted and disseminated.
Furthermore, ethical scholarship in academia often involves peer review, in which other experts assess a work before publication to ensure validity and adherance to ethical standards. However, peer review is a separate process from the implicit contract between an author and their readers that concerns the originality and accuracy of the work.