Plagiarism

What is it?

Plagiarism is the use of other’s ideas and words without clearly labeling the source of the information. Plagiarism is not common knowledge or information that can be found in numerous places and most likely is well known by a lot of people.

Why do students cheat?

Students cheat for many reasons. The main reason that students cheat is poor time management. They wait till the last minute to work on an essay or report and realize that they don’t have the time to research. They then find a site with all the information they need and simply cut and paste. Another reason that students cheat is their inability to write adequately. And the final reason is they simply like breaking the rules. They want to get away with something, unfortunately they usually do.

How do students plagiarize?

Students plagiarize by writing a work with only a few changes to some of the words or phrases from the original work. Students must take the information and write it in their own words for it not to be plagiarism. The most common way of plagiarism is simply not attaching citations. The citations need to be included to show original work. Students can also plagiarize by downloading a free paper or by buying a paper from a commercial paper mill. Finally students can plagiarize by not quoting all the words copied or by faking a citation.

How can a teacher detect plagiarism?

Detecting plagiarism can be easily done if you have the right resources. The first step is to look for clues like missed citations, lack of references or parts of the paper that get off topic. Other items to look for are unusual formatting of a paper and signs of information being dated. They are also resources on the net that can help you detect plagiarism. Google has an advanced search that can detect plagiarism. Simply put in the phrase that doesn’t make sense and Google will lead you to the site the information came from. From here you can check for plagiarism.

What can a teacher do to prevent plagiarism?

Here are some steps to help prevent plagiarism:

· Clear assignments with clear expectations

· Limit choice of topics

· Require specific components to the paper like a specific article

· Require outlines, rough drafts, and final drafts on specific due dates

· Oral reports

· Annotated bibiliographies

· Require updated references

· Require a meta learning essay