Elective Assignment: Plagiarism
Karen Roof
July 10, 2003
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Objective: This handout will inform you as teachers about the definition and presence of internet plagiarism, in order that you might better recognize the signs and be able to utilize various remedies.
Plagiarism: Definition:
Any use of another's ideas, words or graphical information or data
without clearly acknowledging the source.
Note: Students must give credit
when they use another's:
1. ideas, opinions, theories
2. graphical information (i.e. charts, images, etc.)
3. quotes, whether they be written or spoken
Because of the easy access and availability of online essays and documents,
plagiarism today is quite simple and easy for students; it is important that we
as teachers be aware of the signs, as well as any feasible remedies.
Strategies for Awareness:
1. Understand the reasons why students cheat. - Young people
naturally seek the fastest way to get things done; to them, plagiarism is the
answer. Many students procrastinate or have poor time managements skills;
they wait until the last moment, when to them it is necessary to copy.
Other students have no confidence in their own writing and therefore plagiarism
essays already published.
2. Educate yourself about plagiarism. - Know how students will plagiarize. Not only will they download research papers from the Web, but they will copy and paste, quote inaccurately, and make up fake citations.
Remedies:
1. Educate your students. Make sure each of your classes
understands plagiarism and what it involves. Teach them proper citation
techniques.
2. Make penalties clear. For many students plagiarism is quite the temptation; make sure your students are aware of the punishment they will receive should they be caught.
3. Collect long papers in stages or steps. To prevent students from procrastinating, have them hand their papers in in sections (i.e. bibliography, abstract, introduction, etc.).
4. Require your students to complete annotated bibliographies, to ensure both that they understand the acceptable methods of citations, and that they have acquired their own resources.
Clues to Recognizing Plagiarism:
1. Look for mixed citation styles.
2. Be aware of a lack of citations and references.
3. Recognize nonsensical paragraphs, as students may have quickly copied
and pasted information incorrectly.
4. Notice if events cited are considerably dated, and references are old.
Websites for Further Incite:
Turnitin - This website, a
helpful tool for teachers, requires students to submit any essays and reports
for an automatic scan for plagiarism.
http://www.turnitin.com
Plagiarism.com - This website offers a
variety of teaching and screening programs, as well as a system for
self-detection. http://www.plagiarism.com
Plagiarism and the
Web - This website offers both informative articles regarding plagiarism, as
well as links to other helpful sites.
http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfbhl/wiu/plagiarism.htm