Students are natural economizers
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shared by Bryan Lee on 28 Jul 10
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Anti-Plagiarism Strategies - 1 views
www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm
education plagiarism cheating copyright research writing teaching ethics
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Remind students that the purpose of the course is to learn and develop skills and not just "get through."
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Do not assume that students know what plagiarism is, even if they nod their heads when you ask them. Provide an explicit definition for them.
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you should discuss with your students the difference between appropriate, referenced use of ideas or quotations and inappropriate use. You might show them an example of a permissible paraphrase (with its citation) and an impermissible paraphrase (containing some paraphrasing and some copying), and discuss the difference.
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Clarifying for them that plagiarism is a combination of stealing (another's words) and lying (claiming implicitly that the words are the student's own) should be mentioned at some point
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Perhaps the most effective discussion will ask the students to think about who is really being cheated when someone plagiarizes. Copying papers or even parts of papers short circuits a number of learning experiences and opportunities for the development of skills: actually doing the work of the research paper rather than counterfeiting it gives the student not only knowledge of the subject and insights into the world of information and controversy, but improves research skills, thinking and analyzing, organizing, writing, planning and time management, and even meticulousness (those picky citation styles actually help improve one's attention to detail). All this is missed when the paper is faked, and it is these missed skills which will be of high value in the working world. A degree will help students get a first job, but performance--using the skills developed by doing just such assignments as research papers--will be required for promotion.
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Using sources shows that the student in engaged in "the great conversation," the world of ideas, and that the student is aware of other thinkers' positions on the topic. By quoting (and citing) writers who support the student's position, the student adds strength to the position. By responding reasonably to those who oppose the position, the student shows that there are valid counter arguments
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The rough draft serves several functions. A quick glance will reveal whether whole sections are appearing without citations. At the draft stage, you have the opportunity to educate the student further and discuss how proper citation works. You can also mark places and ask for more research material to be incorporated. If you are suspicious of the paper at this point, ask for the incorporation of some specific material that you name, such as a particular book or article. Keep the drafts and let students know that you expect major revisions and improvements between drafts. (This is actually a great way to improve students' writing, quite apart from the other goal of preventing plagairism.)
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The annotation should include a brief summary of the source, where it was located (including call number for books or complete Web URL), and an evaluation about the usefulness of the source. (Optionally, as a lesson in information quality, ask them to comment on why they thought the source credible.) The normal process of research makes completing this task easy, but it creates headaches for students who have copied a paper from someone else since few papers include annotated bibliographies like this. Another benefit of this assignment is that students must reflect on the reliability and quality of their sources.
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On the day you collect the papers, have students write an in-class essay about what they learned from the assignment. What problems did they face and how did they overcome them? What research strategy did they follow? Where did they locate most of their sources? What is the most important thing they learned from investigating this subject? For most students, who actually did the research paper, this assignment will help them think about their own learning. It also provides you with information about the students' knowledge of their papers and it gives you a writing sample to compare with the papers. If a student's knowledge of the paper and its process seems modest or if the in-class essay quality diverges strikingly from the writing ability shown in the paper, further investigation is probably warranted.