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About a year ago, during a plagiarism workshop
with a group of local educators, one of the teachers asked if we could
find out whether a suspicious student paper that had been submitted was
in fact copied from the web. Using Alta Vista and a few unique phrases
from the essay, we discovered that the student had copied most of the information
directly from the American Cancer Society web site.
It is daunting that students may now get information
from over one billion web sites, making the task of detecting cheating
almost impossible. More than ever it is important to discuss plagiarism
with students at every level so that they will learn how to use the ideas
of others in a responsible manner.
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Plagiarism
Clues to Plagiarism | Strategies | Web Links & Resources To plagiarize is defined as "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source : to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source" (WWWebster Dictionary). At post secondary institutions, plagiarism is not tolerated and offending students who are caught plagiarizing suffer a variety of consequences including reprimand, mandatory counseling, lost credits, extra assignments, reduced marks, disqualification for scholarships, and most drastically, expulsion. In our K-12 schools, tolerance of plagiarism varies depending on the level. It is when students are young that we need to begin educating them about responsible use of any product as that is the time the problem of plagiarism begins. Could it be that we confuse students to some extent when we employ classroom practices such as using a familiar child's story to model a writing structure without properly acknowledging the source? You may have had students write a cumulative tale based on Shel Silverstein's A Giraffe and A Half. When their poems were finished, was there an opportunity for your students to credit the inspiring poet for his work? The modeling activity provides an ideal opportunity for a teacher of Early Years students to emphasize the idea that the owner of an original work needs to be credited. The Manitoba English Language Arts curriculum (General Outcomes 3.2 and 3.3) indicates that even young students should be responsible for recording their sources. "Record key facts and ideas in own words; identify titles and writers of sources." (Outcome 3.3, Grade 2) Typically, it is at the Middle Years and Senior Years levels that we insist that students consistently apply what they have learned about intellectual property, copyright details, and how to give credit by citing sources. Besides being guided by the Language Arts curriculum, teachers may refer to the guidelines in Manitoba Education and Training's Information Technology Literacy Continuum. "Students will understand the role and impact of information technology and apply ethical, responsible, and legal standards in its use." The Internet offers new opportunities for anyone to find and use online material as their own product whether it is an essay, poetry, musical composition, web page, image, or even a complete digital presentation. There are actually Internet sites devoted to cheating. For no cost or for a reasonable fee, students can download essays on any topic. The Internet filter used in our division, Cyberpatrol , effectively blocks many of the cheat sites, but a determined student can find ways around that if he or she is motivated. At the time of writing, our filter did not prevent many cheat sites from being blocked including Net Essays at http://www.netessays.net/, but once any site is reported to Cyberpatrol, it will be eliminated from our school screens. Numerous of these cheat sites claim that the intention is not to foster cheating. Visit the Student Essay Network page at its new location at http://essays.terrashare.com/students.html. The creator of this site was pressured to shut down the original site. This was the original statement on that same page: "This online resource of student submitted essays is not intended to encourage plagiarism. Just like a public library, there are pre-writtten sources of information that may be used for research on any topic of interest to you. The main difference between a library and this site is that none of these essays are professionally published. Information contained here is submitted by students, and is not corrected or confirmed by the owner of this site. Essays are not rejected based on quality. Therefore, you must use your own judgment in confirming information here." Thinking back to our experience of detecting the American Cancer Society information that was used word for word in a Senior 2 assignment, we should add that as web sites proliferate, it is becoming more difficult to trace sources. Also, using a key phrase would not detect a stolen idea that had been carefully paraphrased. Even when using software that can detect plagiarism such as the Glatt Plagiarism Teaching Program (http://www.plagiarism.com/) , detecting plagiarism is very time taking. On a positive note, the Internet may provide guidance in citing sources. One of the most popular web pages about citation, especially if you prefer the MLA style of citation, is Debbie Abilock's interactive citation page at http://www.nueva.pvt.k12.ca.us/~debbie/library/research/research.html . The site provides a useful form for creating citations for your sources whether they are print, non print, or digital. Try Noodle Tools Quick Cite or Noodlebib (http://www.noodletools.com/), both constructed by Debbie Abilock's son. How would you know if a student had plagiarized? The clues might include fluctuations in writing style, a highly polished look, or work that appears to be beyond the student's ability as you are aware of it. You may submit 1K of work to How Original if you would like to test a site that checks for plagiarism. Strategies for Dealing with Plagiarism If you are a classroom teacher, what can you do to prevent plagiarism? Take every opportunity to credit the students and others for their good contributions. Discuss the students' responsibilities to avoid cheating and to help stop others from cheating. Clarify the school's policies regarding cheating and the consequences for those who do cheat. Limit your topic selection. Change your assignments from year to year. Avoid topics that are too general. Encourage students to draw unique comparisons or establish a relationship between their own situation and the chosen topic. Choose a specific format (s) for the assignment and insist that students stick to the format(s). Ask for an outline or an advance plan for the assignment. Require a tentative bibliography early in the term and ask students to include the call numbers in the tentative bibliography. Require that students keep their notes and rough drafts then routinely request to see work in progress. Discourage late topic changes. Insist on having the original paper, not a photocopy. Do not ignore students who cheat or are suspected of cheating. They should be educated about intellectual property and plagiarism. If you work in a school library, what can you do? Start by talking about and demonstrating regard for copyright restrictions. Discuss with staff early in the year what steps should be taken to prevent plagiarism and encourage responsible use of information. Together you could agree on a standard style format for citation and then create or select a style guide sheet that teachers may use with students on a regular basis. Make citation style guide posters for classroom walls. Refer staff and students to online and traditional citation guides. Send your staff information about the Canadian CanCopy agreement so that they and you might model a responsible approach to copyrighted materials. Complete copyright information is available at http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/metks4/instruct/iru/pubs/web/c/index.html Web Sites
Cheating 101: Paper Mills and You
The e-Plagiarism Plague
How Original
Manitoba Education and Training
Copyright Information
Manitoba Education and Training's Information Technology Literacy Continuum http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/metks4/docs/policy/tfs/appendices/itlc-5.html The New Plagiarism
WWWebster Dictionary
Books and Articles Chidley, Joe. "Tales out of School". Maclean's, 11/24/97, Vol. 110 Issue 47, p76. Kibler, William L. Academic Integrity and Student Development : Legal Issues and Policy. College Administration Publications, 1988. Kreis, Cathleen. "A Write Step in the Wrong Direction". Teaching PreK-8, May 94, Vol. 24 Issue 8, p66. Manitoba Education and Training. Kindergarten to Grade 4 English Language Arts: A Foundation for Implementation. 1998. Mirsky, Steve. "Copy That". Scientific American, April 02,Vol 286 Raymond, Chris. " Martin Luther King's Plagiarism: Moral Issues for Researchers". Education Digest, Jan 91, Vol. 56 Issue 5. Rothenburg, David. "How the Web Destroys Student Research Papers". Education Digest, Feb 98, Vol. 63 Issue 6, p59. Sterling, Gary. Let's Keep the Can
of Worms Open: Plagiarism and the Worms of Accountability". Education Digest,
May 92, Vol. 57 Issue 9, p54.
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| Date - May/02 | Url - http://www.assd.winnipeg.mb.ca/infozone/plagiarism.htm |
