Preventing Plagiarism

Many college students do not understand what constitutes plagiarism. Many students are never taught what is involved in plagiarism or why it is important to attribute ideas. For these students plagiarism is usually unintentional. Some students are aware that plagiarism is unacceptable and choose to commit that offense regardless of the consequences. These students believe that there is a low probability that they will be caught if they extract short sections of writing from many sources and incorporate them into their own assignments. These students may have low grade point averages and feel they have little to lose, or they may be lazy and realize it is easier to copy and paste than research and write. Finally, some students download or purchase complete pre-written essays and research papers off the Web. These students may have no confidence in their writing ability or they procrastinate until the last minute. This type of plagiarism is the easiest to detect.

As a faculty member you can alleviate most of these potential problems and provide a fair and supportive learning environment for your students by following these steps:

On the first day of class:

• Specify exactly what constitutes plagiarism and what the consequences will be if they are caught.
• Explain plagiarism from the context of fair use, copyright and academic integrity. Students will understand why plagiarism is unacceptable in the University community if you use this approach.

When creating an assignment:

• Change class assignments each year. Previous students will not be able to share or sell completed assignments to the next year’s students if you change the assignment.
• Specify what types of research sources are acceptable. Possibly require that they use a variety of sources, some print and some online, to limit cut-and-paste plagiarism.
• Require students to create an annotated bibliography or turn in copies of sources used when writing the paper.

When discussing an assignment with students:

• Teach students to incorporate and attribute Web sites and online articles in their writing.
• Encourage students to follow a process for writing. Ask for a thesis statement, an outline, a first draft and grade and comment on each. It is harder for a student to reconstruct these elements from a completed paper than to create their own work.
• Be open about the existence of term-paper mills. Download a few papers, discuss their strengths and weaknesses as a class. Let your students know that you know what is out there – and that most of it will not meet your criteria for a good paper.

What help can the library provide?

• Librarians are available to collaborate on assignments and assist in creating meaningful research experiences for your students.
• Schedule a tailored research session with a librarian for your class. Students overcome fears associated with research in these workshops. Sessions focus on selecting appropriate sources, searching library databases and the Web, or evaluating information.
• Assign self-paced research tutorials that help students understand the ethical use of information or how to cite information properly. To see these and other online tutorials, visit the our Tutorials and Learning Modules page.
• For questions about any of these or other instructional services, please contact Lisa Norberg in the University Library or Julia Shaw-Kokot in the Health Sciences Library.

Preventing Plagiarism | Detecting Plagiarism | Papers Available Online | Recommended Readings & Resources