Cut-and-Paste Plagiarism Presented by Laura J. Toki Assistant Director Curriculum, Training and Development Services Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8
What is plagiarism? Spectrum: Failure to cite properly to wholesale cheating May be unintentional or deliberate
Examples of Plagiarism Buying a paper from a research service or “term paper mill” Turning in another student’s work without his/her knowledge Turning in a paper another student has written for you
Examples of Plagiarism Copying a paper from a text without proper acknowledgement (i.e., citing source) Copying materials verbatim, citing source, but leaving out quotation marks Paraphrasing materials without proper source citation
Internet Plagiarism Turning in a paper from a “free term paper” website Copying and pasting whole passages of text without quotes and citations
How can I prevent plagiarism? Teach and emphasize the research process: Topic proposals Idea outlines Multiple drafts Proper citation of sources Photocopying or printing source texts to accompany final draft
How can I prevent plagiarism? Require students to analyze thoughts and ideas, not just describe them (e.g., oral report with questions) Require students to reflect personally on the topic or the research process
How can I prevent plagiarism? Discuss plagiarism with students What it is School policies or disciplinary action Long-term consequences of plagiarism (e.g., college application, plagiarism in college, etc.)
How can I detect plagiarism? Check for unusual formatting or formatting that does not match your specific requirements Look for jargon or advanced vocabulary or sentence structure Read quotations carefully and look for proper citations
How can I detect plagiarism? Look for all assignment criteria Are there any parts left out? Does any part read like it was “added on” to the paper? Is the text the correct mode (e.g., informational, persuasive, etc.)?
How can I detect plagiarism? Review the bibliography Are citations in proper form? Do all sources match those cited in text of the paper? Pay particular attention to online sources
How can I track down plagiarism? Check for original author identification clues and do a search for the author Check for original source identification clues and do a search for the website Identify unusual keywords or unique phrases and do a search Look at original text of sources listed in the bibliography
How can I track down plagiarism? Check these websites for free papers: School Sucks Other People’s Papers Absolutely Free Online Essays Free Termpapers International Dorian’s Paper Archive
How can I track down plagiarism? Check these websites that sell papers: Evil House of Cheat Research Papers Online A+ A1 Termpaper Genius Papers
What else can I do? Let students know you know about these websites. Take students to one of these sites and analyze the weaknesses. Teach the class to use other websites as sources.
What else can I do? Include specific instructions about bibliographies (e.g., required articles or websites). Require specific components (e.g., interviews with experts, class readings, recent sources, etc.).
What else can I do? Have students analyze paper mill papers and write an essay on ethics. Have students research and write in class. Teacher-student conferences Student peer conferences Students submit all notes and drafts with the final paper
What else can I do? On the day papers are due, have students write a reflection on the process: Features of the paper they’re proud of Things they had trouble with Things they learned by writing
What else can I do? If you suspect a paper was downloaded from the Internet, enter key words or a string of words in quotation marks Try 2 or 3 different search engines AltaVista, HotBot, and Lycos Pro work best in finding strings of words or phrases
What else can I do? DON’T write to or email these websites. Website publishers will use your complaints as publicity.