Plagiarism issues
I teach an English class in which the students are required to write at least 4 essays in a 10 week period. The issues of plagiarism and the *easiest way out* methods of compiling the necessary information and documentation is always a challenge that I constantly try to head-off with examples of correct--and incorrect--ways to achieve their goals, regardless of essay format.
In any event, the instructor needs to be clear in the way to document, say APA format. If plagiarism is an issue, it must be dealt with in according to school policy. This is needed to stress the importance of being correct.
I have dealt with many instances of plagarism in my classes. Sometimes, it is blatant, and other times, the student doesn't understand that they have plagarized. I generally use Google, by typing in select portions of an essay, and looking for results. I have caught a lot of students plagarizing this way. I always document when this happens.
Hi Daniel,
What do you do to reprimand the student?
Patricia
I believe that many students do not understand that plagiarism is more than taking words from a book; but that it includes taking things from any medium without properly citing the source.
I agree with Jimmie. I found that many students do not fully understand what plagiarism is and will copy directly from a source and not feel they need to cite it because it is not from a book (for example). I also feel that some people truly do not know or understand what plagiarism is. I believe that some, if not most this responsibility, then falls on me to teach the students what exactly plagiarism entails.
