teaching with writing

Composition Instructors' Advice about Plagiarism

Department of English, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 1999-2000

From Andy Elfenbein, Program Director
This issue is about plagiarism: how we think about it, how we discuss it in our classes, and how we can help students avoid it. Earlier this year, I wanted to know how instructors created a good environment in which to talk about plagiarism. Even though it was near the end of the semester when grading was at its heaviest, detailed, thoughtful responses poured in from the instructors. Once again, I was impressed by their dedication to giving students at the University of Minnesota the highest quality of education possible. To make this dedication widely visible, I have created this newsletter from their responses.

ON PLAGIARISM

ROBIN HEMENWAY: Introduction
I think that it should be considered absolutely essential to talk about plagiarism in freshman comp courses, particularly since upper-division composition courses are no longer being taught by the English department. I've taught upper level courses in American Studies—courses in which library research is almost always required—and have found myself aghast at how often even juniors and seniors don't know the first thing about how to use sources appropriately. And they really DON'T KNOW. Most of the cases of plagiarism that I see are not intentional. The student simply doesn't know that what he/she is doing is inappropriate.

DISCUSSIONS AND EXERCISES

TIM GUSTAFSON: On intentional versus unintentional plagiarism
I make the distinction to my students between intentional and unintentional plagiarism. In my courses the familiarity and the structured process reduces opportunities for intentional plagiarism. Nevertheless, my students hear me say that passing off someone else's writing as their own is an academic felony.

We cover unintentional plagiarism in the assignments incorporating research. We discuss the need to acknowledge all borrowed ideas, whether they are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. I discourage freshman especially from paraphrasing, on the following grounds:

1. It's actually tricky to "say the same thing in different words."
   
   
2. Paraphrasing is best justified when the writer can improve on the style of the source (which most freshmen can't, usually).
   
   
3. Many students think that when they've put something "in their own words," they don't need to cite it.
   

So, having been warned away from most paraphrasing, the students work on appropriately citing summarized and quoted material in their reports and analytical syntheses. We work especially hard on using signal phrases in "multi-sentence summaries," so that students learn not to simply stick a parenthetical citation at the end of a paragraph of summary and think they have appropriately acknowledged their use of a source.

Finally, I emphasize that the primary purpose of systems of documentation is at the heart of the academic enterprise: to verify new knowledge and insights, to allow other interested readers and specialists to understand the context of our research, and to test it either by reproducing the experiment (sciences and social sciences) or reinterpreting the evidence (sciences, social sciences, and humanities).

PAMELA FLASH: On effective classroom practices

1. In my argument assignment, I require drafts, revision memos, and peer workshop of annotated citation lists, and I require students to place highlighted photocopies/printouts of material they cite into their portfolios.
   
   
2. In teaching them about evidence, and about integrating evidence into their drafts, we discuss the choices they'll need to make given their argument and audience. Do they want to summarize/paraphrase/quote directly, etc.? We then talk about how to cite all of these. Many are surprised that they need to cite paraphrases and summaries. That's when I put up an overhead that quotes CLA's definition of plagiarism. I tell them that I assume most cases of plagiarism are unintentional.
   
   
3. In the future, I'm going to have them work in pairs with their final drafts and photocopies. I'd like to have each member of the pair "sign off" on proper use of citation.

MICHAEL BERNDT: On the ethics of scholarly citation

1. I talk about their research papers entering a larger discourse community, meaning that they must learn not only the conventions like proper documentation but also the ethics of presenting research. For academic communities, original research is highly valued because the primary motive/reward for researchers in publishing their work is recognition. Plagiarism undermines that reward system, even as it risks destroying the plagiarist's credibility within that community.
   
   
2. I talk about proper handling of sources, how the research of others is critiqued, synthesized, and then woven into the writer's ORIGINAL line or argumentation. I try to reinforce this idea by not letting students do traditional research papers. For example, if a student wants to write a paper on global warming, I encourage her to focus her work around an interview or survey she conducts, or maybe around a critique of particular studies or media representations—whatever strategy will force that student away from creating a mosaic of other people's ideas (and words).
   
   
3. I talk about voice and how paraphrasing is preferable to quoting because it preserves the writer's original voice. This opens up an opportunity to discuss how far a student can follow another writer's words before the paraphrase becomes a quotation. It also opens discussion on documentation—how it provides acknowledgment of others' work, builds critical consensus, and facilitates further investigation into the topic.
   
   
4. Finally, I talk about the nuts and bolts of MLA and APA documentation, including when something is considered general knowledge or specific knowledge and how to provide in-text citations and Works Cited.
   
   
5. I give a speech at the beginning, when discussing the writing process, about the opportunity to develop their writing skills and how buying papers or stealing other people's work undermines that opportunity. However, the kinds of assignments I give and the frequency with which I rewrite them makes it very difficult to find a paper that would fit.

SHERYL HOLT: On asking for copies of sources and drafts
One thing that many writing teachers require, and that would be useful for other teachers to take note of, is asking for a copy of sources used in the paper, and a copy of all writing drafts, including prewriting, in their final folders. If there are copies, it is easy to check references for accuracy and correct documentation, and it helps students understand that they will be at least spot checked. Another alternative that I think the writing program/university should consider is buying a subscription to one of the web sites that checks for plagiarism. You can run the papers through the site and it will check across the web for plagiarized sections. Other schools that have incorporated this practice have found up to 50% of the students have plagiarized some of their papers.

KRISTIN WILLEY: On her exercise, "How to Avoid Plagiarism"
I actually turn the plagiarism discussion into an exercise that goes as follows:

I hand out four sample paragraphs, one of which is the "original" source paragraph. The next three are versions of the first: one is a clear case of plagiarism (copied verbatim with no citation whatsoever); one is paraphrased and cited (so not plagiarized); and one is paraphrased and cited, but mimics the original author's language and/or style so closely as to qualify as plagiarism. I ask students to locate the plagiarism among these samples by comparing them to the original.

As someone from a department other than English, I have noticed that the type of plagiarism most students commit is unintentional and resembles the last sample paragraph. Many seem genuinely surprised when I tell them that the last sample is plagiarism. Most students seem to know how to cite when quoting directly from a source. It is in paraphrasing that they run into trouble.

I generally introduce this exercise (which I call "How to Avoid Plagiarism") when I hand back first drafts of papers that require the use of outside sources. Inevitably, there are problems with proper citation. I have found that students are genuinely interested in discussing plagiarism and how to avoid it, and the problem seems to resolve itself quite quickly once they are aware of it and the fact that I am on the lookout for it. I also let students know that I spot check sources, and so do professors and graduate students across the university.

The final thing I do with regard to plagiarism and proper citation is tell students that if they are ever unsure about proper citation, to please come ask. I have been amazed by students' attention to detail on this issue. Many genuinely agonize over the right way to do something, once they are aware that it's important.

RICHARD JEWELL: On the importance of trust
I have such specific organizational requirements that to plagiarize becomes difficult: at the very least, students must so drastically revise a plagiarized manuscript that they would have to do nearly as much work (everything except editing) as they would if simply organizing it themselves.

In fact, I have, in the past, shared some of this with students: I've mentioned in my syllabi that I trust that everyone will do his or her own writing (though certainly editing help from tutors, friends, and relatives is welcome), and that it is virtually impossible to cheat because I get to know everyone's writing style so well and see so many early drafts. In fact, I tell them that I even have at times identified people's high schools by their writing styles (which did happen a few times when I taught at a community college that had two or three primary, large feeder high schools).

I also very carefully explain plagiarism to my students in terms of giving credit to all sources, even if the sources aren't quoted, and how big a deal not doing so is to some teachers. In addition, I tell the story of a Harvard professor (I have a news clipping about him) who was asked to leave Harvard several years before normal retirement because he had accidentally plagiarized several scholars in a book of his.

In other words, I try to be positive rather than negative about it, conveying my trust of my students even as I convey the fact that I almost always catch those who copy other papers; in addition, when discussing sources, I try to explain avoidance of plagiarism as a practical matter of proper survival in other classes.

LEANNE ZAINER: On bringing up plagiarism throughout the semester

1. Early on, I introduce students to the idea of writing groups, and that raises their concerns about "stealing" group members' ideas. A discussion ensues about the notion of the solitary writer vs. the benefits of feedback and collaboration—including when the line is crossed into relying too heavily upon others.
   
   
2. Around midterm, my students write an extended piece responding to one of the course readings; for that paper, they read handbook materials on working with sources, and we discuss citing and other ways of acknowledging and crediting others' ideas. I also give them quoting and paraphrasing exercises at that time.
   
   
3. Finally, when my freshmen write their long research papers at the end of the semester, we again discuss how to synthesize and integrate others' voices with our own.
   
   

AMY MUSE: On the necessity of reinforcement
We take seriously the responsibility of teaching students about plagiarism in freshman writing courses, but reinforcement is needed throughout their years of coursework. One of my honors freshmen last semester wrote an insightful paper about all the cheating he saw going on around him, especially in large lecture classes. If the university is going to be serious about cheating in all forms, it needs to be the responsibility of all of us. Otherwise, it's too easy to dismiss the warnings against plagiarism in freshman writing courses as merely some sort of formality that doesn't matter once you're in your "regular" courses.

SOME CONCLUSIONS

1. Warnings about plagiarism work best when they are part of semester-long discussions about appropriate citation practices and the ethics of being part of a scholarly community.
   
   
2. Individualizing assignments, asking for drafts and copies of cited sources, and giving detailed feedback during the writing process greatly reduce the chances of plagiarism.
   
   
3. It's helpful to give concrete exercises about citation and plagiarism rather than just to lecture about them.
   
   
4. Instructors at all levels of the curriculum need to take responsibility for instruction in good citation practices.