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Realizing —or even suspecting—a student has cheated can be devastating for instructors. Many view the classroom as a haven in which ideas can be exchanged and knowledge can be generated in an atmosphere of trust and collaboration; finding that a student has sullied the classroom environment by cheating can feel like a desecration. While some students engage in outright cheating that is premeditated and willful, some students simply make mistakes by citing incorrectly or simply not realizing that paraphrasing another’s work without giving credit is an act of plagiarism.
Dealing with plagiarism on top of everything else an instructor must think about may feel like a stinging slap in the face, but the fact is, plagiarism happens all too frequently. We take this problem seriously and wish to be honest and up-front about such grave academic misconduct. If you’re assigning writing, we don’t think you should assume that your students will inevitably plagiarize, nor should you be on 24-hour alert against plagiarism or make your students paranoid about plagiarism. But you shouldn’t naively assume that your students would never plagiarize.
So how does UW define plagiarism?
Plagiarism falls under the university’s umbrella of “academic misconduct.”According to chapter 14 of the University of Wisconsin System Administrative code, 1. "Academic Misconduct Subject to Disciplinary Action
(I) Academic misconduct is an act in which a student:
(a) seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization or citation;
(b) uses unauthorized materials or fabricated data in any academic exercise;
(c) forges or falsifies academic documents or records;
(d) intentionally impedes or damages the academic work of others;
(e) engages in conduct aimed at making false representation of a student's academic performance;
(f) assists other students in any of these acts.” (UWS 14.03)
For further information about procedures they should follow and possible penalties they may impose on students, instructors should be sure to read the Dean of Students’ “Academic Misconduct: Guide for Instructors” website at www.wisc.edu/students/instruct.htm
Refer students to: www.wisc.edu/students/amsum.htm
Now that I know what it is, how do I reduce the likelihood it will happen?
Of course, no amount of explanation, exhortations, pleading, threats, warnings, or diatribes will guarantee that no student in your class will plagiarize. But here are some suggestions, based on experience, that may help you and your students avoid problems.
(nb: All of the following should be done early on in the course.)
First, share the University’s definition of misconduct with your students.
Further, share examples of misconduct. For example, show your students an acceptable paraphrase juxtaposed with an unacceptable paraphrase.
Design assignments that make it difficult for students to plagiarize. In The New St. Martin's Guide to Teaching Writing, Robert Connors and Cheryl Glenn have aptly recommended that “the best policy for dealing with plagiarism is by not inviting it” (38). Use essay topics that have been tailored to your course in some way. When an instructor assigns a general research paper with no specified topic or uses an assignment that has been around your department for years, students who wish to plagiarize may easily pull from a wealth of research papers on the web or from an old fraternity or sorority file. But assigning a paper that comes directly from the context of one’s class can help deter plagiarism. For example, assignments can come directly from the course readings. Further, when conferences, peer review, and multiple drafts are integrated into the sequence of assignments, students must display the work they’ve been doing to get to the final draft and will therefore have a more difficult time falsifying a final submission.
Talk regularly with all of your students about their papers in progress, their evolving ideas for their papers. Regular dialogue with your students not only helps students improve their thinking and writing but also discourages plagiarism.
Remind your students about documenting sources. And ask them what they already know about documentation, so you can build from their existing experience. Specifically, remind them to:
1. Put in quotations everything they take directly from a source. (They should be aware of practicing this especially when taking notes.)
2. Paraphrase, making sure they are not just rearranging or replacing words.
3. Remind students that even when they paraphrase ideas from a source, they must still acknowledge the source of the ideas.
4. Check their paraphrase against the original text to be sure they have not accidentally used the same phrases or words, and that the information is accurate.
5. Use the documentation style of your field (whether it be APA, APSA, Chicago, MLA or something else). You may wish to give them a guide on using your preferred documentation style.
Decide what violating the rules means in your class. If your course or department does not already bind your course to a specific academic honesty policy, make a policy, communicate that policy to your students, and stick to it. Many instructors articulate their own or their department’s academic honesty policies in contract form and have their students sign the contracts at the beginning of the semester. Such a contract serves multiple purposes: it teaches students about their responsibilities as writers, puts students on alert that you care about academic honesty, discourages students from plagiarizing, and may help you if you have to deal with a plagiarism case. The following is an example of an academic honesty contract used in my English 100 course.
ACADEMIC HONESTY CONTRACT
One of the fundamental principles of this university is that “academic honesty and integrity are fundamental to the mission of higher education and of the University of Wisconsin system” (Wisconsin Administrative Code 14.01). While what constitutes in-class cheating (copying the work of others, unauthorized use of prepared notes, etc.) is often obvious to students, plagiarism merits further elaboration.
Plagiarism is. . .
- Using someone else’s words or ideas without proper documentation
- Copying some portion of your text from another source without proper acknowledgement of indebtedness.
- Borrowing another person’s specific ideas without documenting their source.
- Having another person correct or revise your work. This differs from getting feedback from a writing group, or from an individual, which you then attempt to implement.
- Turning in a paper written by another person, from an essay “service,” or from a website (including reproductions of such essays or papers).
In addition to the instruction you have received in this course, writing handbooks, such as the Harbrace, are excellent sources for learning how to avoid plagiarism. The writing center has an online handbook that can be accessed at www.wisc.edu/writing. Click on “Writer’s Handbook.” And of course, you may always talk with me if you have any questions about plagiarism.
Consequences:
Anyone who plagiarizes in this class will be reported to the Director of Composition and earn a failing grade in the course. Further penalties may include suspension or expulsion from the University.
Signing below indicates
I understand what plagiarism is,
I will ask my instructor if I have questions regarding plagiarism,
I understand my responsibilities regarding this matter, and
I agree to abide by the above consequences should I intentionally plagiarize.
__________________________ (student) ___________ (date)
__________________________ (instructor) __________ (date)
Feel free to modify this contract to suit the needs of your own course.
What do I do if I suspect a student has committed an act of academic misconduct?
The first thing you should do is carefully read the material from the Dean of Students. Then, we’d recommend you talk with experienced colleagues who’ve handled plagiarism cases before — especially directors of a course. Then, according to the University’s policies, you should set up an informal meeting with the student during which you share your concerns. But before you meet with a student, you need to have a clear goal and plan for what you want to accomplish during the course of the meeting. You should also imagine how the student might respond to your concerns; some students might get angry or cry in such a meeting, and others might quietly agree that they’ve handled the assignment inappropriately. Be prepared for various reactions.
Specific guidelines you must follow and penalties the student may incur are outlined on the Dean of Students “Academic Misconduct: Guide for Instructors” website http://www.wisc.edu/students/instruct.htm#Prevention. But in addition to seeking the university guidelines, you may wish to seek the advice of a colleague or your course coordinator. Additionally, you might consider having a colleague present at the initial meeting with the student.
Use the informal meeting as an opportunity to explain your view of the problem. Then, be sure to listen and allow the student an opportunity to respond to your concern. Dealing with the problem of plagiarism is stressful, time-consuming, and, in some cases, heartbreaking, but unfortunately, it is a very real problem instructors in any discipline must carefully think through and be ready to face.
Works Cited
Connors, Robert, and Cheryl Glenn. The New St. Martin’s Guide to Teaching Writing. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 1999.
“Wisconsin Administrative Code,” 1999. University of Wisconsin. 5 Aug. 2001. http://folio.legis.state.wi.us/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=103533&infobase=code.nfo&jump=ch.%20UWS%2014.
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