How to Stop Plagiarism Before It Starts

A guest post by, Denise Du Vernay

Denise Du Vernay is a guest blogger and co-author of the book The Simpsons in the Classroom: Embiggening the Learning Experience with the Wisdom of Springfield. Learn more about the book, simpsonology. She teaches at Milwaukee School of Engineering.

I was chatting recently with a friend of mine who, like me, has been teaching college English classes for over 10 years. She had just changed a student’s incomplete grade to an F because the paper he or she finally turned in was plagiarized. It was easy for my friend to find the paper online; after she noticed that it was written in a completely different style than the rest of the work the student had done all semester, a quick Google search pulled up the paper on a popular cheat site. Also at the end of this past semester, two more friends of mine have busted students for academic dishonesty. One situation involved a paper that was just too good, and an internet search located the paper with just one line. Another situation involved a student whose paper was straight out of Spark notes. When the student was asked about it, his defense was that he had had his friend write the paper for him, but certainly didn’t realize that it had been plagiarized. (This is perhaps my favorite story of them all).

In my experience teaching for various colleges, I have noticed a plagiarism trend: it’s most often discovered at the end of a term. There are a couple reasons for this: 1. Many instructors become familiar with the style or voice of their students’ writing throughout the course, so by the end of a term, if something doesn’t match, it’s quite obvious. 2. Students become overwhelmed by stress right around finals, which can lead to desperation and poor decisions.

This post isn’t about scare tactics and guilt, rather, I would like to share with you some of the reasons why no one should cheat, how you can avoid plagiarizing, and a note for other teachers on what they can do to curb instances of plagiarism in their classes.

When I’ve discovered plagiarism in my classes, despite my rational side telling me I shouldn’t take the offense personally, I still often do. I’ve felt angry (“Who does he think he is‽”), suffered hurt feelings (“I thought we clicked this quarter, why would she do this?”), been insulted (“Did he really think I wouldn’t know?”) but very rarely have I felt content or satisfied by the discovery (in fact, I can only think of one time). My goal as a teacher is not to seek out instances of plagiarism but to prevent them. I want my students to do the work that I’ve assigned because I believe in the usefulness of the assignments. I plan my courses to fulfill the pedagogical goals that my department has agreed on for a specific course. When students don’t complete the assignments, they don’t get the full benefit of the course, thus are probably not ready for the next course in the progression. I don’t let a student coast along to the next course if only because it makes me look like a bad teacher.

I’m sure you’ve all been asked this cliché question against plagiarism: “Would you want a dentist who cheated his way through dental school?” Of course, the answer is a resounding no. But in the case of writing essays, research reports, and speeches, the negative effects of cheating are subtler, but still detrimental. Consider this: I teach at an engineering college with an excellent reputation and a stellar placement record to match. I have only discovered two instances of plagiarism there, but for the overall good of the school and its alumni, I have not looked the other way. What happens when alumni from our school are employed but do not satisfy the requirements of the job (including non-engineering skills, such as technical writing and public speaking)? A quick check of their transcripts will show they had taken coursework in those areas, and perhaps that employer will think poorly upon our programs and think twice before hiring one of our alumni again.

To put it simply: I bust plagiarists and cheaters not out of cold-heartedness, but out of fairness to those who don’t cheat. It’s not just a karmic issue for me, but a practical and logical issue as well. Sure, I don’t think it’s fair to the students who don’t cheat, but the main reason I strive to preserve academic integrity is because I do not want the schools that I went to and the schools that I work for to become jokes.
I’m reminded of a recent situation regarding the 2010 valedictorian of Columbia University’s School of General Studies, Brian Corman, who ripped off, in his valedictorian speech, a rather long joke from the comedian Patton Oswalt. He told an anecdote from one of Oswalt’s routines about taking a “Physics for Poets” class. Corman told the story, saying it happened to a friend of his. I’m disgusted by what he did, and I feel for Columbia because they can never take back their introduction of him that day as “the very best of the GS Columbia tradition,” as this connection forever taints the school. My heart also goes out to Isis Paloma, the salutatorian, who probably should have been valedictorian. (Hey, if Corman plagiarized his valedictorian speech, what would prevent him from cheating on schoolwork? My logic is that if he was willing to lie to a large group of people, what would stop him from plagiarizing to an audience of just one professor?) He had planned to attend UC Berkeley for law school; I wonder if he still will. In any case, his future is forever altered by this regrettable lapse in judgment

This is an extreme example; it is my belief that the majority of college students guilty of plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty is not made up of bad people or scammers; rather, as I mentioned above, most are simply acting out of desperation. Although I never passed another’s work off as my own, I did suffer through many an all-nighter when I was in college, often because of poor time-management skills. (I also had the delusion that I worked better under pressure. I am certainly prolific under pressure, but not necessarily better. I understand the difference now.)

I realize that my recommendation to “manage your time better” to prevent panic and despair is obvious, but I do have some tips on how to accomplish this:
Don’t skip class, even to do homework. You may get some work done, but missing class will make you feel overwhelmed and out of the loop. Also, frequent absences may not sit well with your instructors. (In my classes, attendance can sometimes be the deciding factor for a student on the cusp of two grades).
If you’re confused about the topic or are having trouble getting started, email your instructor or, better yet, see him/her in office hours. I have brainstormed topics with many students, and I’m very helpful. I know the questions to ask to find good ideas to explore. Your instructors probably know how, too. If you’ve got a prof who’s unapproachable or unhelpful, email me. (du@simpsonology.com)

I know that desperate situations are not always your fault and that you aren’t always guilty of procrastination; oftentimes, the essay or research report that looms so far in the future on the calendar may take a backseat to immediate tasks like studying for exams, that pesky group project, or your necessary part-time job. And then you realize the due date has snuck up on you. When I was writing my master’s thesis, I forced myself to write for two hours every morning. In pajamas. Yes, I was so strict that I wouldn’t even allow myself to shower or get dressed for the day before those two hours were up. (Some people require a certain number of pages from themselves. This is a tactic worth trying, but for me that approach works better with fiction writing).

I was disciplined in graduate school, but as an undergraduate I wasn’t quite as driven. Still, I did have a few tactics up my sleeve. One of the things I did as an undergrad to help manage my time was dedicate certain days to specific coursework (Monday was for English, Tuesday for geology, and so on). Also, I nailed down topics as soon as I could. Next, I attempted to do as much of the research as possible ahead of time, so that when I went to start composing, I had pages of notes and quotes from books and articles to work with. At the very least, I had a coffee table full of books, making that empty Word document with that lonely flashing curser so much easier to handle. (This approach also ensured that there were sources for my desired topic).
I feel that students should be responsible for their own actions, but there’s plenty that teachers can do to curb plagiarism in their classes. We have to be flexible and change our methods because the way students find information has changed. (Students, keep reading this, as you may find some of these suggestions useful, too).

1. Teach, re-teach, and review proper citation practices. Remind students that it doesn’t matter if a quote is verbatim or paraphrased; it still requires an in-text citation. Offer free citation advice. Require a Works Cited page for all written work. Check some citations at random for accuracy.
2. Keep your assignments fresh. Don’t reuse quizzes, tests, or paper assignments from semester to semester.
3. Talk openly about plagiarism. Take the taboo away. Share your stories (or those of colleagues) of plagiarism and what happened to the students (while respecting FERPA, of course). I suspect that students often hear about academic dishonesty from classmates’ perspectives, especially tales of getting away with it, so they should hear it from us. They should know that students do get caught. Remind them that we all have the same internet. Make sure your syllabus outlines your institution’s academic dishonesty policy (with clear definitions), and include your own thoughts on the matter.
4. Be wired. Use BlackBoard or whatever e-learning system your institution has. Answer their emails promptly. Tweet and use social networking sites. Brag about how many hits your blog had the week before. If your students know that you are internet savvy, they may think twice before lifting something off the internet to turn in to your class.
5. Find creative, even non-traditional ways to get the work done and the objectives met. If possible, eliminate a paper assignment in favor of a group or individual presentation. Grade heavily on verbal citation practices and smoothness of delivery (to ensure much rehearsing).
6. For papers, reports, and presentations, require students to clear the topic with you ahead of time. Require progress reports. (Keep records of each student’s topic so you know if the paper they eventually turn in matches).
7. Assign a bibliography of several potential sources far in advance, and make it worth substantial points. If you opt to do this, you’re doing your students a big favor because it gets them to the library (physically or virtually), which jump starts their work and lets them know early in the process if their topic will fly or if there’s not enough material out there.
8. If you’re teaching a literature class, try to select works that are new or not well-known (do your own internet search to see how much is out there) and require the students write their out-of-class papers on those. The internet is littered with papers on Steinbeck, Camus, and Updike; don’t tempt your students unnecessarily. Keep canonical works on your syllabus, but assign writings about such works as in-class essay exams or in the form of very specific questions.
9. Design your course around a specific theme. I teach with The Simpsons and have even co-written a book about The Simpsons in the classroom (www.simpsonology.com). I have found that the specialized nature of the writing assignments I come up with keeps instances of plagiarism down. Plus, pop culture themes have a tendency to engage students. They will enjoy coming to class, which can only help them stay caught up.
10. Show your students that you respect the work they’re doing. Return their work with thoughtful comments and as promptly as possible. (My personal rule used to be one week, but now it’s a bit nebulous: I just make sure they get papers back with enough time to benefit from my comments as they work on their next writing assignment). If it takes you a long time to return work, explain the reason for the delay.

Students and fellow teachers, plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will never go away, but by making a few adjustments we can at least minimize the chances it involves our classes directly. Now, if you’re in the market for a new dentist, that’s a much easier job: get some referrals from friends who have nice teeth. And then Google the snot out of the names they give you.