Preventing Plagiarism

Educating students

Let students know that academic dishonesty is taken very seriously by you and the university.
Define plagiarism, and give examples of plagiarized text and properly cited text.
Let students know that you know about online paper mills. Use one of the weaker papers from one of these mills and critique it in class.
Let students know that you can and do use the same technology (Web search engines) to detect plagiarism as they might consider using to find "pre-written" papers.
Talk about documenting sources, including Web pages. Discuss differences between Web pages and online databases and journals to which the library subscribes. Show how to cite a Web page properly.
Assign students to take a self-test on plagiarism (samples listed on the "Resources" page of this presentation).
Convince students that writing assignments are developed for their benefit, and explain what those benefits are--critical thinking, lifelong learning, exposure to diverse range of opinion, etc.

Have students submit written work early in the semester so that you can become familiar with their writing styles.
Assign topics that are narrowly focused; use local issues or current events as they relate to course material.
Require different sections of the paper to be due at different times; provide feedback throughout the process.
Hold conferences with students to review what they have produced so far.
Assign students to make personal reflections on the topic they are writing about or on the process of doing research and writing.
Consider having students turn in working notes and all working drafts with the final paper.
Require students to submit a photocopied page from sources cited.
On the final exam, have students summarize the main points of their research paper.
Require students to include a statement on their papers which declares that the work is their own unless cited.