Plagiarism: Teaching Modules & Student Resources

Lehman College / College Now - Teacher Resource   (return to home page)

Module: How to Avoid Plagiarism - Quoting Directly from Print Sources

Summary

Students practice including direct quotes using the formatting style required in the course.

How it works

  1. Refer to a writing handbook/reader or distribute a copy of the citation style students will use in their writing assignments (MLA, Chicago, APA, etc.). At Lehman College/College Now, teachers use Between Worlds. Teachers can obtain sets of some styles from the College Now office, or check online for Diane Hacker's "Research and Documentation" at http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/.
  2. Using select examples taken from a text students are reading in your course, ask students to practice using these styles on the attached activity sheet [PDF]. N.B. Some students will find it hard to resist re-writing a basic sentence to satisfy each of the criteria; therefore, teachers might want to make this a "competition" for most creative sentences in each category.
  3. Students should exchange papers with a partner as the class reviews the activity sheet together.
  4. Additional handouts [PDF] provided here include some writing tips students might want to consider.

Did they get it?

Ask the students which exercises were most difficult and what they need to do to improve.

Key terms/ideas for understanding

  • Handbook/Reader
  • Different documentation styles
  • Experts in a field
  • Coherency
  • Transition in writing