Module: The Teacher's Perspective
Summary
How do teachers know that a student may have plagiarized? This discussion activity provides an opportunity to share the teacher's point of view in regard to plagiarism.
How it works
- This activity is designed as a discussion that begins by asking students: "How do teachers know that a student may have plagiarized?"
- Students should offer their own insights. The list here includes points you may want to cover with the class and provides examples and "how to" information.
- Teachers know their students' writing style: obvious differences in language/vocabulary or tone and style will raise suspicions.
Ex. from a student's actual film review: " Europa, Europa lacks conclusions or the macro-tragic implications of its title."
- Teachers talk with other teachers and might share concerns if they suspect plagiarism.
- Teachers know Google and other Web search engines, and they know how to perform searches for phrases that seem unusual in a student's work.
For teachers not familiar with this strategy, visit http://www.google.com/ . There you should type a few choice words (or a specific phrase or passage inside "quotation marks" if you want to find words listed in order) to perform a search. For the example listed above, the teacher typed the following in the Google search field:
"Europa, Europa" "macro-tragic implications" lacks
and then clicked on "Google Search" to find the original Washington Post review copied by the student. Placing a string of words in quotation marks limits the possibilities, so be prepared to experiment with and without quotations marks.
- Teachers and colleges can subscribe to TurnItIn.com, a service that helps determine the authenticity of a student's work.
- Teachers collect drafts of larger assignments over a period of time and can recognize when ideas or styles have shifted greatly from the original. If students don't submit drafts when required, it might demonstrate that the work isn't their own.
- Teachers will go to the library or Internet and check a paper's sources.
- Teachers know their students well. If they suspect plagiarism, many teachers will ask a student if the work is her own.
In a College Now English class, a student who was asked by the program coordinator admitted right away that she had copied. Students often admit it when confronted with the issue, but it helps to have evidence of an original source.
- Teachers know their students' writing style: obvious differences in language/vocabulary or tone and style will raise suspicions.