Kimbel Library: Presentations

Cheating 101: Easy Steps to Combatting Plagiarism

1. Define what plagiarism is and isn't.
• Make students aware of what constitutes plagiarism and how you handle it.
• Let students know that you know about term paper mills.
• Talk about copyright and the Internet.
• Talk about how to document web pages, how to document materials from online databases and the differences between web pages and online databases.
  
  
2. Guide the research paper process. Structure the research project so that it fulfills the goals of the class. Set up the project so that sections are worked on over the course of the semester. Don't let students get into a time crunch.
   
   
3. Focus on the process of writing.
• Have different sections due at different times and provide feedback along the way.
• Have conferences with students regarding their progress and to see what they have produced so far.
• Being familiar with a student's style of writing, grammar, and vocabulary makes it easier to determine if they are the writer of the paper.
  
  
4. Have students turn in any or all of the following over the course of a semester:
• A thesis statement/abstract.
• Written proposal for paper.
• Working or annotated bibliography.
• Rough draft or working notes.
• Outlines.
• All working drafts turned in with the final paper.
• Copies of cited references. (Some services provide these for an extra fee)
  
  
5. As part of the paper or as a separate assignment, have students reflect personally on the topic they are writing on or on the process of doing research and writing.
   
   
6. Make sure students know that you read the papers that are handed in.
   
   
7. Tie the topics into the class experience.
• Have writing assignments that have students analyze classroom activities or discussions in light of the text.
• Use local issues as topics.
• Ask students to include a section in their term paper that discusses their topic in light of what was covered in class.
• On the final exam, ask students to summarize the main points of their research paper.