How to Handle Plagiarism

The art of nabbing and disciplining those dirty, lying thought thieves. Plagiarism is one of the oddest concepts, considering that Western societies are the only ones that even think it’s possible to steal “intellectual property” (a very capitalist notion, yes?), while there is simply a collective of knowledge in places like China that everyone owns and anyone is free to use without citing sources. After all, hasn’t everything already been written and said? “There is nothing new under the sun,” right?—wait, let me get that source (Ecclesiastes 1.9b).

Add to that cultural discrepancy the fact that we teachers freely steal, copy and disseminate our own ideas, assignments and handouts (not to mention copyrighted material—you know who you are) when it comes to teaching. This is plagiarism. But nevermind that we don’t practice what we preach; here are some good ways of handling student plagiarism.

1. Cover your bases ahead of time. Include a long section defining plagiarism and delineating the horrible consequences thereof in your syllabus, and have students read it aloud (as a class or in turns) when you go over the syllabus. It does feel like second grade reading class, but this exercise ensures that everyone is accountable for the information. You can find your university’s plagiarism policy on its website, usually under “Policies” or something like that, or you may find it on a colleague’s syllabus (in which case you should promptly plagiarize it). My university has this great process of creating an ad hoc committee to “try” the student and determine his or her consequences (up to expulsion). I doubt you’ll ever have to go that far with a student, but that assignment should be automatically failed.

2. Design plagiarism-proof assignments. Avoid assigning generic topics or generic formats that can be easily lifted from cheat-sites. “Social issue” papers (legalizing marijuana, gun control, etc.) are sure to turn up some cheating, so rather than approving/assigning a paper on, say, global warming, shape it to fit the student: “define global warming, demonstrate the potential impact on your community, and suggest some solutions you can initiate within your community.” Many teachers have found it helpful to create paper assignments that are different from typical papers. Also, have the students brainstorm and create outlines in class (and even begin writing) so that they won’t be tempted by a profound writer’s block at the last minute to grab something off the internet.

3. It’s pretty easy to spot plagiarism. One, there will be a drastic difference between their in-class writing and a plagiarized assignment, and I’m not just talking about Spell Check and the shift+F7 function (thesaurus). I require tons of in-class essays, so I notice when their writing has suddenly become graduate-level. However, if you don’t teach a writing-intensive course, there are other things you’ll notice. For example, students often neglect to change formatting when they copy and paste from the internet. The spacing before and after lines is often still set to “auto,” so there are odd paragraph breaks. Or the student has a couple of different fonts (a sans from the internet and the default TNR from Word). Or you may see a slightly gray background he or she didn’t notice in the document.

Google usually works, because it’s probably the search engine your student used.. Enter a string of words in quotations marks (to search for those words only in a series) that doesn’t look like your student’s writing. It’ll usually be the second or third item to pop up. I’ve also heard of plagiarism software and search engines, but I’ve never come across or needed them. If you know of some, let me know and I’ll post them.

4. Confront the student respectfully. Accusations are never cool; they can make the student more defensive and prone to deny it, leading to lots of uncertainty. You might not know for sure about the plagiarism, so you won’t know what to do and, regardless of your decision, the student will feel guilty or insecure around you, making for an uncomfortable student/teacher relation for the rest of the year. You’re trying to help this student make good decisions, not “bust” him or her, so avoid accusations. I hear it is a power trip, though, if you ever want to try it.

Here’s a method I learned while teaching in New Orleans; I really like it, and I’ve shared it with a lot of people who latched onto it as well. Unfortunately, I can’t remember which teacher gave me this; otherwise, I’d certainly give her her intellectual props. Print a hard copy of the internet version of the plagiarized essay. Hand back all essays at the beginning of class except for Plagiarizing Patty’s, and ask her to see you at the end of class. She knows what’s up, so this gives her time to think about her decision and work through some of her defenses. At the end of class (I wait till the other students are gone so I can confront her privately), place her essay on the desk in front of you and, next to it, your internet print-out. Simply ask, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

The student will probably come clean (I’ve never had a student deny the plagiarism). Then put the ball in their corner again by asking, “What are the consequences for plagiarism?”

The rest is up to your discretion. I always fail that assignment, but I usually catch the plagiarism on first drafts anyway, so they can revise (rewrite) and still pass the assignment. Depending on the university’s policies, I may have students sign an Academic Dishonesty Form (which does not follow them past college, but stays on record in case they plagiarize again). I rarely receive plagiarized essays, but those few cases were not repeated by the students. I suppose I would consider asking them to drop the class if that happened.

In the cases of accidental plagiarism (for example, paraphrasing or not citing sources correctly), I still hold the students after class and fail the assignment, but provide specific instruction and assure them that a revision will replace the F. Again, it’s up to you.

5. Don’t ignore plagiarism. It is a disservice to your students to pretend it didn’t happen (either because you’re too tired or too scared to deal with it). Though you may feel merciful for not confronting Plagiarizing Patty, you are denying that student her agency as a human being. She has the ability to make choices with good or bad consequences, and she has the right, like you and I, to learn from her mistakes. And though plagiarism is indeed only a construct, she and you have agreed to the terms of the class, which include treating plagiarism as an offense.