Tips for Combating Plagiarism - LaSalle College E

Respecting Copyright and Combating Student Plagiarism
Brenda Labelle, Room #4313
October 5, 2007, 11:30AM-12:00PM
Tips for Combating Plagiarism
Make your expectations clear and don’t expect your students to have any prior
knowledge of academic writing.
¾ Explain intellectual property using pertinent examples:
o
Explain that is okay to use other’s idea and words BUT ONLY IF they make it clear
that they are doing so by providing correct references; otherwise, it is considered
plagiarism.
¾ Explain plagiarism:
o
o
o
o
Describe the difference between a quote and a paraphrase using examples.
Consequences of plagiarism (section 3.19 of the agenda); explain that any part of an
assignment found to have been plagiarised will result in a mark of zero for the project
or the entire course.
Make explicit the way in which you expect students to use sources and cite sources
using examples that are relevant to them.
Be clear about how you will mark their paper: Will you give extra marks for proper
citations and bibliography? Will you deduct marks for improper or inconsistent
citations?
¾ Reinforce the message through example:
o
Make sure all information you produce for the course includes proper citations, as
well as a comprehensive bibliography.
¾ Provide the necessary tools:
o
o
Emphasise note taking techniques. List the information students need to take down
when they read texts or copy images from sources, i.e. author, title, publisher, page
number, etc.
Provide a list of websites and guides they can consult or create your own coursespecific guide.
Assign projects that make plagiarising difficult
¾ Incremental assignments:
o
For large projects, break down the steps and attribute marks incrementally at each
stage (proposal + bibliography; thesis statement + outline; draft; final project). Adapt
to the needs and learning objectives of your course.
¾ Specify sources/topic:
o
o
Provide a list of library or Internet sources students must use for their projects and
require that they get special permission from you to use any source that is not listed
in the bibliography.
The more original and specific an assignment, the more difficulty there is in
plagiarising.
¾ Research skills:
o
o
Take the time to explain the basics of library research, as well as which types of
resources are appropriate. This is especially pertinent with regard to online sources.
Make sure that if they copy something word for word, they insert quotation marks
right away. Use the example of copying and pasting from a website to illustrate this
point.
Signs of plagiarism
•
•
•
•
•
•
A multiplicity of writing styles within the paper, or lack of flow between one section and the
next
Inconsistency in quality from previous work, i.e. a poor student may improve but will usually
not produce error-free work
References (in-text or footnotes) that do not match the sources listed in the bibliography
A paper that is off-topic
A bibliography that contains no recent references or lists dead web links
You recognise the text; you may well have read it before… do a little research
Respecting Copyright and Combating Student Plagiarism
Brenda Labelle, Room #4313
October 5, 2007, 11:30AM-12:00PM
Bibliography
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September 2007
<http://teachopolis.org/justice/plagiarism/plagiarism_detect.htm>.
Canada. Industry Canada. Canadian Intellectual Property Office. “What Is Intellectual
Property?”. 14 June 2004. 12 September 2007.
<http://strategis.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/help/faq_ip-e.html>.
COLLÈGE AHUNSIC : DÉPARTEMENT D’HISTOIRE ET GÉOGRAPHIE, Guide
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14 février 2006, consulté le 11 juillet 2007.
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<http://www.library.mcgill.ca/human/SUBGUIDE/pdf/mla.pdf>.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. New York:
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GOUVERNEMENT DU CANADA, Industrie Canada, Office de la propriété intellectuelle
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MÉDAILLE, Christine, « Le plagiat… un mal à prévenir », BiblioCliQ, volume 3, numéro
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http://www.bibliotheques.uqam.ca/informations/bibliocliq/dossiers/plagiat.html >,
consulté le 28 septembre 2007.
“Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgement.” Dartmouth College. 5 Nov. 2001. 16 July
2007. <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sources/index.html>.
“Tips for Preventing Plagiarism”. Canada College. 13 August 2007. 28 September 2007
<www.canadacollege.edu/inside/acad_integrity/HowtoPreventPlagiarsm.pdf>.
TREMBLAY, Raymond Robert et Yvan PERRIER. Savoir plus : outils et méthodes de
travail intellectuel, 2e édition, Montréal, Chenelière Éducation, 2006. 152 p.
378.170281 T789s 2006
VALLIÈRE, Catherine, « Le plagiat : Comment le prévenir? », Le trait-d’union express,
volume 5, numéro 2, 17 octobre 2002, en ligne,
< http://www.usherbrooke.ca/ssf/tu/vol_5/no_2/plagiat.html >, consulté le 28
septembre 2007.