Why do students plagiarize? Maybe I’m naïve, but I believe
it is because many times they don’t know how to use sources properly. Another
common reason is they don’t know where to start. Moreover, when students don’t
manage their time well and leave the entire essay for the night before,
plagiarism is an easy answer.
Some teachers don't worry about their students
plagiarizing because they use a
plagiarism checker. However, these only punish plagiarism;
they don’t prevent it. As an analogy, they’re like seat belts; they don’t
prevent accidents, but they do help if an accident occurs.
Plagiarism checkers are also pretty useless against bought
essays. If these are well written, they don’t show up as plagiarized. Lucky for
teachers, often these aren’t well written and are sold to more than one
student. Those do show up as plagiarized via plagiarism checkers.
How do we keep students honest? If a student really wants to
cheat, they will find a way to cheat. However, you can scaffold your class so
that in the end writing the essay is easier than cheating!
This schedule is made up of ten days, but you can combine
days.
In my classes we practice grammar, literature and essay
writing, so these days aren’t back to back.
Before you start, tell students they should save EVERY assignment
as each assignment is due with the draft and final copy.
DAY ONE- The
assignment. We go over the requirements, multiple deadlines, and write a few
sample theses as a class. HOMEWORK Come up
with a good thesis statement and a few prospective topic sentences.
DAY TWO-Finding a
good source. This lesson focuses on good
sources versus bad sources. We cover the basics as well as the exceptions. By
now, you should have looked over their thesis statements and said whose was a
good start and whose needed work. If some need work offer them the chance to
change it now. Homework: Find a good source
that is about your topic. It doesn’t need to completely support your opinion,
but it should be a GOOD source in English. Bring in a photocopy of the cover
page and a random page if it is a hardcopy or online in PDF. Print one page of
the article if it is an electronic source (include the URL and author). LAST
CHANCE to change theses.
DAY THREE- Citation.
I take this lesson to discuss why plagiarism is bad. We look at
current pop culture examples of plagiarism and the punishments. How to prevent this?
Attribute your sources. Show parenthetical citation, in text citation and a
Works Cited page.
Homework: Have them find
another source in English and make a
Works Cited page with their two sources.
DAY FOUR- Quoting.
Teach your students WHEN to quote and more importantly when NOT to quote. Show
them how to integrate a quote into a paragraph. Advise them AGAINST translating
something from another language into English and then quoting it. Homework: Find another good source in English.
Find something to quote from two of the three sources. Write sample sentences
integrating them into a real sentence AND using parenthetical and in text
citation (one each). Add the new source to your Works Cited page.
DAY FIVE- Paraphrasing-
MAKE SURE they know that paraphrasing needs to be attributed. Often they feel
since the words are theirs now they don’t need to give credit. Point out It is
AWESOME to use when they find something useful in their L1 (mother tongue). Homework: Find
another good source in any language and paraphrase it (make sure to use in text
or parenthetical citations). Add the new source to your Works Cited page.
DAY SIX-
Summarizing. Again, MAKE SURE they attribute when summarizing. It also a GREAT
option to use if they find something useful in their L1. Homework: Find another good source in any language
and summarize it (make sure to use in text or parenthetical citations). Add the
new source to your Works Cited page.
DAY SEVEN-
Outline. I like doing this in class, but you can assign it as homework. I
discourage using full sentences for the main ideas and details unless it is one
of the quotes, summaries or paraphrases they’ve already submitted.
DAY EIGHT- Peer
Review. I also like to do these in class, but sometimes there’s no time. In
that case it becomes extra credit. I put up worksheets for peer reviews that
walk them through a series of questions (Is every quote integrated? Is the
thesis specific? Is the Works Cited page on a separate page? Etc.) If they swap
papers with a classmate and review the other person’s essay, I give then some
extra credit. I find these are more effective than self-reviews.
DAY NINE- Draft.
Some teachers don’t collect drafts; I do. Be sure to collect EVERYTHING with
the draft. This way you can see the progression of your students’ thoughts. Run
anything that looks iffy through a
plagiarism checker. Otherwise be sure to pay
close attention to attributions as well as essay structure and grammar.
DAY TEN- Final. I
make final essays optional. If a student is happy with their grade on the draft,
I transfer the draft grade to their final essay grade. This saves me the hassle
of writing, “You didn’t change ANYTHING” on a final essay and getting cranky. If
a student wants to fix their essay and improve their grade, they turn in a
final copy (again with EVERYTHING).
Grading: How do I give a grade? I usually put everything
towards the essay grade. For example: Each good source, paraphrase, summary,
quote goes into “Essay Preparation”
Essay Preparation- 5%
Peer Review- 5%
Outline- 15%
Draft- 25%
Final- 50%
The scale is designed so passing is easily achieved and
students have to do the work along the way if they want a great grade.
Regardless of how you break down the grade, be sure students
have this on DAY 1 when you give the assignment.
Each of these topics will be covered with an in depth idea of how to teach each of these days during the month of July.
How do you prevent plagiarism on assignments?
Actions (Glide, Jump, Pop, Lean, Lock, Shake, Shuffle, Stick ) Adjectives (Polka Dot, Zig zag) Nouns (Hawk, Sky) Body Parts (Hands, Head, Hips, One Footed, Toe) Directions (180 twist, Diagonal, In, Left, On, Side to side)
