Tools for Tackling Plagiarism
RSSWe all would like to believe that our students are honest. But occasionally, as we read through their essays, we’ll come across something that makes us wonder, “Did Susie really write this?” In those moments, the first thing I do is head to Google. A quick search of a suspect phrase placed in quotation marks will reveal some of the more obvious cases of plagiarism. But other tools beyond standard search engines can help educators address appropriation. Detailed below, these resources can aid not only teachers who suspect plagiarism, but also students who want to avoid infringement, an all too common risk in the age of cut and paste.
Additionally I share with students the cautionary tales of Jayson Blair and Cooks Source magazine. A journalist at the New York Times, Blair fabricated news stories in 2003 and published reporting under his byline that was not his own. The Cooks Source incident is particularly relevant to today’s students, who may—as an editor at the magazine did—believe that everything on the Internet is public property. In November 2010, Cooks Source was caught copying stories from a blogger and posting them wholesale in their publication without permission or attribution. By the way, after resigning in disgrace, Blair no longer works as a journalist and the Cooks Source site now redirects to a Web hosting company.
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is the number one place I refer students and parents to learn not only about plagiarism, but about all aspects of the writing process. From conducting research to creating citations in MLA, APA, or Chicago style, Purdue OWL has it all. Visit the section “Avoiding Plagiarism” for specific activities and strategies.
The free service Paper Rater helps high school and college students improve their writing. Paper Rater performs basic spelling and grammar checks, but its real value is in assessing student work for plagiarism. After scanning a paper, the service estimates the likelihood that someone might suspect that text may have been copied, for example, in the case of a lengthy quotation.
PlagiarismChecker.com works like Paper Rater. To use the service, simply type or paste text into the search box, and it will tell you if the material was copied. PlagiarismChecker.com also provides some simple handouts on how to avoid accidental appropriation and a basic explanation of fair use.
Plagiarism.org is the educational arm of iParadigm, creator of commercial plagiarism detection software Turnitin. A free learning center for students and teachers, Plagiarism.org offers a range of information, from how to avoid plagiarism to when and how to cite a reference. The site also hosts recorded webinars to help teachers educate their students about the topic.
How do you make sure that your own work isn’t appropriated? If you or your students are publishing on the Web, it’s not a bad idea to keep track of who’s talking about your content and how they’re using it. To do that, simply set up a Google Alert or two. These notify you when content you specify, such as a particular phrase, appears online. For example, I’ve set up a Google Alert for “Free Technology for Teachers” so that I can know when and how my blog is being mentioned. You can choose to have alerts delivered to your email inbox or direct them to your RSS reader.
So the next time you have your doubts about the authenticity of student work, you’ll have these resources to follow up. Better yet, bring these tools into your library or classroom to share with students a valuable lesson in preventing plagiarism.
| Author Information |
| Richard Byrne (richardbyrne@freetech4teachers.com), a high school social studies teacher, writes the award-winning blog “Free Technology for Teachers.” |
