Dr. Alice Christie's
EMCC Faculty Kickoff
Spring 2004

 

Plagiarism HyperQuest
by Dr. Alice Christie

I found your speech to be good and original.
However, the part that was original was not good.
And the part that was good was not original.
Samuel Johnson, to one of his less-motivated students

I haven't written a paper since third grade.
I get all my papers from the Net.
You should try it. It's soooo easy.
Community college student bragging to his friends

Introduction | Task | Process and Resources | Self Evaluation/Reflection
Conclusion | Teacher Resources

Introduction/Purpose

Jim Carrey was asked to comment on Dumb and Dumber: When Harry Met Lloyd. Carrey's wonderful response to David Letterman was "Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery."

Do you agree with this statement? Is this your definition of plagiarism?

Do you think this is the way EMCC policy defines plagiarism?

After you and your colleagues complete this Plagiarism HyperQuest, you'll have a deeper understanding of plagiarism and its potential consequences on college campuses as well as in a number of other areas.

Task

After completing this Plagiarism HyperQuest, share with the other groups:
  • one of the five definitions of plagiarism that your group found;
  • the story of one person who plagiarized; and
  • draft a student-friendly plagiarism policy to include on your syllabi.

Process and Resources

1. Definitions of Plagiarism

Using any of the links below, you and your group members will discover five or more definitions of plagiarism. Record these definitions by copying from the Internet and pasting into Word™. Be sure to record the URL of each site where you find a definition.

What is plagiarism?

2. Examples to Compare from the Purdue Online Writing Lab

In your group, compare the four passages that follow. Make a quick list of differences between the Plagiarized Version and the Legitimate Paraphrase and Acceptable Summary.

The Original Passage:

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.

A Legitimate Paraphrase:

In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

An Acceptable Summary:

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

A Plagiarized Version:

Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.

3. Plagiarism in the News

Each of you will be assigned to one of eight groups. Each group will explore how plagiarism is found in your assigned area (e.g.. science or journalism).

Read through each article in your assigned area and decide within your group which "plagiarism story" you would like to share with the whole group.

Scientists | Historians | University Employees | University Students | Entertainers
Politicians | Journalists | K-12 Education | All Fields

4. Plagiarism Policy in Syllabi

Now that you and your group have explored definitions, examples, and instances of plagiarism, work together to craft a Plagiarism Policy to place in all your syllabi for the upcoming semester.

Self Evaluation/Reflection

Reflect on each of the following questions:
  • In what ways has your understanding of plagiarism deepened or changed?
  • In what ways did collaborative work in groups aid your understanding?
  • How will you deal differently with plagiarism in the future as a result of this HyperQuest?
  • When you suspect a student of plagiarizing, what steps will you take in the future that you wouldn't have taken before completing this HyperQuest?
  • How might you use HyperQuests or WebQuests in your instruction in the future?

Conclusion

 Defend or refute any of the following famous quotes about plagiarism:

Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research.
John Milton OR Wilson Mizner

Art is either plagiarism or revolution.
Paul Gauguin

The only "ism" Hollywood believes in is plagiarism.
Dorothy Parker

Where do architects and designers get their ideas? The answer, of course, is mainly from other architects and designers, so is it mere casuistry (deceptive, over-subtle reasoning) to distinguish between tradition and plagiarism?
Stephen Bayley

Ideas improve. The meaning of words participates in the improvement. Plagiarism is necessary. Progress implies it. It embraces an author's phrase, makes use of his expressions, erases a false idea, and replaces it with the right idea.
Guy Debord

Self-plagiarism is style.
Alfred Hitchcock

What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.
Dean William Ralph Inge

Teacher Resources

  • Hints to Teachers
    In The Plagiarism Handbook: Strategies for Preventing, Detecting, and Dealing with Plagiarism (2001, Pyrczak Publishing), Robert Harris states:
    • Don't assume students know what plagiarism is.
    • Teach plagiarism not from a punitive approach, but rather by emphasizing good writing and source management skills.
    • Distinguish between writing mistakes and deliberate cheating.
    • Talk about plagiarism in class, and not just as a hectoring admonishment warning students to avoid it.
    • Make the writing process visible to students (and you) by collecting drafts, annotated bibliographies, and copies of sources used.
    • Teach students how to manage sources.
    • Design assignments to both mitigate against plagiarism and at the same time help students learn good scholarly habits.
    • Know your school's plagiarism policies and procedures before you begin the course, so you know your options and rights as a teacher in advance.
    • Remember due process and student confidentiality if you need to make a plagiarism charge.
    • Put students at ease in office conferences to discuss plagiarism. Give students a chance to explain their paper.

  • Helping Students Avoid Plagiarism
  • Other Resources

 

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