Strategies+to+Avoid+Plagiarism

Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism
In working with students in a few 8th grade English classes recently, it was clear that they were familiar with the term plagiarism and generally had a sense of what it meant and a basic instinct that it was wrong to do. And while they understood the concept of using "your own words", there didn't seem to be a clear sense of how to approach research in a way that didn't lend itself to pulling and reguritating from a single source. As part of a lesson on note taking strategies, we looked at a 10-minute segment that recently aired on CBS Sunday Morning. [|Plagiarism: Stopping Word Thieves]was not necessarily aimed to a junior high audience, but after the segment I asked students to reflect on a key take-away from the clip. They shared exactly what I hoped they would conclude: "it's widespread" (estimate that 40-60% high school and college students admit to frequently plagiarizing); while it's easier than ever to do in a cut/paste computer age, it's also "easier than ever to get caught"; "getting caught can have huge negative consequences"; and perhaps most significant for the age we teach, "it's habit forming...you might start off small and then over time it becomes easier to do."

Beyond reminding students to put their work "in your own words", when we ask them to research, it's important to teach, reinforce and expect them to apply the skills and strategies needed to do this...help them to create habits that will avoid plagiarism. Here are few strategies I share with students: 1) Reread original passage until you understand meaning. 2) Set original aside and write your paraphrase on a note card (or online text box) 3) Check your rendition w/the original to make sure your version accurately expresses the essential information in a new form. 4) Use quotation marks to identify any unique terms or phrases borrowed exactly from the source. 5) Write a reference to the topic or question, as well as to the source on the top of each note card or text box.
 * When researching, focus on gathering information and note taking BEFORE working on the final product. While it's admirable you might want to get started on your PPT, or other final product, when the PPT is open alongside the Internet, that lends itself to cut and paste and drawing information from a single source.
 * Remember that just changing a couple of words and leaving sentence structure basically the same is still considered plagiarism.
 * Restrict note taking to key words and phrases-- avoid full sentences unless you're getting a direct quote (in which you want to identify the source of the quote in your notes).
 * Organize notes around guiding questions or subtopics as opposed to around the source (this allows for you to focus on the information you want or need to know vs. everything from a single source). Using multiple sources helps you to double check information as well as offer additional information and insights. (While use of traditional note cards or post-its are nice for note taking, there are lots of online options as well. On each note, reference the subtopic and source as well as the fact or key point.
 * Cite sources as you go--crediting where you got your information is important (not citing a source of information, giving incorrect information about a source or using a majority of a source even if it has been cited are all examples of plagiarism). Our district uses the MLA format. There are several online tools to help build a complete MLA citation, including the reference tab with Word 2010.
 * When reading longer, more complex text, practice paraphrasing:

"To steal ideas from one is plagiarism; to steal ideas from many is research." author unknown.

//**Plagiarism: Stopping Word Thieves**//- Segment from CBS Sunday morning highlighting the pervasiveness of plagiarism in today's society and consequences of getting caugh. (9:24 min)