1. Moving Beyond “Don’t Do It:”
an alternative approach to teaching about plagiarism
Kristen di Gennaro, Director of Composition, NYC
Jennifer Rosenstein, First Year Outreach Services Librarian, NYC

2. Essential Questions
Is there a discrepancy between students’ perceptions of plagiarism and faculty’s perceptions?
How do we define and understand plagiarism?
How do we educate to prevent plagiarism?

3. Plagiarism Attitude Scale
Complete the following online survey:
tinyurl.com/PaceFI 2017
→ Answer as you imagine an undergraduate student would answer

4. Students’ Responses

5. Plagiarism is common among my peers.

6. Sometimes I feel tempted to plagiarize because so many other students are doing it.

7. I believe I know accurately what constitutes plagiarism and what does not.

8. Plagiarism is as bad as stealing the final exam ahead of time and memorizing the answers.

9. If my roommate gives me permission to use his or her paper for one of my classes, I don’t think there is anything wrong with doing that.

10. Plagiarism is justified if the professor assigns too much work in the course.

11. The punishment for plagiarism in college should be light because we are young people just learning the ropes.

12. If a student buys or downloads free a whole research paper and turns it in unchanged with his or her name as the author, the student should be expelled from the university.

13. Plagiarism is against my ethical values.

14. Because plagiarism involves taking another person’s words and not his or her materials goods, plagiarism is no big deal.

15. It’s okay to use something you have written in the past to fulfill a new assignment because you can’t plagiarize yourself.

16. If I lend a paper to another student to look at, and then that student
turns it in as his or her own and is caught, I should not be punished
also.

17. If students caught plagiarizing received a special grade for cheating
(such as XF) on their permanent transcript, that policy would deter many
from plagiarizing.

18. Perceptions of Plagiarism
Comparison and contrast

19. Defining Plagiarism Less clear cases: Clear Cases (mostly):
Submitting a paper that someone else has written
Submitting a paper purchased online or elsewhere
Re-submitting a paper assigned and graded for a previous course (?)
Less clear cases:
Distinguishing “common knowledge” from intellectual property
Inadequate paraphrasing
Careless documentation of secondary sources
Failure to apply disciplinary citation conventions

20. (Re-)Defining the Problem
Clear Cases (mostly):
An ethical issue (intention to deceive)
Intentional
Deception
Cheating -- Defying the rules
Less clear cases
A practical problem (lack of awareness)
Unintentional
Inexperience with academic writing
Learning -- Not applying conventions
Ethical problem < > Pedagogical problem
Clear dichotomies, or a continuum?
The causes, responses, and methods of prevention depend on which end of the continuum we choose to address.

21. Based on the survey, students appear to know what intentional plagiarism is, that they see it as an ethical violation, and that they avoid it.
Perhaps the main problem is less about intentional plagiarism and more about unintentional plagiarism, lack of awareness of citation conventions required in academic writing.
We propose a two-pronged approach:
Engage students emotionally and appeal to their sense of justice
Teach the conventions for citation along with the definitions of what constitutes plagiarism

22. Prevention over Punishment
“If you don’t tell me, how can I know?”
Students need to learn/we need to teach the norms and conventions of the academy.
Norms and conventions serve as gate-keeping devices; they distinguish members from non- members in a discourse community.
Labeling all students who fail to apply conventions as dishonest marks them as outsiders and punishes them for not fitting in with the discourse community.
Acts labeled plagiarism may be “sign[s] of an authentic beginner engaged in the work of acquiring a new discourse” (Valentine, 2006, p. 97).
Re-frame instruction about plagiarism as creating an identity within the academic community.
Students know to avoid plagiarism but they don’t always know what counts as plagiarism.
Students do not want to identify with dishonesty.
As faculty, maybe we should focus on what to do as opposed to what not to do.

23. Focus on Citation Conventions
Teach students about citation conventions -- why they exist, where they come from, how they vary across disciplines, etc.
Identify the mismatch between students’ citation practices and disciplinary standards.
Develop an appreciation for the value of citations.
Students learn not just how but also why citing properly is important for them as well as for us.

24. A Real World Example: The University of Bradford, UK
2008 started Plagiarism Awareness Program (PAP)
Required part of the punishment for plagiarism
97% of students found it very or quite useful
Fall 2011 started Plagiarism Avoidance for New Students (PANS)
Delivered through Blackboard
Required of all incoming students
Different versions for different citation styles
After implementation of PANS referrals for plagiarism “dropped significantly” (George et al 155)