How to Prevent Plagiarism
A teacher resource for academic integrity and catching cheaters
Teachers: are you frustrated by the task of preventing plagiarism? Here are some strategies to help make your classes more plagiarism-proof.
For college professors, high school teachers, or anyone who values teaching, the prevalence of plagiarism is depressing. Teaching students why cheating is a serious offensive may feel like an uphill battle, as does trying to catch cheaters in an era of college essay websites that buy and sell term papers. Nonetheless, with a little work, teachers can reduce problems with strategies to help maintain academic integrity in the classroom.
- Let students know you mean business. Establish a strict penalty for students who plagiarize. Make sure your students know what that penalty is and that you will not hesitate in enforcing it. State your policy clearly on your syllabus and on all paper assignments, and go over the policy in class several times. Let them know you have a zero-tolerance policy for cheaters. If someone is caught, do not hesitate in enforcing the policy. (Here's an article written for students about the consequences of plagiarism; maybe this will help you.)
- Let them know why you feel plagiarism is a serious offense. Don't assume that all students understand why teachers are so offended by plagiarism. Share your philosophy with them. Appeal to their sense of honor. Also, make sure they clearly understand the definition of plagiarism, as well as strategies for dealing with last minute paper panic that are much better alternatives to plagiarism.
- Give assignments that ask for very specific criteria. Require students to answer specific questions throughout the paper, or require them to write the paper in a very specific format. Do something just a little bit out of the ordinary. This way, cheaters won't easily be able to find papers that match your assignment on places such as college essay plagiarism websites. If they do plagiarize, it will be more evident to you because the paper will not follow the assignment. And even if you don't catch cheaters, they will do poorly on the assignments because they have failed to follow your specific criteria.
- Require students to include photocopies of their sources. This isn't the most environmentally friendly solution, but it makes plagiarism much more difficult. This can also help teachers identify students who need help with research.
- Require students to turn in a rough draft. This also is a great way to help students learn to manage their time, and gives you an opportunity to give them feedback. Another idea is to have them turn in rough drafts to fellow students to solicit feedback. Of course, rough drafts may take an awfully long time to read, so you can also:
- Require students to turn in a rough outline. Anything you do that requires students to show some work ahead of time will make plagiarism difficult. This also gives you an opportunity to help students with the writing process and give one-on-one help.
- Require students to come meet with you about their paper assignment. Schedule 10-15 minutes with each student to discuss their ideas for your paper, or to report their progress along the way. Having to report upon their progress will make plagiarism more difficult. Although time consuming, this also is a great way to get to know your students better.
- Keep paper or electronic copies of past papers. This can be time consuming and doesn't catch everyone, but it can help. When needed, an electronic database of papers is easy to search, and you can share it with colleagues. Students can be required to turn in electronic copies of their papers for this purpose. If you have a TA, he or she can be in charge of this.
- Communicate with your colleagues. Are there students in your department who have committed plagiarism before? Ask around. Be discrete with this information, of course, but keep an eye on any suspected cheaters. Your school probably has a grievance office that tracks plagiarism cases as well, so check with them if you suspect a student has plagiarized.
Related articles:
Resources for college teachers
College essay plagiarism websites
College education and technology
The copyright of the article How to Prevent Plagiarism in Study Skills is owned by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. Permission to republish How to Prevent Plagiarism must be granted by the author in writing.
