Avoiding Plagiarism - (2 day lesson)

Objective:  In this lesson, students will learn about how the internet has increased the prevalence of plagiarism. They will then practice properly citing sources in their own research-based writing.

Procedure:  

1. Students will read the internet article Lesson in Internet Plagiarism and answer the following questions:
    Questions can be answered on a wiki, blog, or discussion board, as the teacher prefers.
   
    a. How did Ms. Prestebak discover that the high school student had taken his paper off the Internet?
    b. How has the temptation to cheat been increased by access to the Internet?
    c. What happened at the University of Virginia with regards to this topic?
    d. What did Donald McCabe's survey reveal?
    e. According to Cathy Aubrecht, what is a sign that a student has plagiarized?
    f. What are some of the consequences for plagiarism?
    g. What are some resources that schools can use to find out if students are plagiarizing materials?

2. As a class, discuss the difference between quoting directly from a source, paraphrasing the source, and using the source as background material for your own ideas. In which cases would you have to cite the source? Divide the class into pairs or groups of three or four. Assign each grouping a topic you have recently studied in class, or allow them to select a topic that interests them, such as a current event. Using all available resources, each grouping finds ten different sources on this topic, including at least one book, one related encyclopedia entry, one news article and one Web site. Using the formats provided in the MLA Manual of Style, groups develop bibliographies of the sources they have found. (If students are unfamiliar with bibliography formats, you may want to conduct a short review of this topic with the entire class).

3. Each student in the group selects one source from their group bibliography. Then, each student uses that source to help them write a one page typed paper about the group's topic. Student should use each of the three methods (quoting, paraphrasing, and using the information to support his or her own ideas), and cite their source appropriately throughout the paper.

Resources:  
Lesson in Internet Plagiarism
MLA Manual of Style
The Definitive Guide to Internet Plagiarism
Internet Plagiarism:  Strategies to Deter Academic Misconduct f

Assessment:  Students will be evaluated based on written journal response, participation in class discussions, research and creation of a group bibliography, and completion of a one-page research paper with proper citations.  Africa