Plagiarism & Cheating Prevention
Prevention
Research shows that students plagiarize:
- If they feel the assignment is too huge for them to manage;
- If they don’t have clear guidelines or models of excellent work;
- If they get minimal or no feedback on prior assignments;
- If they sense the professor is “out of it,” disengaged, or disorganized.
You can reduce plagiarism by:
- Not only allowing, but requiring students to use other sources prior to turning in their assignments—peer review, peer editing, writing center visits, meetings with librarians to discuss finding and citing sources;
- Giving students models of good papers, as well as models and examples of proper citation format;
- Making students turn in all drafts of writing assignments;
- Requiring that students turn in copies of the first pages of sources cited (not abstracts);
- Creating assignments that require individual analysis or evaluation, which make it harder to plagiarize;
- Asking students, early in the semester, to produce an in-class writing sample of several sentences or paragraphs.
Prevent cheating by:
- Calling for laptops down, all cell phones, iPods and listening devices off and out of ears during exams, quizzes, in-class writing assignments, etc.;
- Giving different tests to different sections—slightly vary questions or vary the order;
- Remaining present during significant portions of exams and quizzes;
- Using exams and quizzes that require critical thinking, analysis or evaluation, and individual reflection.