Plagiarism

Plagiarism Power Point Reflection:

I have chosen to share a Power Point presentation of plagiarism that I use every year when teaching research writing. This Power Point models paraphrasing from the student handbook, and asks the students to determine whether certain examples are paraphrased or not. Writing research papers is different these days than it used to be. Students rarely use books; instead, they use the internet to find all of their sources, including print sources. Unfortunately, some students are tempted to copy and paste, so the plagiarism lesson becomes important as students learn how to use technology in a responsible and appropriate way.

I have realized there is a disconnect between what students know about plagiarism, and what students do about plagiarism. They know it’s wrong, they’ve learned about it before, and they know they shouldn’t copy; however, many of them continue to copy, even though they know its wrong, and they don’t understand that changing around a few words is still considered plagiarism. This Power Point is designed to start a dialogue about what is or isn’t considered plagiarism. At the end of the presentation, students are asked to paraphrase a passage without plagiarizing.

I intend on working with students to create authentic writing. I will teach them note-taking techniques and require them to take notes on their internet sources in their own words. Perhaps, by teaching them good note-taking techniques, they will be less likely to plagiarize and more likely to write about a topic in their own way, using their own voice and style.