Plagiarism (for Educators)  

Despite the assumption by some that it is a simple problem, plagiarism is a concept whose definition and signficance are debated by scholars across the world. In academic practice, plagiarism must be examined in the context of educational level, motivation, academic discipline, and culture.

Cheating vs. Misuse of Sources

First and foremost, tt is important to distinguish between cheating and misuse of sources (Council of Writing Program Administrators 2003)

Cheating:  consciously using and taking credit for others’ work. Cheating, such as plagiarism, having another person complete an assignment or making up data, is an ethical problem.

Misuse of sources: mistakenly using others’ work without proper accreditation and/or citation.  The misuse of sources in a class setting is a pedagogical problem (a failure in proofreading, a gap in skill, a lapse that can be improved through learning, practice or attention).

The practical significance of this difference cannot be overemphasized. Fierce declarations and stern warnings will not cause students to employ conventions that they have not yet mastered.

Why Students Misuse Sources

A recurring theme in the literature exploring why students misuse sources is that blame can be placed on students and professors alike. Three keywords summarize the problem: carelessness, confusion, and misunderstanding. The colums below display some examples of these problems:

Cultural Effects

There is an ongoing debate concerning the ethical standards as well as conceptions of using sources by international students in the U.S. Some suggest that intentional plagiarism is widely practiced in Asia and Africa due to ethical laxity; others suggest that international students do not intentionally plagiarize but rather reflect educational systems that assimilate individual knowledge into a form of collective, common knowledge that warrants no citation; still others maintain that the stigma associated with plagiarism is universal and that international students plagiarize not because of their educational background, but like their American counterparts, because of ignorance in the subtleties of citation management or effective academic writing. It is most likely that some of each of these differences are in play. Baurain (2011)  Liu (2005)

Since the situation is complex, it is best for an American professor to avoid presuming too much. The best approach is to spell out for students, international and local alike, 1) ethical principles of your particular classroom; 2) conventions of the discipline; and 3) conventions of the types of writing (or genres) that are assigned in your class (i.e. a first-person essay, an essay in a discipline’s style, a journalistic report, a lab report, etc.).

The Role of Professors

Professors (except those in composition programs) sometimes express anxiety about or unwillingness to teach “English” or "writing" in their classes. This is an understandable but misplaced concern. In actuality, professors in every discipline from accounting to zoology are teaching something no English professor could: the ethics and writing practices of their discipline. Teaching these writing practices and being aware that they differ from those of other disciplines is a responsibility that all professors share.

Badke, W. B. (2003). Excursus - What's the Big Problem with Plagiarism?". In Beyond the Answer Sheet: Academic Success for International Students (pp. 97-103). New York: IUiniverse.

Baurain, B. (2011). Cross-cultural moral explanations in plagiarism. in Phan, L. and Baurain, B. (eds) Voices, identities, negotiations, and conflicts: writing academic English across cultures.  Studies in Writing, Vol. 22, 123-138. Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. doi: 10.1108/S1572-6304(2011)0000022010  Back to text

Bombak, A. (n.d.). University of Alberta Library Guides. Guide to Plagiarism and Cyber-Plagiarism. Why Students Plagiarize. Retrieved January 6, 2011, from http://guides.library.ualberta.ca/content.php?pid=62200&sid=457755

Chandrasoma, R., Thompson, C., & Pennycook, A. (2004). Beyond plagiarism: transgressive and nontrasgressive intertextuality.  Journal of Language, Identity, and Eduation, 3, 171-193.

Council of Writing Program Administrators. (2003, January). Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices. Retrieved October 23, 2010, from http://www.wpacouncil.org/node/9  Back to text

Drew University. (n.d.). How to Avoid Unintentional Plagiarism. Academic Integrity. Retrieved November 16, 2010, from http://www.drew.edu/theo-content.aspx?id=1138#avoid

Errey, L. (2002). Plagiarism: Something Fishy?...Or Just a Fish Out of Water? Teaching Forum, 50, 17-21. Available at http://www.brookes.ac.uk/virtual/NewTF/50/T50errey.pdf

Le Ha, P. (2006). Plagiarism and overseas students: stereotypes again? ELT Journal, 60(1), 76 -78. doi:10.1093/elt/cci085

Klopfer, L. (2006). Faculty Resources on Plagiarism. Faculty Development Center, Eastern Michigan University. Retrieved from http://www.emich.edu/resources/definingplagiarism.htm  Back to text

Liu, D. (2005). Plagiarism in ESOL students: is cultural conditioning truly the major culprit? ELT Journal, 59(3), 234 -241. doi:10.1093/elt/cci043  Back to text

Moore Howard, R. (n.d.). Intercultural issues in plagiarism. Google Docs. Retrieved November 16, 2010, from https://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfgwrgq3_249c38xk3dz   Back to text

Moore Howard, R. (2007, January 16). Patchwriting: a bibliography for composition and rhetoric. Retrieved October 23, 2010, from http://wrt-howard.syr.edu/Bibs/Patchwriting.htm

Moore Howard, R. (2009, September 7). Plagiarism Definitions. Retrieved November 16, 2010, from http://wrt-howard.syr.edu/Bibs/PlagDefs.html

Moore Howard, R. (2001). Plagiarism: What Should a Teacher Do? Presented at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Denver, CO. Retrieved November 16, 2010 from http://wrt-howard.syr.edu/Papers/CCCC2001.html

Sowden, C. (2005). Plagiarism and the culture of multilingual students in higher education abroad. ELT Journal, 59(3), 226 -233. doi:10.1093/elt/cci042

University of Maryland University College. (n.d.). Center for Intellectual Property - Learning Objects - Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Learning Objects. Retrieved July 26, 2011, from http://www.umuc.edu/cip/learningopportunities/learningobjects.cfm#ai

This guide is based on a web page by Lisa Klopfer for the EMU Faculty Development Center titled "Faculty Resources on Plagiarism," which is no longer available online.

To learn more about how to cite this guide, see http://www.emich.edu/library/help/citing.php.