Weekly Digest #20: Plagiarism
(header image by Megan Sumeracki)
After Melania Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention, plagiarism has gotten a considerable amount of press this week. Stories like these hopefully serve as a reminder for students everywhere: understanding plagiarism is extremely important, even outside of academic settings. We thought we would, therefore, take the opportunity to talk about what constitutes plagiarism and ways to avoid it. Today we provide a list of resources, starting with a couple resources addressing the plagiarism in Melania Trump’s speech, followed by resources to avoid your own unintentional plagiarism. Many of these resources are useful for teaching students at a variety of academic levels about plagiarism in the classroom.
1) Melania Trump’s Speech Was Run Through a Plagiarism Checker by Andrea Romano
The article begins with the line, “college students, take note: if you plagiarize, people will notice.” This article attempts to answer whether and how Melania Trump’s speech was plagiarized, using a plagiarism checker.
2) Melania Trump Trumped By Plagiarism? by TurnItIn.com
Melania’s speech was also sent through a very common plagiarism checker in higher education, TurnItIn.com, and the results are similar to those by SEO Tools (above). Importantly, this article goes through different examples of plagiarism beyond just word-for-word plagiarism.
3) How to Recognize Plagiarism: Tutorials and Tests by Indiana University
This website provides certification tests for identifying different types of plagiarism, which can be used by students from high school to doctoral levels. The website provides tutorials at 5 different levels, from word-for-word plagiarism to issues when paraphrasing multiple sources and ensuring a complete reference list. The website also includes a certification test option. At the end of the test, students are given a certificate with a unique identification number that teachers can verify through the website.
4) Avoiding Plagiarism by Purdue OWL
The Purdue OWL is an excellent resource for many writing issues and assignments. This particular section is devoted to determining what constitutes plagiarism, how writers can avoid it, and tips for teachers to curb plagiarism in their classrooms.
Image from linked source
5) How to Avoid Plagiarism on Your Blog or Website by Nick Shäferhoff
While many of the above resources are helpful for students, this blog reminds us that plagiarism is an issue for ANY writer and is targeted at those of us who write blogs and websites. The page includes a list of common plagiarism checkers for students, instructors, and professionals alike.
Every Sunday, we pick a theme and provide a curated list of links. If you have a theme suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Our 5 most recent digests can be found here:
Weekly Digest #15: Working Out What Works - Highlights From ResearchED Maths & Science
Weekly Digest #16: On the Importance of Taking Breaks
Weekly Digest #17: Sleeping and Learning