Plagiarism and the

Internet
Workshop Agenda:
Introductions and Background
The Problem
Possible Solutions
Conclusion

NOTE: Please ask questions as we go & if you need to use the facilities or grab a snack feel free 

Steve Garwood
INFOLINK
 Cybercheats
The Problem
• Q&A
• Terrible Timmy’s Tale
Cybercheats – The Problem – Q&A
(data from 1998 Who’s Who in American High School Student’s survey)

Question: How common is cheating at your school?

Answers Responses
Almost everybody does it 21.8%
Fairly Common 60.9%
Pretty Rare 16.5%
Never Happens 0.4%
No Answer 0.3%
Cybercheats – The Problem – Q&A
(data from 1998 Who’s Who in American High School Student’s survey)

Question: Which of the following have you done?

Answers
Responses

Cheated on a quiz or test 39.6%

Copied someone else’s homework 66.7%

Plagiarized part of an essay 13.2%

Used Cliff’s or Monarch Notes to
avoid reading a book 28.9%
None of the Above 19.5%
Cybercheats – The Problem – Q&A
(data from 1998 Who’s Who in American High School Student’s survey)

Question: If you have cheated…why?

Answers Responses
Competition for good grades 55.6%
Didn’t seem like a big deal 53%
Didn’t think I’d get caught 23.6%
Not interested in the subject 28.9%
To get into a good college 14.4%
Cybercheats – The Problem – Q&A
(data from 1998 Who’s Who in American High School Student’s survey)

Question: How easy would it be for you to obtain test

questions or answers at your school?

Answers Responses
Very difficult 14.9%
Somewhat difficult 25.5%
Not very difficult 28.2%
Easy 30%
Cybercheats – The Problem – Q&A
(data from 1998 Who’s Who in American High School Student’s survey)

Question: If you have cheated what happened?

Answers Responses
I was caught and punished 6.2%
I was caught but not punished 6.4%
I was not caught 95.1%
Cybercheats – The Problem – Q&A

Question:

1. If you’re competing to get good grades

2. Cheating is fairly common
3. It’s easy to obtain test questions and answers
4. And you have a 4.9% chance of getting caught

Why NOT cheat?

Cybercheats – The Problem – Q&A

Question: What is Plagiarism?

Answers:

To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as

one’s own

…So that I do not get accused of Plagiarism the above was taken
verbatim from page 888 of Merriam Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary 10th edition.
Make sure students know…don’t assume
 Cybercheats
The Problem:
Terrible Timmy’s
Tale
(an example of how easy it can be)
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT

Timmy’s Homework Assignment:

Write about 500 words on:

The Theme of Madness in Shakespeare’s
Hamlet.

(Note: This is all of the assignment, no source

requirements, no research instructions, etc. Think of it as
a first paper assignment.)

Other areas often seen at the library: biomes, literature

terms, global warming, drug abuse/treatment, pros/cons such
as driving age, voting age, biographical assignments…
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT

Timmy ponders how to do his assignment

Library? – No

-I’d have to get out of my chair

-I’d have to get my mom to drive me
-The books I need will be all checked
out anyway
-Those surly librarians are mean
-It’s too cold/hot
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT

Timmy ponders how to do his assignment

One of those Term paper sites? – Hmmm, maybe.

Note these are free sites and all had Hamlet essays
- most with bibliographies:
http://essays.terrashare.com/
http://www.netessays.com/
http://www.schoolbytes.com/

There are more…

Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT

Timmy ponders how to do his assignment

Some notes on the free sites:

Content: Submit one/Get one
Plenty out there (Students posting to web)
Very much like fraternity test/paper files
Some papers good/some stink
“Ethics”: Some are blatant (go ahead…sue…they’ll love you)
Ownership: Many of these sites are owned by the same person
therefore lots of repetition
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT

Timmy ponders how to do his assignment

One of those Term paper sites? – Hmmm, maybe.

Note these are pay sites some of which will write
an original paper :
http://www.geniuspapers.com/
http://www.cheathouse.com/
http://www.termpapers-on-file.com/
http://www.papermasters.com/

There are more…

Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT

Timmy ponders how to do his assignment

Some notes on the pay sites:

Money: Subscription
Some pay by page

Guarantees: Some will guarantee the grade

Content: Some prewritten/some individualized
College kids will do anything for money
“Reminds me”:Of the ads in the back of Rolling Stone
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT

Timmy ponders how to do his assignment

Search Engines? – Let me try

that first. I’ve heard that Google
is pretty good.
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT
Timmy searches Google
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT
Timmy sees novelguide.com info
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT
Timmy copies and pastes to Word
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT
Timmy adds fluff and a fake
citation making work his own.
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT

Is Timmy alone????

NOPE…Remember…
“4 out of 5 high achievers surveyed in
1998 admitted to cheating on school work
according to Who’s Who Among American
High School Students and more than ½ of
those said such cheating was “no big
deal”, and practically none got caught.”

Actually Timmy might be less

terrible THAN typical
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT

Is there a way to catch Timmy????

In this case yes. Since Timmy was

lazy and didn’t try to change the
work he got very much.

A “phrase search” in Alta Vista,

Google or a MetaSearch engine will
find his work. More about this in a
lil bit

However…more enterprising
Timmy’s will be hard to catch…
Cybercheats – The Problem – TTT

Types of “Plagiarists”:
(Is this plagiarism to you?)

• The Mega Copier

• Patchwork Partier
• The Omiter
• Source Faker
• Super Paraphrasers
• The Author (for others and himself)
• The Purchaser
 Cybercheats
Possible Solutions
• Working with Students
• Tips for Teachers
• Defining Plagiarism
• Academic Integrity Policies
• Phrase Searching and Search Engine Tips
• Using Screening Services
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions

Working with Students

• Make sure they understand not just the

“hows” but the “whys”
• Go Ahead…ask them if they know “why”
they should do something
• Use research paper tutorial sites that you
like. Kids like the web, might as well use it.
My favorite is the Internet Public Library’s
A+ writing site.
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions

Working with Students

• Let students know that you know about

those paper mill websites. Then do
actually check some of them out.
• Go a step further and take students to
one of the sites, review a weak paper
with students and analyze its failures.
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions

Working with Students

Teaching citations:
Trouble with citations is often cited as a
reason for plagiarism…if you get points taken
off for bad cites…why cite?

One of the problems:

The MLA and APA books are difficult to use!
If I ever wanted to see a student back at
my desk…I just gave them those manuals
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions

Working with Students

Alternatives to the APA and MLA books

• Simple guidelines like at U. Of Albany
• Online services
Noodlebib, Easybib, Citation Machine
• Or, at least copy those necessary pages
(just beware of copyright)
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions

Working with Students

• What is Plagiarism? Make sure they get it.

• Compare it to that they’re familiar with –
E.G. Hip/Hop’s reuse of lyrics, beats, and
the use of licensing agencies

"A federal appeals court ruled Sept. 7, 2004 that rap

artists should pay for every musical sample included
in their work -- even minor, unrecognizable snippets
of music." AP reporting on Bridgeport Music v.
Dimension Films
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions

Tips for Teachers: Preventive Techniques

• Be careful to give specific, non-generic

instructions for papers. Specificity makes it
harder to cheat.
• Get writing samples. Comparing past
work to new work can help catch
plagiarized items.
• Watch the process: Get drafts, use peer
groups to evaluate, have drafts submitted
with assignments.
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions

Tips for Teachers: Preventive Techniques

Instead of traditional writing assignments…

• Change the format (skit, interview, news story)
• Make comparisons
• Create a game (20 questions, jeopardy)
• Write a letter to your biographical person
• Color code citations to Works Cited page
• Writing Sample – No Warning, no books, color paper
handed out in class
• No such thing as a “cheat proof” assignment
• Mix formats
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions

Tips for Teachers: Detection Tips

• Check for website printout page numbers or dates, grayed

out letters, lines at the top of the pages...
• Notice any jargon or advanced vocabulary or sentence
structure.
• Look for short papers…8.5” x 10.5”
• Reference the original assignment. Are any portions of the
assignment completely left out?
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions
Defining Plagiarism. Do any of these apply?
• Asking your parent or a friend to suggest changes or
corrections in your written essay
• Asking your parent or a friend to rewrite your essay,
making all the changes or corrections for you
• Asking your parents or a friend to help you search the
Internet for information for a report
• Reading someone else’s term paper and then writing
your own using some of his ideas and copying part or all
of his bibliography
• Writing a report as a group and then each person
writing a report that is just a little bit different to hand in
• Listing books in your bibliography that you didn’t read
• Copying sentences or paragraphs from the encyclopedia
for your report without using quotation marks or
footnotes
• Hiring a tutor to help you write better
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions
Academic Integrity Policies (They work)
• Do you have one?

• Have you read it? Has anyone else? parents? students?

• How was the policy written?
• Is it ever enforced?

What makes a good speed trap?

• Consistent
• Set up well
• Enforceable
• Others do your work for you
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions

Simple Phrase Searching/Search Engine Tips

• “” is your best friend as it will let you do

phrase searches in 99% of Search Engines.
• Use a middle line from a paragraph not
introductions/conclusions
• Remember where students are searching
– AOL, MSN, Yahoo…Public Library, School
Library, etc.
Cybercheats – Possible Solutions

Using those screening services

• TurnItIn.com
• MyDropBox.com

You can use them to:

• Screen
• Review work before it’s handed in
• Make a credible “threat”
Cybercheats
Conclusion
Cybercheats – Conclusion

5 Steps to Addressing Plagiarism

5 Steps that I think will help

• Acknowledge the issue with all involved

• Universally define plagiarism
• Create a solid enforceable Academic
Honesty Policy and promote it
• Create methods to prevent occurrences
of and screen for Plagiarism
• Be a good role model
Cybercheats – Conclusion

Hmmm, lastly, how much of this

presentation do you think was
taken from the web?

See any citations?

Well I couldn’t not cite (here they are):

• Timmy’s Tale is mine
• Besides that everything else is in the handouts
Cybercheats – Conclusion

Cody (my dog) says:

This presentation available at:

http://www.stevegarwood.com/classes