CITING SOURCES
Teaching your students to cite their resources properly and responsibly will be necessary. Again, they can be referred to their textbooks and online sources that show them how to cite properly, but you will probably have to spend some class time with them on the subject or show each student individually in conferences how to cite correctly. Students often quote verbatim without using quotation marks; some will present source passages or phrases in their papers with one or two terms changed and refer to that as a paraphrase. Others use source ideas freely, never bothering to credit them. These practices are instances of plagiarism. Students should be made aware that even if they have note cards or give you the copies of all their sources, if they cite improperly, they are still plagiarizing.\
Many students think that plagiarism consists of handing in papers bought from Internet vendors or handing in papers written by their friends. To be sure, these are instances of plagiarism, but so are carelessly cited research papers. You should not pass students who plagiarize, no matter how well they do in your course. If you write in your syllabus that plagiarism is cause for a failing grade in the course, then you can fail students who plagiarize. The following policy reprinted from the Online Faculty Handbook indicates that students who plagiarize should be failed, and if they continue to cheat, suspended. You must report the plagiarized work to the Provost if you fail a student on that basis (you might want to include a version of this policy in your syllabus):
The University recognizes plagiarism as a serious academic offense. Plagiarism, the act of representing the work of another as one's own, may take two forms. It may consist of copying, paraphrasing or otherwise using the written or oral work of another without acknowledging the source, or it may consist of presenting oral or written course work prepared by another as one's own.
Normally a student who plagiarizes shall receive a grade of E [F EFFECTIVE FALL 2001] in the course in which the act occurs. The offense shall also be reported to the Provost. A student who is reported a second time shall be suspended from the University for a period of not less than one term. Should a student who has been suspended for plagiarism be readmitted and be again found guilty of the offense, he/she shall be permanently expelled from the University.
This policy statement shall appear in the University catalogs and course announcements, shall be called to the attention of advisers, shall be explained during the program of new student orientation, and shall be published in the Alestle at least once during the beginning of each fall term.
The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs is charged with administrative responsibility for handling complaints, allegations, or grievances against students concerning plagiarism.
Normally a student who plagiarizes shall receive a grade of E [F EFFECTIVE FALL 2001] in the course in which the act occurs. The offense shall also be reported to the Provost. A student who is reported a second time shall be suspended from the University for a period of not less than one term. Should a student who has been suspended for plagiarism be readmitted and be again found guilty of the offense, he/she shall be permanently expelled from the University.
This policy statement shall appear in the University catalogs and course announcements, shall be called to the attention of advisers, shall be explained during the program of new student orientation, and shall be published in the Alestle at least once during the beginning of each fall term.
The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs is charged with administrative responsibility for handling complaints, allegations, or grievances against students concerning plagiarism.
For the most part, students who enter your class rooms will not purposely cheat or plagiarize. You should tell them what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. If rough drafts of their essays look plagiarized, tell them so, and allow them the opportunity to rewrite their essays. If they still fail to write an un-plagiarized essay, then you should fail them.
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Faculty Composition Manual home
URL: http://www.siue.edu/ENGLISH/Comp_Manual/citing_sources.html
Published by: Department of English Language and Literature
Last Update: July 14, 2003 by English Web Manager
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