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How Educators Can Prevent Plagiarism from Day One

The new semester is the perfect time to set new procedures in class. Whether you’ve had these students since September or it’s their first time taking a course with you, setting up your students for success includes understanding the ins and outs of plagiarism. Here are some ideas to keep in mind.

All About Citations

If students are new to the concept of citing their work and unsure about how to use their references, they may be guilty of accidental plagiarism. It’s important for students of all grades to understand the different kinds of citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago) and which is the preferred method for your course.

Create Original Thoughts

After reading a journal or book many times students can be prone to lifting an entire passage without proper quotations. Sometimes this is purely an accident while others, the students are hoping to get away with it. Preventing plagiarism starts when students are educated about what is considered unethical when writing their papers. Paraphrasing is sometimes a grey area, so specifying what exactly you as the teacher will take off points for will help them understand.

No Paying for a Grade

While this may seem like an obvious, the new frontier that educators have to battle includes students paying for others to write their papers. If you suspect your student’s style is vastly different from other writing samples they have done, this is a possibility. Letting students know they can consult with you while writing their paper will make them feel more at ease and that they don’t need to pay for their grade.

Stopping plagiarism starts from educating and continues with constant reminders. Letting your students know that a plagiarism scan will be done on all of their papers will keep them in check.

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