items tagged with student plagiarism checking

Plagiarism is a perennial temptation for students and an eternal challenge for teachers and writers, especially in the age of the Internet. An event during the summer of 2006, however, seemed almost a re-invention of plagiarism, at least to some who responded to it.

In June 2006 a message was emailed to fraternity and sorority chapters across the country advertising a new electronic repository for down-loadable college and university papers, as well as articles on various topics. The site was called "writing sucks" (link removed intentionally), and featured the slogan "Download your Workload." Members of the Alliance for Computers and Writing (ACW) listserve list fumed and argued about plagiarism in general and "Writing Sucks" in particular.

The Law of Plagiarism:

College and university rules for student conduct sometimes say that plagiarism is an academic offense, not a legal offense. That statement is not correct.

Colleges, universities and professional entities certainly have the authority to punish plagiarists in various ways, including expulsion from the college or revoking a degree earned in part by plagiarism. But plagiarism is also a legal issue.

CheckForPlagiarism.net helps fight plagiarism in schools:

Alarming Statistics: 36% of undergraduates have admitted to plagiarizing written material, says 1997 Psychological Record study.

• 4 out of 5 high achievers surveyed in 1998 admitted to cheating on school work according to publishers of Who's Who Among American High School Students.

• More than half of those students said such cheating was "no big deal," and practically none got caught.