Methods for Helping Students Avoid Plagiarism

Evidence has suggested that some forms of plagiarism might result from students' inadequate knowledge of proper citation techniques (Roig, 1997). We taught students about plagiarism identification and proper paraphrasing skills. Undergraduates who received no treatment, feedback, plagiarism examples, or a combination of feedback and examples completed 2 versions of a plagiarism knowledge survey, paraphrased a literary passage, and rated their knowledge of plagiarism. Participants in all conditions except the control condition were better able to identify plagiarism. In the paraphrasing exercise, the example conditions showed a reduction in plagiarism. Thus, we identify an exercise that can help students identify and avoid plagiarism.