A Method to Prevent Plagiarism

Many of the colleges and universities I work at are very concerned about "plagiarism" and there is definitely something they must address. Each class will typically hand out a syllabus that has a statement about plagiarism and students found engaging in plagiarism can and have been terminated. In some cases the things we write will sound like the things others have written simply because we have some common ways of expressing our thoughts. In some cases we might engage in careless paraphrasing which then looks and feels too much like the original words. It is possible that a person may not properly document the sources that were used or may get inappropriate assistance from others that are not careful about how they write. When wording is "recycled" it can also have the look and feel of the original. Even major corporations have had problems. When spreadsheets were first designed for computers their design led other companies to copy their look and feel. If the look and feel was essentially the same then plagiarism that has moved into the realm of copyright infringement has potentially occurred.

Visicalc was one of the first spreadsheets. Excel is very similar, but it finally worked out a deal with the company that had produced Visicalc. We most often think of plagiarism as writing the same words as others have written and this is certainly the most direct form of plagiarism. To keep this from happening and still allowing students to have the original material to work from I have suggested two methods of more effective rewriting material.

The Two Computer Method
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If you work in a computer lab, you might be able to view the original material on one computer and then do the rewrite on a second computer. You will still need to reference where you obtained the material originally, but you will be able to do a more effective rewrite. Remember that you must be the author of a significantly new piece of writing. Paraphrasing is not sufficient.

The Cut and Paste Color Change Method
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Student might be able to cut a section from the original document and then paste it into a second document which they are writing, but they must immediately change the color of that pasted font. When they rewrite they must then use the color black which would then clearly identify the material that is the significantly changed material. Changing a few words here and there is not sufficient. The problem with a typical cut and paste that does not use the color change method is that it is far to easy to forget to change major portions of the material or to get sloppy and change only a few words. When both segments are in different colors it is very clear what has been changed and what has not been changed. When the rewrite is done you should check to be certain it is a complete rewrite and you can then remove all the pasted original material. This is a great way to practice more professional writing. Don't neglect referencing to the original material. It is important that you remember that paraphrasing is not sufficient.

No matter how you write your material it must be your own work. You can get ideas from others but the way you put the concepts together must be your own and you must properly cite your sources. Some things have are so common that they would come out the same no matter how you write about the topic. If you write about how to make a pot of chicken soup, it is quite likely that there are already hundreds of recipes already pretty much the same. The difference here would then be the presentation of the recipe on the written page and the subtle differences. If the recipe is a very specific recipe like the one for a popular secret chicken recipe (Guess Who), then you had best not even come close. Avoid plagiarism by keeping track of the resources you use for research and properly cite the ones you do actually use.