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RWS Policy on Plagiarism
Although we all agree that—in the abstract—plagiarism is a serious offense that cannot be tolerated in a university setting, just what constitutes plagiarism in a given context can be complex. Conventions about borrowing others’ work and proper attribution vary significantly depending on culture, era, and discourse community. Scholars in the field argue the issue without clear resolution. It is important, therefore, that you handle cases of apparent plagiarism in your classes with care and sensitivity.
Avoiding Plagiarism
The best way to avoid plagiarism in your classes is to address it at the outset. How you cover plagiarism in your syllabi is up to you, but please raise the issue. The General Catalog (472) and the Policy File (14-15) provide explanations that may be useful. Here is a sample of the latter:
Institutions of higher education are founded to impart knowledge, seek truth, and encourage one’s development for the good of society. University students shall thus be intellectually and morally obliged to pursue their course of studies with honesty and integrity. Therefore, in preparing and submitting materials for academic courses and in taking examinations, a student shall not yield to cheating or plagiarism, which not only violate academic standards but also make the offender liable to penalties explicit in Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. . . . A student who has committed either offense may be subject to University disciplinary action.
Plagiarism shall be defined as the act of incorporating ideas, words, or specific substance of another, whether purchased, borrowed, or otherwise obtained, and submitting same to the University as one’s own work to fulfill academic requirements without giving credit to the appropriate source. Plagiarism shall include but not be limited to (a) submitting work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; (b) omitting footnotes for ideas, statements, facts, or conclusions that belong to another; (c) omitting quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, sentence, or part thereof; (d) close and lengthy paraphrasing of the writings of another; (e) submitting another person’s artistic works, such as musical compositions, photographs, paintings, drawings, or sculptures; and (f) submitting as one’s own work papers purchased from research companies.
In addition to raising the issue of plagiarism in your syllabus, it is prudent to discuss proper attribution and citation practice thoroughly with your students as your course develops. An excellent source for student-friendly discussion of plagiarism is Ann Raimes’sKeys for Writers (133-45), which is required for many RWS courses. It is wise to work through Raimes’s treatment or similar material early in the semester. Provide ample exercises that help your students to become familiar with effective quotation, paraphrase, and summary. Give them feedback on their work. Do not assume that they enter the University with a good understanding of these practices, and remember that distinctions that are obvious to instructors are subtle to beginning student writers.
It is also important to design writing assignments that militate against plagiarism. Prompts that are specifically tailored to class readings and discussion are difficult to respond to successfully with prose that is purchased or stolen from published sources. If the same prompts are employed in multiple sections, though, instructors must be aware that students may share papers across sections. Instructors who teach collaboratively, sharing syllabi and prompts with fellow teachers, should be mindful that students occasionally attempt to submit the same work in multiple sections when the assignments are the same.
A final strategy for avoiding plagiarism is to let your students know that you are able and willing to use search engines to locate the source of prose that has been lifted from electronic sources. The same techniques that plagiarizers use to locate sources are available to those who wish to expose infractions. Be sure your students know that each semester, students are caught in the act by RWS instructors and penalized for their academic dishonesty.
Procedure for Responding to Plagiarism
If, despite your efforts to teach your students proper techniques for attribution, you suspect that a student has plagiarized an assignment, your first step is to decide whether or not the text in question is a conscious effort to cheat or simply an example of inexpert work. The latter is often distinguished by erratic quotation practice in which students move among quotation, paraphrase, and summary without control or proper signposts. They neglect quotation marks in some places, yet include them in others, perhaps even when technically they aren’t required. They lack proper introductions to their quotes, which they often mash together as a kind of patch quilt of positions, rather than a coherent argument supported by the work of others. Typically, this sort of inexpert writing is the work of first-semester or first-year students, although it may also occur at the upper-division level, particularly in the case of transfer students. If you believe that the student in question has produced inexpert work, then approach the problem as a matter of poor technique, rather than ethical failure, and simply grade and advise accordingly. Do not accuse the student of plagiarism, but explain that their writing could be viewed that way in the world beyond your classroom. Approach such cases as important teachable moments, not moral failures. Show them how to do it correctly.
If, on the other hand, you believe that the student has indeed deliberately cheated, and that the P word is in order, then begin the process by gathering the appropriate evidence to support the charge. Usually, such evidence constitutes the paper in question, textbooks and reference books, electronic sources identified by search engines, other students’ papers, and previous assignments written by the student in question.
Once you have built the case, arrange a meeting with the student in order to explain your suspicions and allow them to respond. Set aside a specific time for such discussion so that you avoid confronting the potential offender in front of other students. This meeting should not take place in the hall, or just before or after class, but at a designated time and place that allows both you and the student to sit down to talk. I wouldn’t select a meeting place and time that isolates you from colleagues.
If the evidence is airtight, students will usually simply admit to the infraction, while emphasizing their ignorance of wrongdoing. If you have constructed your syllabus carefully and discussed plagiarism in class, this defense is usually less than compelling. Some students emphasize hardships and pressures in their lives that have led to bad choices and academic shortcuts. A few will deny the charge, although clear evidence makes this a difficult defense to maintain. If—in the face of strong evidence—a student continues to challenge your assessment of their work, proposing a meeting with the Chair may prompt disclosure of the truth.
In many cases, though, plagiarism is difficult to prove. Often, although you strongly suspect that the work in question was not produced by the student, it is not possible to locate the specific source that has been plagiarized. In such instances, consultation with colleagues is particularly recommended. If you choose to proceed, begin your student conference by asking probing questions about the paper. You can ask the student about the meaning of specific words or phrases that seem beyond his or her working vocabulary, and you can ask them to paraphrase arguments or explanations that you doubt they produced on their own. You can question them about the sudden change in their writing that seems to have occurred. If such conversation does not produce an admission of guilt, then you may wish to ask them directly if the work is their own. Obviously, this can be a very tricky conversation.
After you have gathered your evidence, brought it to the student’s attention, and solicited his or her response, it is up to you determine guilt or innocence and to choose the penalty. With plagiarism, the University standard of certainty is known as the preponderance of the evidence or certainty exceeding fifty percent (you are not required to determine guilt beyond a reasonable doubt), but—given the severity of the infraction—the department recommends a higher degree of confidence. You should be quite certain that plagiarism has occurred before you confront a student with the charge.
After you have determined that the student is indeed guilty of an infraction, you must report him or her to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities (4-3069). They will direct you to “complete a form that identifies the student who was found responsible, the general nature of the offense, the action taken, and a recommendation as to whether or not additional action should be considered by the campus judicial affairs office. The completed form should be sent by the faculty member to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities whenever academic dishonesty cases are handled by the faculty member” (Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities Website).
Next, it is your responsibility to select your own response as an instructor to the student’s infraction. There is a wide range of appropriate penalties for plagiarism, depending on the nature of the assignment and the experience of the student. The department recommends that you consider each case individually so that a just, pedagogically useful conclusion is reached:
- The most lenient approach is simply to ask the student to rewrite the paper or section of the paper that has been plagiarized, perhaps for a somewhat lowered grade. This option is best for very inexperienced writers in their first or second semester of college who you believe are relatively unaware of academic writing conventions. Weak high school preparation or cultural differences may weigh heavily in these cases. At this point in the student’s education, the “lesson” being learned is as much about effective writing and citation practice as ethics or justice.
- A more severe approach is to fail the student on the plagiarized assignment, factoring the “F” or “0” into his or her final score. If the student has done adequate work up to this point in the course, then this failed assignment does not usually necessitate a failing final grade, although its impact is significant and should send a clear message. You may also require the student to rewrite the plagiarized paper. This approach is best for students who you believe knew they did something wrong, but were most likely not entirely aware of the extent of the infraction.
- The most severe approach is to fail the student in the course. This option is best for repeat offenders or very experienced students who you believe have made a deliberate, egregious choice to commit plagiarism, even though they were fully aware of the consequences of the action. At this point in the student’s education, the “lesson” being learned is more about justice than writing.
- A final approach is to simply turn the case over to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities for review. In such cases, they will determine guilt or innocence and will recommend an appropriate punishment. This approach is most appropriate when you want to minimize further dealings with the potential offender.
Regardless of the penalty you choose, be sure to inform the student that you have determined that plagiarism has occurred. You should also let them know that they have the right to consult the Ombudsmen (4-6578). The department requires that you provide Jo Serrano with a brief summary of any plagiarism case in which guilt has been determined, along with photocopies of all relevant documents. It is also recommended that you keep a record for your files. Graduate student instructors and new faculty are particularly urged to consult with the Director of Lower Division Writing or the Department Chair about cases of potential plagiarism, but all instructors are encouraged to do so. Confronting students with the charge of plagiarism is serious, emotionally taxing, yet sometimes necessary, and the department stands behind those instructors who must take this step.
You are invited to discuss any elements of this policy with the Chair or the Director of Lower Division Writing.
Bibliography
Howard, Rebecca Moore. “The Ethics of Plagiarism.” The Ethics of Writing Instruction: Issues in Theory and Practice. Ed Michael A. Pemberton. Stamford, CT: Ablex, 2000. 79-89.
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Matalene, Carolyn. “Contrastive Rhetoric: An American Writing Teacher in China.” College English 47 (1985): 789-808.
McLeod, Susan H. “Responding to Plagiarism: The Role of the WPA .” Writing Program Administration 15.3 (1992): 7-16.
Pennycook, Alastair. “Borrowing Others’ Words: Text, Ownership, Memory, and Plagiarism.” TESOLQuarterly 30 (1996): 201-30. Reprinted in Negotiating Academic Literacies: Teaching and Learning Across Languages and Cultures. Ed. Vivian Zamel and Ruth Spack. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1998. 265-92.
Price, Margaret. “Beyond ‘Gotcha!’: Situating Plagiarism in Policy and Pedagogy.” College Composition and Communication 54 (2002): 88-115.
Valentine, Kathryn. “Plagiarism as Literacy Practice: Recognizing and Rethinking Ethical Binaries.” College Composition and Communication 58 (2006): 89-109.
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