How to Teach Ethical Source Use: An Instructor Guide
Developed by SpeakWrite Specialist Dr. Krista Speicher Sarraf
Note: this is a live document and is subject to change.
General Information
Purpose
The purpose of this manual is to help instructors support their students to use--and cite--sources ethically (aka: to avoid plagiarism).
Ethical source use has long been an issue that plagues higher education, especially in the United States where intellectual property laws and academic norms guide us to acknowledge other people’s words and ideas. Often, we turn toward plagiarism detection tools (TurnItIn) or send students to the academic integrity office. What are the benefits and drawbacks of these approaches? And what other methods might we use to help students avoid plagiarism? This manual answers these questions and provides instructors with concrete approaches to teaching ethical source use.
Audience
This guide is ideal for faculty in any discipline who work with students on tasks that involve writing.
Table of Contents
The Problem
Students use sources in unethical ways for various reasons. For example, they may not know what plagiarism is or that it has consequences for their academic and professional careers. Further, they might be confused by citation conventions. Not to mention, as students enter your discipline, they’re exposed to unfamiliar discourse and language in texts they read for class. Thus, they may struggle to understand--and integrate--sources into their writing.
We “stress the need to avoid plagiarism without providing much information on how to achieve this goal” (Evans-Tokaryk, 2014, p. 6)
Intellectual Property as a Cultural Concept
In America, intellectual property laws assign individuals and groups ownership of ideas, words, and content. Students need to understand that because the U.S. has intellectual property laws, universities have rules against plagiarism. That is, they need to understand that plagiarism is culturally situated and is a largely Western concept that reflects individualistic cultural norms. Thus, cultural backgrounds inform our understanding of plagiarism and intellectual property. Even so, research suggests that English language learners and non-Western students aren’t more likely than their peer to plagiarism (Pecorari, 2003).
Disciplinary Differences
Students are further confused by the fact that we, their professors, routinely borrow entire sentences from each other’s work without citing. In scientific fields, we describe our methods section in IMRD (introduction, methods, results, and discussion) articles with great similarity, often using identical phrasing. Flowerdew and Li’s (2007) study of ELL graduate students found participants perceive that in science writing, originality of ideas is important but that the writing is formulaic and unoriginal.
In some fields, like computer science, computer codes are built by adding onto existing codes. In the arts, we regularly remix and riff on existing works. That doesn’t mean that these remixes are without controversy. In 2021, three federal appellate judges ruled that Andy Warhol violated copyright when he used a photographer’s image for his 1984 silkscreen, “Prince.” While some art critics argue that Warhol’s adaptation transformed the original photograph, and therefore was not a copyright infringement, the judges disagreed (Gopnik, 2021). Suffice it to say--plagiarism is not a cut and dry issue.
Novice status
Patchwriting results from students’ struggle to understand reading material (Citation Project).
Luckily, instructors aren’t alone. Information literacy and writing researchers study plagiarism and use their work to recommend pedagogies. For instance, Rebecca Moore Howard, Sandra Jamieson, and Tricia Serviss’s Citation Project pursues data-driven approaches to ethical source use. From Serviss’s (2016) research-based recommendation for faculty development, for instance, she recommends faculty receive training: focusing on conceptualizations of plagiarism, emphasizing best practices, and calling for a holistic approach” (p. 551).
Following the Citation Project’s recommendations, SpeakWrite takes a holistic approach to ethical source use (Serviss, 2016). That is that institutions should have,
- Shared conceptualizations of plagiarism
- Shared responsibility between teachers, students, administrators, and student support services
- Library services and writing across the curriculum efforts (like SpeakWrite and the Writing Studio)
Plagiarism versus Misuse of Sources
The Council of Writing Program Administrators (2019) defines plagiarism as follows: “ In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source” (para. 4). Notice the use of the word deliberate. Importantly, this definition distinguishes between using someone’s work as one’s own and improperly citing or using sources. CWPA argues, and we agree, that it’s important to distinguish between deliberate plagiarism and misuse of sources because doing so allows us to address each issue separately.
Unfortunately, higher education often focuses on detecting plagiarism rather than teaching source-based writing (Serviss, 2016).
Reactive: Compliance-based model
A compliance-based model looks like this: share the plagiarism policy, use a plagiarism detection tool (like TurnItIn), and penalize students when the tool finds deliberate plagiarism and/or misuse of sources. The benefit is that it takes very little teaching time (even the job of detecting plagiarism is outsourced to technology). It’s also beneficial because it ensures that students who submit stolen work are penalized.
Of course, there are downsides to this model. For one, it doesn’t distinguish between deliberate plagiarism and misuse of sources/incorrect citation conventions. Of course, we could argue that in the “real world” no one will distinguish between the two. However, we’re educational institutions, and our job is to teach. When we use compliance-based models, we teach students that there are consequences for plagiarism. However, we don’t teach them how to avoid those consequences. That’s why we recommend a prevention, source-based writing model.
Prevention: Source-based writing model
For this model, faculty teach rather than merely assign source-based writing. We do this through curriculum design and through pedagogical interventions. We acknowledge that if we ask students to find, read, summarize, paraphrase, or quote, sources, we need to teach them how to do these things.
The benefit of this model is helps students to learn news skills. It’s also more efficient; it ensures that only students who intentionally plagiarize fail a paper or are sent to academic integrity offices. That’s because this model helps to prevent unintentional plagiarism, as students will be equipped to use sources accurately and ethically.
Of course, it also requires some instructor time. You will need to spend some time, either in class or as homework assignments, showing students how to read sources, how to summarize, how to paraphrase, how to quote, and how to use citation conventions (or at least how to use a style manual). It also helps if you build time into your syllabus for the writing process: let students who misuse sources correct their mistakes and resubmit their work.
Best Practices and Responsibilities
If instructors assign source based writing, they are responsible for teaching students how to use and give credit to sources (CWPA, 2019).
Distinguish between deliberate plagiarism and misuse of sources
And address them differently. If a student has misused sources, they might not understand the reading, or they might not know how to cite sources in your discipline. Provide some instruction on source use (a brief lesson demonstrating correct conventions) and ask students to revise and resubmit their work.
Plagiarism policy should appear on your syllabus
First, students need to know your policy. Include an academic integrity policy in your syllabus, and review it during the first week of class. However, keep in mind that policies are a starting point, not the end game. Policies tell students what we expect, but that doesn’t mean that they know how to meet those expectations. Sharing a policy without guiding students is like giving people a car owner’s manual without teaching them how to drive.
Teach Citation Conventions and Style Guide Use
Citation conventions are how we show other writers that we’re following the rules. However, students often have two issues with citations. First, they don’t understand when in-text citations are needed. Second, they don’t get the conventions right. While it’s true that students learn citation conventions in high school and in their first-year writing courses, students may still struggle with these skills. First, because those courses fulfill general education requirements, most students will learn MLA or, maybe, APA. They won’t learn the citation conventions needed for every college class they take. That’s where you come in. Tell students what style manual you’d like them to use, make sure they can access it, and who them how to use it.
- Teach students when to cite: see this "Should I Cite" handout.
- Teach students how to use a style manual. Partial or incomplete citations indicate that students are attempting to attribute sources; they just don’t have the conventions down. It’s worthwhile to take a few minutes of class time to show students how to use a style manual.
Teach Reading Skills
Sometimes students misuse sources because they don’t understand what they’re reading. In particular, if students need to paraphrase and summarize, they may be unable to do so. Thus, any good pedagogy should include some attention to reading skills. Demystify the genre of academic articles. Plus, sometimes, quoting is the best way to capture an idea, so make sure students know that they’re permitted to quote.
Teach the Writing Process
Include time for brainstorming, drafting, feedback, and revision in your assignments. Better yet, require students to submit a draft.
Strategies to Teach Ethical Source Use
-
Case Study: Identify Plagiarism: Share a plagiarized text with your
students and ask them to identify the plagiarized parts. You can even take
an article you wrote and modify it to include sections without proper citation.
-
Library Plagiarism Module: Ask students to complete the library plagiarism
modules
after they submit a piece of writing that demonstrates unethical source
use. Then, have them resubmit their writing using what they learned in the
modules.
-
TurnItIn as a teaching tool. Instead of using TurnItIn as a punitive
tool, use it as a prevention tool. Ask students to submit their papers using
TurnItin during the drafting stage of their writing. Instead of you reviewing
their TurnItIn reports and sending misstepping students to the Office of Academic
Integrity, ask students to review the report for issues and to correct their
mistakes.
-
Scavenger Hunt: Ask students to search through the style manual and
locate the page number of various common source types (like journal articles).
-
Reading Activity: Some plagiarism is the result of students not understanding
the material. To help your students understand what they read, share the
PACT: Reading Like a Writer handout with them. Ask students to answer the
questions on the handout about the reading and submit their answers on a discussion
board or in class.
-
Paraphrasing and Summarizing: Sometimes students need to practice
summary and paraphrasing. Provide them with the
Paraphrasing and Summarizing Using APA Style brochure
and a class reading. Ask them to write a summary of the text. Then, ask them to paraphrase
a paragraph within the text. This activity is also helpful for ensuring that
students are prepared to discuss a reading in class.
- Writing Studio Visit: Ask students to take their writing to the Writing Studio. Trained consultants can help your students to identify, and correct, unethical source use.
Point to the problem:
“Transfer, or how much knowledge from one context applies in new contexts, is a longstanding issue for writing program administrators (WPAs), researchers, and teachers of writing” (Driscoll p. 1)
“This project responds to interconnected concerns facing the 21st century workplace generally and writing studies specifically (see Figure 1)” (Sarraf, 2020, p. 5)
How do you show readers that your study is relevant to the research conversation?
Opening line: This dissertation responds to recent calls for teacher education in a first-year writing Context (Sanchez-Martin p. 1)
“Brian Ray (2015) calls for a research program in stylistic research that asks “to what extent writers’ own attitudes and behaviors confirm, contradict, or question our current theories and pedagogies [of style]” (p. 154).” (O’Brian, 2019, p. 98)
“... the call for critical language awareness invites students and their instructors to apply the document’s habits of curiosity, openness, engagement, creativity, persistence, responsibility, flexibility, and metacognition to considerations of the many dimensions of language.”
“We hope other RWS scholars will take up this call to broaden our reach and use our writing expertise in innovative and practical ways.” (Alexander & Shaver, 2020, p. 81)
“We echo Beth Blum’s argument that calls for “self-help” shouldn’t be used as masks to cover up the cruelty present in the academy that has “an obsession with efficiency, performance, and competitive achievement” (para. 1).” (Driscoll, Leigh, & Zamin, 2020, p. 475)
“Without a model of creativity for the writing context, it will be challenging for writing studies to follow up on calls for increased attention to creativity in the field” (Sarraf, 2020, p. 7).
Resources
Below are handouts and videos about ethical sources.
For Students:
Paraphrasing and Summarizing Using APA Style
Paraphrasing and Summarizing Tutorial
For Faculty:
Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices
Pecorari, Diane. (2003). Good and original: Plagiarism and patchwriting in academic second-language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 317-345.
Gopnik, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/arts/design/warhol-copyright-appeals-court.html
Evans-Tokaryk,. (2014) Academic Integrity, Remix Culture, Globalization: A Canadian Case Study of Student and Faculty Perceptions of Plagiarism. Tyler. Across the Disciplines , v11 n2. : https://wac.colostate.edu/atd/articles/evans-tokaryk2014.cfm
Flowerdew, John, & Li, Yongyan. (2007). Plagiarism and second language writing in an electronic age. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 27, 161-183.