Erica,
Your explanations seem clear to me (and should be clear to college-level
students). What the student has done is definitely unacceptable. Nothing
speaks louder to some students than a grade of "F" or worse (you ARE justified
in doing this and it may be the best thing you could ever do to help this
student for the future). Why not save some of your time and place the onus on
the student to "figure out" SOMETHING. You've already explained the plagiarism
"rules" in a proactive way. Seems like you could be spending your time helping
students who don't obviously disregard your guidance to begin with. My
philosophy as a teacher is that I try to focus my time on students who want my
help and care about their successes; not on students who "blow off" my efforts
and don't care about themselves.
Good luck.
Erica Klein wrote:
> Alternating between grading papers and writing one about how people select
> flexible benefits, ack all around. Anyway, I've got one paper where 80% of
> the sentences can be mapped back to a sentence in the original article (the
> assignment is to write a 2-3 page summary of a journal article). The
> student changed a few words in each sentence so none of them are exact
> matches.
>
> It is pretty clear that this student didn't understand what he was reading
> or writing, for example, he substitutued the word 'polish' for the word
> 'buffered' (we aren't talking about shining shoes) and he substituted
> 'mentor' for 'member'. The sentences don't make much sense in many cases.
>
> I guess I'm concerned about explaining this type of plagiarism to the
> student. Since it isn't simply copying entire sentences, and since this is
> not a very bright student, how do you explain the parameters of acceptable
> paraphrasing?
>
> In class I do some of the plagiarism exercises we discuss on this list, and
> I emphasize the dire consequences of copying "even short phrases" - direct
> quote from the assignment. This student, however, doesn't come to class
> often. That's his problem but meanwhile I have to explain to him (and it's
> possible this will be sincerely puzzling) why what he did is unacceptable.
> Here is a quote from the assignment handout:
> "The entire paper must be in your own words. No quoting allowed. Do not
> copy sentences or even large phrases. This can be a serious offense so be
> careful! Even if you copy sentences accidentally, it still counts as
> plagiarism. You might try not looking at the article as you write; this
> may force you to put things into your own words. Moving the words around
> in a sentence or changing a couple of words in a sentence is still
> plagiarism - even if you give credit to the source of the words. Figure
> out the idea of what you are trying to say, then figure out a way to state
> that idea in your own way."
>
> Here are a couple of examples - I typed up a document of the article text
> compared to his text. The first sentence is from the original, the second
> is the student's:
>
> To identify the potential moderators of perceived discrimination, we
> reviewed streams of research on acculturation, social support, and careers.
> However, the moderators are summarized based on research on acculturation,
> social support, and careers.
>
> Research on acculturation suggests that familiarity with a host culture may
> protect an individual from the effects of perceived discrimination
> (LaFromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993; Mendoza, 1989; Phinney, 1990;
> Sanchez & Fernandez, 1993).
> Studies on acculturation says experience with a similar culture can defend
> a person from the likes of perceived discrimination.
>
> Indeed, acculturation reduces feelings of inadequacy caused by perceived
> discrimination because acculturated individuals perceive themselves as
> members of both their ethnic group and the mainstream (LaFromboise et al.,
> 1993).
> However, acculturation reduces feelings of ineffectiveness due to beheld
> discrimination because acculturated people think of themselves as mentors
> of their ethnic and cultural groups where by they learned (coped) from.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I would appreciate some input on this - would you agree that this is
> unacceptable? Almost every sentence in this paper can be mapped to a
> sentence in the source - to me that is a big clue that the line has been
> crossed. My partner disagrees, he thinks this is not over the line.
> Reality testing with you-all.
>
> By the way, I tried something new with the few cases of plagiarism I had on
> the first paper. If the student is contrite (or at least not
> argumentative, and they have all been contrite or at least sullen) I assign
> them to write a summary of one of Miguel Roig's journal articles about
> undergraduates and plagiarism. I give them up to 2/3 credit. This has
> worked out really well for me and the students have reacted very
> positively. Highly recommended.
>
> With my current problem student I am certain I will have bigger problems.
> His first paper was lost between my mailbox and me (no other papers were
> lost). I gave him unlimited time to get the paper to me - benefit of the
> doubt that it was somehow lost - finally I got it 4 weeks later. This is
> the paper I am grading now. His second paper has not yet shown up and is
> over a week late. He was unable to get a copy of the first paper
> (something about a friend's computer, lots of mumbling) and requested that
> I assign him the mean grade that everyone else received on the paper! He
> hasn't made that connection that he has to work really hard at school. He
> has been polite but opaque - just doesn't seem to get that he has to learn
> and work.
>
> I just had to vent. Appreciate any insight. Erica
>
> *******************************************************************
> Erica Klein
> University of Houston
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Steven M. Specht, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Psychology Department
Utica College of Syracuse University
1600 Burrstone Rd.
Utica, NY 13502
(315) 792-3171
*** be fruitfly and multiple
