Plagiarism Case Studies Definition Etymology Plagiarism is defined

Plagiarism: Case Studies Definition & Etymology “Plagiarism” is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as “the” action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc. , and passing it off as one's own; literary theft. ” The word “plagiarism” comes from the classical Latin term plagiārius; a “person who abducts the child or slave of another, kidnapper, seducer, also a literary thief” Although plagiarism is definitely not a new phenomena, the abundance of and ease of accessing information online has made it easier to plagiarize than ever before. A simple Web search for the terms “plagiarism” and “college students” reveals an explosion in the number of plagiarism cases being reported by colleges and universities. In this section of the tutorial, you will read and reflect on two cases of college students who were accused of plagiarism, as well as one authors’ theory on why there has been an increase in the number of students who fail to understand what constitutes plagiarism as well as the serious nature of its consequences. Print off your answers to the four quiz sections as you complete them and turn them in to your instructor with your final tutorial quiz. CONTINUE 1

Go Back Case Study 1: Student Accused of Plagiarizing Graduation Speech In the The Revelation of St. John ’ 09: Student Speech Found to be Largely Plagiarized by Ben Gitkind & Lilah Raptopoulos, a student is accused of plagiarizing portions of his graduation speech from a commencement speech formerly given by Barbara Kingsolver, a well-known author, at another college. (The College Voice, August 30 th, 2010): http: //thecollegevoice. org/2010/04/19/commencement/ As you read this news piece, reflect on the following: 1. Why did the student feel that he did not intentionally plagiarize Barbara Kingsolver’s commencement speech? 2. What sort of pressure did the student claim he felt in writing the commencement speech? 3. What consequence did this have on all students regarding the 2010 graduation ceremony? 4. How did fellow classmates, Brian Wilson and Tristan Husby, whose speeches had been finalists in the competition, feel once they learned St. John’s speech had been plagiarized? CONTINUE 2

Go Back Click on the following link to answer questions about “Case Study 1” Case Study 1: Questions CONTINUE 3

Go Back Case Study 1 Continued: Barbara Kingsolver’s Response In the interview, “Barbara Kingsolver Discusses Peter St. John Plagiarism Case” by Samantha Herndon, read Barbara Kingsolver’s response towards being plagiarized. The College Voice, April 6, 2010). http: //thecollegevoice. org/2010/04/26/barbara-kingsolver-discusses-peter-st-john-plagiarism-case/ As you read this news piece, reflect on the following: 1. Did Barbara Kingsolver feel that the student who had plagiarized her work had learned something from the ordeal? 2. What advice did Kingsolver have for the students who lost the speech contest? 3. When Herndon asks (question #3) “Is there an honorable way to credit inspirations and sources, or is it possible, as some are saying, that all writing is actually some form of plagiarism? ” how does Kingsolver respond? Please pay close attention to her response! CONTINUE 4

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Go Back Case Study 2: How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life In 2006, a controversy came to light when Kaavya Viswanathan, a Harvard student, was accused of plagiarizing portions of her novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life from two novels by another author. Read about this well-publicized case in “College Looking Into Plagiarism” by David Zhou in The Harvard Crimson (April 27, 2006): http: //www. thecrimson. harvard. edu/article/2006/4/27/college-looking-into-plagiarism-the-college/ As you read this news piece, reflect on the following: 1. Did Ms. Viswanathan believe that she should receive any disciplinary action? Why or why not? 2. Why did Ms. Viswanathan believe she had unintentionally plagiarized? 3. Can you think of any way Ms. Viswanathan could have avoided unintentional plagiarism? If so, how? CONTINUE 6

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Go Back Reflecting on “Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age” Read the New York Times article “Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age” by Trip Gabriel (August 1, 2010) and reflect on the following questions: http: //www. nytimes. com/2010/08/02/education/02 cheat. html 1. Why did the student at the University of Maryland think it was unnecessary to provide a citation to information he copied for his paper from a Wikipedia article? 2. Why does Ms. Brookover imply that students are more likely to plagiarize sources that they do not physically access in the library? 3. What was Ms. Hegemann’s response towards accusations that she plagiarized her novel? 4. How does Ms. Wilensky’s theory on originality differ from Ms. Hegemann’s? 5. Which theory on originality do you agree with more and why? CONTINUE 8

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Go Back Works Cited Gabriel, T. (2010, August 1). Plagiarism lines blur for students in digital age. The New York Times. Retrieved from p: //www. nytimes. com/2010/08/02/education/02 cheat. html Gitkind, B. & Raptopoulos. (2010, August 30). The revelation of St. John ’ 09: Student speech to be largely plagiarized. The College Voice. Retrieved from http: //thecollegevoice. org/2010/04/19/commencement Herndon, S. (2010, April 6). Barbara Kingsolver discusses Peter St. John plagiarism case. The College Voice. Retrieved from http: //thecollegevoice. org/2010/04/26/barbara-kingsolver-discusses-peterst-john-plagiarism-case/ Plagiarism. (nd). In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http: //dictionary. oed. com/ Zhou, D. (2010, April 27). College looking into plagiarism. The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved from http: //www. thecrimson. harvard. edu/article /2006/4/27/college-looking-into-plagiarism-the-college CONTINUE 10

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