We begin by covering definitions of plagiarism and the consequences (the dull stuff). I always start with the university definition of academic dishonesty and a fear-inducing outline of the consequences to communicate the importance of the lesson and instill terror. Then I explain the multiple forms of plagiarism in greater detail (directly stealing, changing a few words, missing or incorrect citations, and self-plagiarism). We look at examples of original passages and paraphrasing to determine which one is/is not plagiarized or bordering on plagiarism and why. I pass out a condensed Chicago-style guide that displays example citations of the most essential types of sources (books, journals, websites, etc.). I show the difference between bibliography and footnote formats.
Next we learn how to quote and footnote. I explain the function of quotes is not restating information, but highlighting the most important details. We look at a passage and discuss which sentence is best used as a quote and why (i.e. essential information that should not be rephrased). Then we look at examples to see where the quotes and punctuation go (inside, outside, end), and when to block quote. I also show how to insert footnotes using Microsoft Word. I literally have a former research paper open on screen this entire time showing all these types of quotes and how to use the reference functions. (I have had some many students think that you make footnotes by doing superscript numbers and then writing those numbers in the footers, without knowing that Word does it automatically. At first I laughed, but why would they know that? Why would they know that unless someone showed them, because someone showed me.)
Next we do a paraphrasing exercise. The paraphrasing exercise ends up being really fun, too, actually. I explain the concept of paraphrasing and stress that it is difficult skill. I show a brief paragraph on the screen and I tell the students that we are going to paraphrase it. We read it as a group and then I switch to black screen and tell the class to paraphrase. It is a disaster, intentionally. None of them took notes so they barely remember it or they reuse all the words in the passage. It wakes them all up a little. Then I describe the steps to effective plagiarism - reading it multiple times, taking notes, stepping away, etc., and we try the same activity again. It goes much better the second time. To test their paraphrasing skills. I find one cogent two-page spread from a book with 4-5 clear paragraphs total. I divide the class into 4-5 groups depending on class size and assign each group a different paragraph. They are instructed to read their entire paragraph and condense it into one or two sentences that fully communicates the meaning without using any of the major words in the paragraph. It becomes a challenge to condense everything effectively, and there is a fair amount of debate and questions among the group members. Once the groups have written their sentence, we go around the room in order and read the sentences. It is amazing how an entire page becomes 4-5 sentences and effectively demonstrated the skills of paraphrasing. Sometimes I do this last activity twice sometimes depending on time.
Finally, class culminates with the Citations Game. I divide the
class into two teams. I instruct students to use their condensed citation style guides during the game. I display a citation on the PowerPoint. I tell them that there is at least one error in every citation. The slide states what type of source the citation is (book, journal, newspaper, film, etc.)
and students must search the citation guide to find right example. They
frantically flip through the pages and scan the citation on the page
and the one on the screen for mistakes. The first person to spot it correctly wins the point and prize. I
give extra credit points to the team that wins. I
also bring candy and prizes for correct answers. Also, as a side note, many students say, what is the difference if you put one comma in the wrong place or forget one italicized/underlined portion. My response to this is that historical accuracy is crucial to our credibility. We want others to know exactly where we found our sources and evidence to prove that our research is accurate. Then to illustrate, I come up with a bunch of examples on the board where I misspell their names, miswrite rooms and times, or change their birth dates. I ask them if these mistakes matters and the answer is always yes, thereby proving my point.
Anyway, I fill the lesson with energy and enthusiasm. I am over the top for citations. I act like citations are the best thing since sliced bread. (Because they are. Uh duh.) It seems dumb, but it works. Students learn citation styles inside and out. Their bibliographies are perfect. And they have a blast. Citations are made fun. Gasp!
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