As a teacher, you constantly have to be on the lookout for any sort of sneaky behavior. Even your most disciplined pupils will see what they can pull over on you. One of the more serious issues is plagiarism. Your students (during a moment of pure desperation and anxiety) may feel the need to turn in someone else’s work as their own. With a wealth of information at their fingertips, any student with an internet connection can find a completed paper on just about any topic.
So when you're grading 150 students’ papers, how can you recognize if some of them are cheating?
Take the time to know your students.
Once you get a sense of who your students are as individuals, you’ll be able to recognize their voice throughout their writing. As a teacher, you should actually read over the work that they do during your class, rather than just glancing over it to make sure it’s complete. When your students have to think on their feet, they’ll produce work that represents their understanding of the material.
If you get to know your students, you’ll be able to tell that Amber doesn’t use words such as “lugubrious” or “adumbrate,” so when you see them in her paper, it’s fair to assume that it might not have been Amber who wrote them.
Use a plagiarism checker.
Through various software and websites, plagiarism checkers are available for teachers to use. These tools search through a student’s paper to see if any pieces from it appear anywhere else on the internet, and many of them are free and easy to use.
Obviously, you wouldn’t do this for every single paper you assign, but it could be quite helpful for the major assignments. Also, it’s probably a good idea to let the students know that you use plagiarism checkers. This might put a stop to the problem before it ever happens.
Be very specific with your instructions.
Personalize your assignments to your own classroom and get creative with it. Also, make sure you’re clear about which formatting style you prefer. This way, the students will have more fun with the material - and it’ll be much more difficult for them to be able to cheat.
If you see that a student has written on a completely different topic from the one you assigned, you may want to check to see if it’s plagiarized. Be sure to do your research before accusing the student. It’s just as possible that he/she didn’t read your instructions very thoroughly.
Notice the changes.
If there is a quick shift in vocabulary or tone within a student’s paper, it may be a sign that the writer copied and pasted material from several sources on the internet. It’s normally very clear whether or not the same person wrote the first page and the last. Keep an eye out for any signs otherwise.
