Getting Beyond Oppositional Rhetoric: Faculty Attitudes toward Plagiarism
by Carolyn Bergquist, Director of he University of Oregon Composition Program
I’ve been meeting with individual students to talk about evidence of academic misconduct in their essays for writing classes for several years now, and I’ve come to believe that putting more and more time and energy into harangues about not breaking the law and generally declaring war in plagiarism will be less effective in the long-run and much more soul-killing for young writers and for teachers at any stage of their careers. These set up an oppositional, legalistic dynamic within the classroom, between teachers and students that frankly isn’t terribly helpful for learning. Yes, we do need to teach students about he consequences of plagiarism and how to cite correctly, and there have to be consequences for misusing the ideas and words of others. However, the oppositional attitude that generally places students in the miscreant position doesn’t give them much room to act and learn.
“Don’t plagiarize because you shouldn’t. Because it’s stealing. Because it’s wrong. Because it will hurt your academic record. Because if you keep doing it you could get kicked out of the university. Because people who do it are bad.”
How about “Don’t plagiarize because you are too important. Don’t plagiarize because what you have to offer the world is too valuable to take the quick, bad solution to difficulty with an assignment. Don’t plagiarize because when you do, it’s a lost opportunity to practice. Don’t plagiarize because when you don, the world loses something precious.”
