How Educators Can More Effectively Understand and Combat the Plagiarism Epidemic

Abstract

This brief article is intended to aid higher education teachers in understanding and responding to plagiarism, which mostly occurs among students, but also occasionally among established professionals.

It begins with definitions and definitional issues relating to plagiarism. Then, it asks if an ethical vacuum helps plagiarism flourish. Seven reasons why this misconduct occurs are discussed (academic pressures, poor planning, poor preparation, excessive or mindless workload, opportunity, cultural background, and prominent bad examples), as well as where and how plagiarism occurs. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion of how plagiarism can be best detected, combated, and prevented, as well as appropriate sanctions.

This article is based on remarks made at the Committee on Libraries and Technology session of the 2004 Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

Keywords: Plagiarism, legal education, legal writing, legal research, ethics, academic misconduct