by Joshua Quittner

You've probably heard by now about the charming and increasingly wealthy Kenny Sahr. During the past year, he's been in dozens of newspaper, radio and TV stories. I can't believe, frankly, that I'm writing about him too. I mean, it's just so wrong. But like a lemming scampering toward the cliff, following in the giddy tracks of my brethren... I just can't stop myself. The story is too good.

Creator of the Website School Sucks, Sahr is kind of the poster boy of the whole term-papers-for-sale flap on the Net. The issue resurfaced with fresh hysteria a few weeks ago, when Boston University filed a lawsuit against eight outfits that actually sell papers, via the Web, to students too lazy or dumb to write their own. Sahr, you should know, is not a defendant in that suit since the thousands of papers at his site--on every subject from "The Tragedy of the Black Death" to "Why Nuclear Fusion Is So Cool"--are yours to download for free. (Help yourself.) But he runs the biggest of the term-paper sites, so everyone wants to interview him about this trivial and silly controversy. "I've never spent so much time on the phone with the press," he says happily.

Of course he's happy! Sahr's sole income ("easily above five grand a month") comes from advertisers who pay $20 for every 1,000 times their ads are shown on the site. School Sucks now generates 40,000 page views a day--it goes up every time a story like this one (sound of lemming splatting) appears. His site is such a gold mine for SAT-prep outfits and other companies that market to student slackers that a venture capital firm has been talking with Sahr about taking it to the next level, whatever that is.

School Sucks erasable shirt cuffs, I suppose, and special mirror glasses that let you sneak a peak at your neighbor's civics exam...

But I should let Sahr defend himself; his sound bites are the reason, after all, the press finds him so irresistible. School Sucks is actually a public service, he says. He's solicited all those term papers from students and put them up on the Web to show the world just how ghastly the U.S. school system is. Get it? Besides, you'd be a fool to turn in one of his papers as your own work because the collection is out there on the Web for everyone to see. Even your teacher.

Did I mention that Sahr is opening up a School Sucks Israel? "The plan now is 15 languages ready by next September," he says. Israel is where the 26-year-old Miami native learned to work the press while he served as a spokesman for the Israeli army during the Gulf War. "I learned so much. It was a real eye opener," he says. When he returned to the U.S., he became fixated on the Internet. "I kept thinking to myself that what the Internet is about is faucets," he says. "He who has his hand on certain faucets of information is going to do very well." And kids, take it from Kenny: You'll never learn that in school. TIME MAGAZINE Notebook/Techwatch November 24, 1997 VOL. 150 NO. 22 time-webmaster@pathfinder.com

HOW TEACHERS CAN REDUCE CHEATING'S LURE by Mark Clayton, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Slowing Internet plagiarism on campus is the job of college professors - not college legal departments, says Thomas Rocklin, director of the University of Iowa Center for Teaching in Iowa City.

He offers three tools for preventing research-paper plagiarism:

Give assignments closely tied to the individual course goals. Students can still buy a custom paper, but that is much more expensive and they are unlikely to get one cheaply off the shelf.

Ask for and comment on interim writing products. That is: Get a thesis statement, an opening paragraph, an outline, a first draft, and respond to it. That is how students learn to write, he says. It also makes it harder for a student to reconstruct an outline from a plagiarized paper than to write the outline.

Be open about the existence of term-paper mills. Download a few papers, discuss their strengths and weaknesses. Let students know that you know what is out there - and that most of it is not very good.

Michael Pemberton, director of the University of Illinois (Urbana)Writers' Workshop says instructors must track assignments.

"The worst kind of writing assignment is to make it at the beginning of the term, then have them turn it in at the end without paying any attention in between. Year in and year out, this is the way many university papers are assigned." CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR Monday October 27, 1997 Edition (c) Copyright 1997, 1998 The Christian Science Publishing Society. All rights reserved.

HOW NOT TO PLARIARIZE by Margaret Procter

From the Code of Behavior on Academic Matters:

It shall be an offence for a student knowingly: (d) to represent as one's own any idea or expression of an idea or work of another in any academic examination or term test or in connection with any other form of academic work, i.e. to commit plagiarism. (Wherever in the Code an offence is described as depending on "knowing", the offence shall likewise be deemed to have been committed if the person ought reasonably to have known.)

You've already heard the warnings about plagiarism. Obviously it's against the rules to buy essays or copy chunks from your friend's homework, and it's also plagiarism to borrow passages from books or articles or Web sites without identifying them. You know that the purpose of any paper is to show your own thinking, not create a patchwork of borrowed ideas. But you may still be wondering how you're supposed to give proper references to all the reading you've done and all the ideas you've encountered.

The point of documenting sources in academic papers is not just to avoid unpleasant visits to the Dean's office, but to demonstrate that you know what is going on in your field of study. It's also a courtesy to your readers because it helps them consult the material you've found. So mentioning what others have said doesn't lessen the credit you get for your own thinking--in fact, it adds to your credibility.

That's not to say that questions about ownership of ideas are simple. The different systems for typing up references are admittedly a nuisance (the file Documentation Formats explains basic formats), but the real challenge is establishing the relationship of your thinking to the reading you've done. Here are some common questions and basic answers.

Can't I avoid problems just by listing every source in the bibliography? No, you need to integrate your acknowledgements into what you're saying. Give the reference as soon as you've mentioned the idea you are using--don't wait till the end of the paragraph. That may mean naming authors ("X says" and "Y argues against X,") and then going on to make your own comment. The examples in this file and the one on Documentation Formats show various wordings. Have a look at journal articles in your discipline to see how they refer to their sources. If I put the ideas in my own words, do I still have to clog up my pages with those names and numbers? Sorry--yes, you do. In academic papers, you need to keep mentioning authors and pages and dates to show how your ideas are related to those of the experts. It's sensible to use your own words to save space and to help connect ideas smoothly. But whether you quote a passage directly in quotation marks, paraphrase it closely in your own words, or just summarize it rapidly, you need to identify the source then and there.

But I didn't know anything about the subject until I started this paper. So do I have to give a reference for every point I make? You're safer to over-reference than to skimp. But you can cut down the clutter by recognizing that some ideas are "common knowledge" in the field--that is, taken for granted by people knowledgeable about the topic. Facts easily found in reference books are considered common knowledge: the date of the Armistice for World War I, for example, or the present population of Canada. For such facts, you don't need to name a specific source, even if you learned them only when doing your research. In some disciplines, information covered in class lectures doesn't need acknowledgement. Some interpretive ideas may also be so well accepted that they don't need referencing--that Picasso is a distinguished modernist painter, for instance, or that smoking is harmful to health. Check with your Professor or TA if you're in doubt whether a specific point is considered common knowledge in your field. How can I tell what's my own idea and what has come from something I read? Careful note-taking helps, so you know what names and dates to attach to specific ideas. It's worthwhile to write summarizing notes in your own words, putting quotation marks around any specific wordings you might want to quote. And make a deliberate effort, as you go through your readings, to note connections among ideas, especially contrasts and disagreements, as well as jotting down questions and thoughts of your own. If you find as you write that you're following one or two sources too closely, deliberately look back in your notes for other sources that take different views--than write about why the differences exist. So what exactly do I have to document? With experience reading academic prose, you'll soon get used to the ways writers in your field refer to their sources. Here are the main times you should give acknowledgements. (You'll notice many different formats in these examples.) a. Quotations, paraphrases, or summaries: If you use the author's exact words, enclose them in quotation marks, or indent passages of more than four lines. But it's seldom worthwhile to use long quotations. In literary studies, quote a few words of the work you're analyzing and comment on them. In other disciplines, quote only when the original words are especially memorable. In most cases, use your own words to summarize the idea you want to discuss, emphasizing the points relevant to your argument. But be sure to name sources even when you are not using the exact original words. As in the examples here, it's often a good idea to mention the author's name to gain some reflected authority and to indicate where the borrowing starts and stops. e.g. As Morris puts it in The Human Zoo (1983), "we can always be sure that today's daring innovation will be tomorrow's respectability" (p. 189). [APA system]

e.g. Northrop Frye discusses comedy in terms of the spring spirit, which he defines as the infusion of new life and hope into human awareness of universal problems (Anatomy 163). The ending of The Tempest fits this pattern. [new MLA system--short title to distinguish among different works by same author]. b. Specific facts used as evidence for your argument or interpretation: First consider whether the facts you're mentioning are "common knowledge" according to the definition in point 3 above. When you're relying on facts that might be disputed within your discipline--perhaps newly published data--establish that they're trustworthy by showing that you got them from an authoritative source. e.g. In September 1914, more than 1300 skirmishes were recorded on the Western Front. [traditional endnote/footnote system]

e.g. Other recent researchers (4,11,12) confirm the findings that drug treatment has little effect in the treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts. [numbered-note system] c. Distinctive or authoritative ideas, whether you agree with them or not: The way you introduce a reference can indicate your attitude and lead into your own argument.

e.g. Writing in 1966, Ramsay Cook asserted that Canada was in a period of critical instability (174). That period is not yet over, judging by the same criteria of electoral changeability, economic uncertainty, and confusion in policy decisions. [new MLA system]

e.g. One writer (Von Daniken, 1970) even argues that the Great Pyramid was built for the practical purpose of guiding navigation. [APA system] University of Toronto Material prepared by Margaret Procter, Coordinator of Writing Support, for use at the University of Toronto. Updated September 1, 1998.

THE WEB & PLAGIARISM

Much has been made of the fact that the internet makes it downright easy to steal other people's ideas and to avoid paying authors for their work. This will lead, the argument goes, toward the "dumbing down" of our kids as they forget how to write term papers and blatantly steal the written works of others. It will also lead to fewer people wishing to write professionally because there is no way to guarantee that they will be compensated (or even credited) with original work.

Paralleling this trend is a belief that writing skills have declined and that the ability to think logically and argue effectively are also in decline. I also hear concern over the lack of social skills in computer-centric students, and fear that the "experience" of going to college will be lost along with the friendships and memories. Some of these may seem legitimate, others perhaps less so. But whether you fall into the techno-champ side or the techo-Luddite side, check out some of these links. The articles, web sites, and other links here will help you decide for yourself. Global Learning Resources ©1997,98 Global Learning Resources. All Rights Reserved. This material is for personal use only. This page was last updated on: 07/25/98

CHEATING / PLAGIARISM POLICY

Plagiarism is the presentation of the words, ideas, or opinions of someone else as one's own. Students are guilty of plagiarism if they submit as their own work the words) ideas, or arrangement of material found in sources, such as books, magazines, or pamphlets, without crediting the source. The ideas and opinions of someone else, even though expressed in the writer's own words, must be acknowledged in the text.

Students are also guilty of plagiarism if they copy the work of a fellow student or any other individual and submit it as their own. In addition, students who use forbidden notes or books for assigned work or tests, give unauthorized help to another student, or use their own previously graded work engage in plagiarism. Students who allow such copying are parties to plagiarism, thus guilty of cheating.

Persons who plagiarize or permit plagiarism will receive a grade of zero for the work involved. Students giving or receiving help under such conditions will not be allowed to make up the assignment or test. Students who violate the cheating/plagiarism policy more than one time, in addition to receiving a zero, must be referred to the Department Chair of Developmental Studies who will determine whether a disciplinary charge as defined in the Student Handbook will be filed with the Dean of Student Affairs. Developmental Studies Department Dekalb College, North Campus Statements shared by the Humanities Department, North Campus, and English as a Second Language Department, Central Campus, were helpful in developing this policy.

THE PROBLEM:

The problem of plagiarism and cheating is significant, and it is not limited to a certain level of the educational hierarchy. A 1991 Rutgers University study of 16,000 students, from 31 prestigious U.S. universities, found that 66% of students cheated at least once and that 12% were regular cheaters. A 1997 Psychological Record study found that 36% of undergraduates have plagiarized written material. This problem rarely involves the direct copying of books or encyclopedias. The real problem of plagiarism involves the recirculation of term papers within a class or between classes. More recently, students who have not had access to such term paper archives can now acquire high-quality work from web sites (or term paper 'mills') that freely distribute academic term papers. These Internet-based entities stay in business via web site advertising, and they will continue to remain in business because it would violate their free speech rights to prohibit the distribution of academic works. Term paper 'mills' such as SchoolSucks.com, CheatHouse.com, Cheater.com, and PhreePapers.com receive thousands of visits per day, brag about having tens of thousands of satisfied clients, and add hundreds of manuscripts to their databases each week. A front-page story in the 16 December 1997 San Francisco Chronicle detailed how two unlucky students turned-in the same paper they acquired from the Internet to a U.C. Berkeley religious studies class and were caught by accident. It's now time to remove 'accident' from the equation and catch acts of plagiarism every time. THE SOLUTION:

Plagiarism.org offers a sophisticated solution to an age-old problem that has resurfaced and grown in todays digital medium. Until now it was nearly impossible to locate plagiarized works, and many instructors believed that the amount of time needed to find plagiarism was not worth the investment. Our service can 'finger-print' and compare literally hundreds of thousands of manuscripts against our substantial database. We utilize a system of proprietary computational techniques to 'finger-print' manuscripts or term papers and then check for degrees of originality. Our system returns highly accurate statistical measures indicating how original (or not) a particular work is. All of this is available via a user-interface that has been proven to work in classes containing hundreds of Internet-naive students.

The Message

Plagiarism is preventable. It has occurred for centuries, but it is only now that a viable solution is being offered by Plagiarism.org. It's understandable that instructors would not want to waste endless hours of their valuable time searching for those few plagiarized manuscripts, but we must remember that the act of plagiarism is probably the most serious academic offense that could be committed. Our service now gives educators the same Internet power that was once held by students alone. Our solution can be implemented in seconds and it is has been proven to work in real classrooms at U.C. Berkeley and abroad for the past four years. More importantly, when students understand that their papers will be evaluated by a computer, against an enormous database containing an unknown variety of other papers, they will think twice before cheating. Plagiarism.org is the deterrent, the investigator, and the solution. From the plagiarism.org site on the internet. Contact our Webmaster with questions or comments, & review the Plagiarism.org Web Site Usage Agreement. Copyright 1998 iParadigms, Inc. All rights reserved.