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How to Detect Plagiarism in a Student's Work

In most schools, plagiarism is a serious offense which can be punishable by suspension or expulsion. It's generally up to the teacher to catch the plagiarism, which can be tricky to detect.

The Internet has made it easy for students to find essays they can copy for free or purchase. Many students also make arrangements with other students to use their work, and some may take other students' work without their knowledge. Even if just one sentence has been copied from a source without citation, this is considered plagiarism.

You should be fairly certain a student has committed plagiarism before confronting him. There are several good resources you can consult for confirmation if you are suspicious.

Plagiarism detection software or online tools

Instructions

- 1
  Check the student's work to see if it's uneven. If previous work has a different tone or if the writing style is inconsistent and some phrases stand out as being more sophisticated, these can be red flags.
- 2
  Review the citations and references. If there are few or no quotations or references in a well-written paper, this is another potential sign of plagiarism.
- 3
  Unusual formatting can also be a clue. Notice if the subheadings are inconsistent, if there is strange usage of upper- and lowercase, or if the formatting or content does not generally meet the assignment requirements.
- 4
  Search the Internet using one of the suspicious phrases, putting quotes around the phrase. If nothing turns up, try searching for a few more phrases in the student's essay.
- 5
  Use plagiarism detection software. The Essay Verification Engine (EVE) can be downloaded for $30. TurnItIn is another plagiarism detection program with pricing based on department and campus licensing. WCopyFind is a free program that isn't as comprehensive.

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