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Verifying References
Worksheet #007

“Even students making a good faith effort to avoid plagiarism can run into problems.”

    Stephen Wilhoit
    “Helping Students Avoid Plagiarism”

Note to Students

If you are worried about committing accidental plagiarism, you and a friend or members of your study group can do this exercise even if your instructor does not require it.

Overview of Learning Activity

John L. Waltman (1980) refers to unintentional plagiarism as “careless paraphrasing and citing or source material such that improper or misleading credit is given.” (p. 37) At this stage of the writing process, you might be guilty of unintentional plagiarism because you are in the process of learning a new skill and people make mistakes when they learn new skills. However, this is the time to catch those errors because—once the final paper is submitted—no distinction will be made between intentional and unintentional plagiarism. At that stage of the writing process, regardless of intent, plagiarism will earn you a failing grade in the course.

In this activity, one of your colleagues will verify that you are doing your references properly. And if your partner finds that you are guilty of unintentional plagiarism, you still have time to fix your errors before submitting your final paper for evaluation. Once your partner has verified your references, you will not need to have any fear that you have someone accidentally committed plagiarism. In addition, you will have the opportunity to verify your partner’s references to make sure that he/she has everything properly referenced.

Objectives of Activity

After completing this activity, you will

    blue bullet used to denote item in a listKnow that you are citing sources and paraphrasing material correctly.
    blue bullet used to denote item in a listImprove your editing skills by verifying references for one of your colleagues.

Directions for Activity

Step 1:
blue bullet used to denote item in a listSelect a Partner

Step 2:
blue bullet used to denote item in a listSwitch Papers

Step 3:
blue bullet used to denote item in a listVerify References

Step 4:
blue bullet used to denote item in a listReturn Paper

Assessment of Activity

You will submit copy of the paper whose references you verified—including marginal notes—to your instructor.

Your partner will be asked to write a one-minute paper on the quality of the help you gave to him/her.

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Avoiding Plagiarism

Ashworth and Bannister (1997) found that “some students have a fear that they might well plagiarize unwittingly in writing what they genuinely take to be their own ideas.” And in their study of graduate students, Love and Simmons (1998) cite the fear of one student who reported that “People know when they are cheating, but might not know when they are plagiarizing.” Some of this fear could come from the fact that many students are unclear on the concept of what constituted plagiarism (Shaw 2003; Thompson and Williams 1995; Lathrop and Foss 2000). You should take time to verify your references before submitting your paper for evaluation. Double check the references in your paper against the original sources and not just against your notes. A careful researcher does not need to fear that he or she has committed unintentional plagiarism.


References and Resources

blue bullet used to denote item in a listAshworth, Peter, and Philip Bannister. "Guilty in Whose Eyes? University Student's Perceptions of Cheating and Plagiarism in Academic Work and Assessment." Studies in Higher Education 22.2 (1997): 187+.
blue bullet used to denote item in a listGibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York. The Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
blue bullet used to denote item in a listLathrop, Ann , and Kathleen Foss. Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the Internet Era. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000.
blue bullet used to denote item in a listLove, Patrick, and Janice Simmons. "Factors Influencing Cheating and Plagiarism Among Graduate Students in a College of Education." College Student Journal 32.4 (1998): 539+.
blue bullet used to denote item in a listShaw, SuEllen. Academic Plagiarism Revisited. Writers Corner. Spring 2003. Moorhead Writing Center at the Minnesota State University.
blue bullet used to denote item in a listThompson, Leonora C., and Portia G. Williams. "But I Changed Three Words!" Clearing House 69.1 (1995): 27+.


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This page was last updated on November 28, 2004.