We built this site because we are invested in helping students become better writers and better members of academic communities. The lessons on this site help students build vocabulary for talking about sources, learn how to engage with those sources, and feel empowered to have a scholarly voice. They also provide a range of perspectives on what comprises plagiarism, and why it is a problem. With these tools, we hope to demonstrate that heavy-handed plagiarism prevention tactics get in the way of learning, not only because of concerns about dishonesty, but because it keeps students from from fully engaging with their source material.
Each module includes instructional material, and two (Modules 3 and 4) involve quizzes to test students on their progress through some of the more challenging material. These modules are aimed at students in lower-level courses – particularly first-year writing classes – but we feel they would be valuable for any college student who is relatively new to source use, framing their own research questions, or issues of plagiarism. The modules may also be used to help refresh the memories of more advanced students, or provide an optional supplement for students working independently on research papers.
The modules have a clear sequence that can be approached linearly, but they are also designed to function independently. You can pick and choose the elements most relevant to your students’ needs.
If you are assigning modules in your classes, our focus groups have demonstrated that you should expect that students will need 15-30 minutes to watch the videos in Module 1, 15 minutes to read the material on finding source material in Module 2, and 30-45 mins each to read the material and complete quizzes for Module 3 and Module 4.
Since the quizzes are designed to reinforce skills more than to evaluate, the module allows students to retake them as many times as needed. Â Some instructors have chosen to have students send in a screen capture of their quiz results from Modules 3 & 4 to demonstrate their completion.