Plagiarism

Nicole Bulas

COUN 500

Article I Review and Analysis

Callison, D. (2005). Plagiarism. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 22(4), 41-45. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/237131787?accountid=12085

Article Summary

As students most of us have the ability to conform and adapt quickly to the rules and regulations that our schools enforce regarding plagiarism. Yet it seems as though plagiarism is becoming a more of an increasing problem nowadays. In his article entitled Plagiarism, Callison proposes his views and beliefs on how to effectively avoid plagiarism. He believes educators should “encourage what can be done rather than concentrate on what should not be done.” (Callison, 2005) By educating students on the proper and effective strategies of ethical research behavior, we can ensure the necessary confidence and knowledge needed to avoid the intellectual kidnapping of ideas. Callison points out that by identifying the resources he uses, he gives others a chance to delve deeper into the opinions and ideas of experts. He mentions that citing sources not only gives consideration to the author but also serves to strengthen ideas by validating them.

Unfortunately there seems to be more of a focus from teachers and educators to try and “catch” plagiarism in student work. Callison believes the solution to plagiarism should be focused more on creating assignments that force students to be original and thoughtful. If projects were focused more on student raised questions and topics that everyone could easily relate to then the need to steal other people’s relation to the topic would not be necessary. The key is to find a subject that is easily relevant to students therefore enabling their ideas and opinions to pour out with ease.

Reaction to Article

In my opinion I think Callison hits the nail right on the head when he suggests finding topics that are easily relatable to students. It is important for students to understand what they are writing...