Can plagiarism be good?

[Karen <kjmcinty@tenet.edu>]

Many good suggestions have been made for preventing plagiarism.....As
Doug
Johnson points out, in the technological world we live in it is nearly
impossible to keep it from happening.

While doing something other than a report has value, I believe it is
important for students to learn to organize and write what they have
learned---The entire research process is of great value, not just the
product. But the product when it is writing is born of great effort.

I'd like to propose that we think about whether plagiarism could ever be
good.  We learn to speak by mimicking the words that we hear spoken.
Every skill we learn is learned in this manner.  We know now that
children
must hear words -- words must be part of their known universe before
they
can learn to read them.  Under certain conditions could using anothers
words (slightly altered) be a helpful tool for many students in the
process of learning to write and write well.

Perhaps there is a good kind of plagiarism and a bad kind.

Here are the conditions under which "good" plagiarism might happen.
1) the student has struggled and produced a goodly amount of research
which indicates a depth of study and understanding of the subject.
2) the student is fascinated and excited about the information and can
discuss it with you showing that their personal database (brain) has
undergone transformation because of the research.  3) the student uses
words which require him/her to learn new meanings and usages and expand
his/her vocabulary 4)the student values words and putting them together
or wordsmithing---- 5)the student has combined his/her information to
create a new understanding of the subject.

Now, before you write me off as a crack pot---I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT
WE TURN OUR HEADS AND PRETEND THAT THE STUDENT CAN WRITE SOMTHING AS
ELOQUENTLY AS THE PERSON THEY ARE "PLAGIARIZING"-- I am suggesting that
we acknowledge that the student has used other's ideas and even some of
their words in writing the paper--then we can help them move beyond
using
someone else's words...

It has always been true that ideas build one on another.  I was amazed
when
I first realized this as a young student.  That many of my favorite
authors
who were expressing similar ideas were indeed acquainted and
corresponded.
Perhaps we each add our individual flavor to the mix, but we need to
recognize that our work is built on the foundations of others.....

Bad plagiarism would occur when a student simiply stole someone's words
and
ideas to get a grade.  When this happens it is farily easy to see that
they
have stolen their material since they can't even tell you, in a coherent
way,
what was in their paper.

Anyone out there that has had this thought?
--Just thinking outloud.
--
Karen McIntyre, Librarian In times of change learners inherit the earth
kjmcinty@tenet.edu        while the learned find themselves beautifully
Ramirez & Guadalupe Elm.  equipped to deal with a world that no longer
Lubbock, TX               exists.     Eric Hoffer

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