The Owl and the Plagiarist: Academic Misrepresentation in Contemporary Education

Abstract

"The Owl and the Plagiarist: Academic Misrepresentation in Contemporary Education" describes academic plagiarism, distinguishes it from other forms of plagiarism, and proposes a conceptual framework for the universal application of two essential principles of scholarship: students should receive credit only for their own work, and sources and assistance must always be appropriately acknowledged.

Chapter One surveys the evolving public conception of plagiarism, and the identification of public expectations. The emphasis is on the late twentieth century, although the chronological emergence of the concept is addressed in broad terms. Chapter Two discusses the nature and unappreciated breadth of academic plagiarism, and introduces the idea that "false claim of credit" is the standard that we should adopt for academic plagiarism. A value/ credit paradigm is introduced to provide a conceptual framework for a consistently rational response to academic malfeasance. In this view a paper, project or test has no worth except as a receipt attesting that a student has received the learning value inherent in the assignment. Credit is given only when a student presents a valid receipt; a plagiarized assignment -- which is a fraudulent receipt -- earns no credit. Intent is irrelevant to the fact of plagiarism. Chapter Three is a discussion of plagiarism as it has evolved in colleges and universities, from its roots in the eighteenth century through contemporary case studies. Chapter Four is an analysis of plagiarism as it has evolved at the secondary level, from its roots in "cribbing" and "telling" to modem high-stakes testing. Included in this chapter are the concept of third-party plagiarism and an examination of the factors that contribute to endemic plagiarism in preuniversity education. Chapter Five explores the commercial traffic in essays before the internet, and institutional responses to the term paper industry. Chapter Six identifies the technological challenges posed by commercial traffic in term papers in the age of the computer, and an academic challenge to the concept itself by postmodern theorists. This thesis concludes both that neither challenge warrants reconsideration of the established view that academic plagiarism is unacceptable, and that the "false claim of credit" definition is sufficient to meet future challenges.