“Give credit where it’s due”: How to Approach Plagiarism in the Classroom

The following are some thoughts for a presentation I and a colleague did about plagiarism for our university’s professional development. We wanted, through this presentation, to highlight our experiences as composition teachers with over 30 years of combined experience and how we need to, across disciplines, think about plagiarism. This is not exhaustive, and we do not deal with AI. However, we do think this serves as a starting point for broader discussions.

During Kevin Smith’s classic film Clerks, Dante and Randal sit around the Quick Stop debating the victims of the Rebel Alliance destroying the Galactic Empire’s Death Stars. Randal points out that the first Death Star “was completed and fully operational before the Rebels destroyed it.” Dante quickly retorts, “Luke blew it up. Give credit where it’s due.” Randal then mentions the destruction of the not-yet-completed Death Star and Dante again replies by giving credit to the individual who provided the fatal blow. He says, “Compliments of Lando Calrissian.”

Dante’s responses to Randall provide an entry point into our discussions about plagiarism. Even though his responses serve merely as a corrective to Randal’s broad assertions of the “Rebels” destroying the Death Stars, Dante’s addition of “[g]ive credit where it’s due” gets to the heart…