Plagiarism Detection Software Has Its Weaknesses

Teresa Schuster/Contributing Writer

Like FIU, many colleges use plagiarism detection software to scan students’ assignment submissions for plagiarism. Now students are developing new and sophisticated ways of circumventing it. One method which has emerged in recent years is to use paper mills, which sell custom papers to students.

With the advent of plagiarism-checking software like Turnitin, it has become more difficult to copy and paste essays found on the internet without being caught. But the software has its limits. Turnitin checks submissions against essays in its database, which includes previously submitted essays as well as essays published online. 

However, this is only an effective means of recognizing plagiarism when the plagiarized essays have already been uploaded. As long as a student submits original work, it can’t determine whether it was written by the student or if they paid someone else to do it for them.

From friends completing each other’s homework to classmates writing entire term papers, this type of plagiarism has always existed. But online paper mills have further encouraged it, aggressively advertising their services and enabling students to buy a paper with only a few clicks. Simple Google searches for “college paper” or “essay help” return pages of essay writing websites, each promising to provide A+ papers undetectable by plagiarism software for as little as 15 dollars per page.

Many college students consider purchasing a paper less harmful than other forms of plagiarism, since they are not stealing another’s work and reusing it without giving credit. Some are unaware that it constitutes plagiarism. Despite efforts by FIU and other colleges to educate students on this issue, these beliefs persist.

Currently, purchasing papers online to submit as original work is illegal in 17 US states, including Florida. However, proving this is a daunting task, and it is difficult if not impossible to prosecute the paper mills themselves since many of them are based overseas. So far, their future looks bright.

Research suggests that over 15% of college students have paid others to do all or part of an assignment for them. This percentage has risen substantially from past years, and there’s no reason to expect the trend to reverse.

While new software is being developed to combat this epidemic, its use is not yet widespread. Such software attempts to determine if an essay is a student’s own by comparing it with work they’ve submitted previously. If there are significant differences in grammar, vocabulary, or writing style, the essay is flagged as potentially bought or plagiarized.

In addition, this software checks submitted files’ metadata, which includes the edit history of a document, the amount of time spent editing it, and which authors have made changes to it. This helps to identify if the document was written by someone else.

This technology offers many possibilities for combating new ways of cheating. While highlighting text copied from online resources may detect most plagiarism, this method is ultimately inadequate, which colleges like FIU should recognize.

Featured photo by Steven Coochin on Flickr.

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Have questions or comments for our writers? Send an email to opinion@fiusm.com with your name and the name of the column in the subject line.