2008-10-27

Plagiarism-proof

With all the concern about plagiarism, it is refreshing to read this essay on the cultivation of creativity and intellectual self-reliance that masquerades as a recipe for plagiarism prevention. Not that it does not outline some ingenious heuristics to prevent plagiarism. It does, by suggesting the assignment of topics that are uniquely at the intersection of the individual's experience and local identity, so as to defy any generality that would allow easy textual cloning to substitute for reflection and crafted writing. It's quite impressive to witness, even if from afar, the dedication to shaping personalized educational experiences that are broadly informed. With such teachers plagiarism really does seem beside the point.

Finally, and most satisfying, is that this essay is a chapter in a fully open access book that is part of an open access series from University of Michigan.

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