The effective prevention of plagiarism can make detection unnecessary. Teachers can reduce the temptation and ability of their students to plagiarize in several constructive ways. For example, assign specific writing projects not likely to be found on online paper mills. Incorporate research into the assignment itself by requiring students to keep a log of their research and to include a research portfolio with their final drafts. Not only will the likelihood of plagiarism decrease, but students will gain a greater awareness of their own research habits and how those habits effect their writing.

"In Preventing Plagiarism, an Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure"
Preventing plagiarism can be a lot less stressful than trying to prosecute it. For help with designing assignments that resist plagiarism, read Shelley Reid's chart, which you'll also find as an insert in the Spring 2005 WAC newsletter.

"Plagiarism Across the Curriculum: How Academic Communities Can Meet the Challenge of the Undocumented Writer"
http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/articles/hall2005.cfm
Treating plagiarism as a social phenomenon as well as an academic one, this article--from the Across the Disciplines section of the WAC Clearinghouse website--addresses the ways in which students are indoctrinated into different discourse communities. It also sheds light on the assumptions faculty might hold regarding a student's understanding of what it means to plagiarize.

Turnitin at Mason: Plagiarism Resources and Online Tutorials
http://www.irc.gmu.edu/turnitin/resources.html
A compendium of links compiled by GMU's Instructional Resource Center, including library resources, online guides to university policies regarding plagiarism, and a series of tutorials and other resources from other institutions available online.

The Library at the University of North Caroline, Charlotte.
http://library.uncc.edu/display/?dept=instruction&format=open&page=920
A thorough compendium of links to sites dealing with plagiarism prevention, detection, and general information.

Advice from Indiana University on Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
This web page pays special attention to and provides helpful examples of concepts such as paraphrasing and common knowledge.

Washington State University Plagiarism Site
http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/electric/trainingmods/plagiarism_test/
In addition to strategies for detecting and helping students avoid plagiarism, this site also includes pieces on the history of intellectual property and on the concept of plagiarism from differing cultural perspectives.

Bedford/St. Martin's Workshop on Plagiarism
http://bedfordstmartins.com/technotes/hccworkshop/plagiarism.htm
A workshop focusing on using online course tools. Also contains useful links on plagiarism.

Bedford/St. Martin's "Thinking About Plagiarism"
http://bedfordstmartins.com/technotes/workshops/plagiarismhelp.htm
Further discussion and a number of links to plagiarism resources.

George Mason University's Definition of Plagiarism
Here is the defintion that GMU's Honor Committee uses to determine instances of plagiarism.

Plagiarism Assignment Crafted by George Mason University's New Century College Professor Kim Eby
Students in Kim Eby's class familiarize themselves with different concepts of plagiarism as well as the challenges posed by collaborative work with this assignment.

George Mason University's New Century College Statement on Academic Honesty and Collaboration
NCC students are expected to meet these standards of academic honesty.

Tips for Prevention from the University of Delaware
http://www.english.udel.edu/wc/staff/plagiarism.doc
This Word document suggests a step-by-step method that teachers can use to help their students avoid plagiarism--from syllabus to assignment to grading.