Do freshman and sophomores in college understand plagiarism?

When I first started out in college, I had to take two general education English courses. I hated these classes. Writing papers over topics that I sometimes did not fully understand. These assignments were also based on specific reading material that we did not have to research too much. This is where I really began having problems understanding citations to keep from plagiarizing. A study conducted by Lori G. Power called "University Student's Perceptions of Plagiarism" found that many freshman and sophomores at a university in southern Maine. Students all around seem to be told the consequences of plagiarism, but are never told the reason for these harsh punishments. There needs to be an agreement between the high schools and colleges as to teaching what is considered plagiarism. At the moment, it is up to the discretion of the teachers. Until this is resolved, each individual teacher that will have an assignment that requires research needs to describe what they will consider plagiarism. This will cut down on the confusion and prevent many unknowing students from committing this act.