from lrdc.pitt.edu
I am a teacher of College English at a midsized community college in New England.
Last week, after students were told to take their final versions of their compare and contrast essays home to insert all their citations both intext and in a works cited page, I got a paper on steroids from Alan with paragraphs ripped word for word from internet sources (and also not on his list of preapproved academic sources.) Word for word.
I know almost everyone uses information they find elsewhere, but this kid hadn’t been bright enough to weave in any of the information into his paper. His own writing was horrifically awful, which did little to hide the beautifully written paragraphs he’d boosted. In order for him to seamlessly synthesize what he was supposed to have learned from his sources, someone else would have had to have written the paper.
Somehow, Alan had managed to get through high school without ever hearing that taking chunks of text from the internet without citing it constituted plagiarism and was a Very Bad Thing. I found this hard to believe, so I asked other of my students – who had been to the same high school and had had some of the same teachers – what exactly they’d learned at this high school.
I was told, and I quote, “He totally knew what he was doing was wrong. He was being lazy and stupid, and hoping he wouldn’t get caught. He’s a jock”.
I busted Alan out of my class. Then I photocopied the paper with the ripped off paragraphs (along with the highlighted sources I easily found via Google) and sent it to my chair.
Alan wrote this (unedited) email after I gave him the administrative failure:
Please, is there anyway I can talk to you about this. It was a mistake, I promise it really was. I didn’t pass that paper in hoping I would get away with plagiarism. When you told us to all go back and cite our sources I did but I missed two.I’m heart broken right now. Everything has gone wrong in the last year I almost gave up school and just got a job. I stayed with it though. I was just beginning to learn English and climb up the latter again. The way you taught it really stuck in my mind and I was truly learning. I know you have a job to do and maybe I was or wasn’t one of your favorite students. Please though could I just sit down and talk to you for a little bit after class is over today. I am really lost and stunned.
Al appealed the administrative failure to the chair of the department. Since I expressed not being averse (underwhelming enough?) to his rejoining my class, the chair has indicated that since I did not go into enough exhaustive detail about what and how to cite, despite each student having multiple resources (including their handbooks and Blackboard, where I have posted sample essays) and despite the fact that I handed them photocopies of how to weave sources into the text, Alan is to be given a second chance. Apparently Alan still didn’t understand.
Does he deserve another chance? This is the kid who failed out of Local U in math and English and came to the community college to make up those grades. Oops, eh? Clearly, he’s desperate, but also clearly, I’m supposed to be the teacher in the equation, to help him learn his lessons and benefit from his mistakes. I’ve been told that had this been later in the semester, this chance would not be available to him. However, given so many revisions are yet to come, and so many more opportunities to craft and hone essays yet remain, he will re enter my class on Wednesday morning.
He will, however, be signing a memo of understanding that dictates, in excruciating detail, that should he feel compelled to breathe without first citing his sources, he will be out on his ass with a great big F carved into his forehead.
Ok, just out, with a no-contest F.
I can’t honestly say I did EVERYTHING I could have to spoon feed him and the other students about what to do and what not to. I do feel compelled to recognize I had made a lot of assumptions about what this (very thick) student and his peers knew. That’s the only sticking point I can think of, however. Ultimately, the chair of the department thinks Al can be salvaged and that this lesson (and mark on his academic file) will serve him in the end.
Thanks to my fantastic community college teaching colleague Dingo, I have sent each and every student the plagiarism tutorials she uses, along with links to read about how to academically cover your ass.
I did learn from this debacle too, but mostly I learned to cover MY ass, to make sure there is NO possibility of any vestige of doubt that the students are given enough information, that when they hang themselves from their own stupidity, I have the proof.
you’ve hit one of the major problems with education today. It doesn’t matter how well you teach things like plagiarism. When a kid gets busted for it, administration will almost always find some excuse to give the kid a “second chance’. Then a third, ad a fourth, and as many more as the kid wants.
The problem is that he school is counting on the tuition the kid pays – academics are purely secondary to revenue. The only effective method I found for dealing with cheating (fortunately, my students were at a level in their professional career where plagiarism wasn’t really an issue) was to make it clear on day one that anything that I perceived as cheating would ensure an immediate “F” in the class. One the rare occasion when it came up, the student would always appeal, and the conversation with administration usually ended up along the lines of: “I’m sorry, but my professional ethics do not allow for cheating in my classes. If you wish to re-instate this student, you will need to find someone else to finish teaching the class because I will immediately resign.”
Of course, I was also bringing in a LOT of research grants, and was more or less untouchable without a major financial impact on the school….. I also never had a student that I failed for cheating return to my class.
I was wondering, as mentioned by sphyrnatude, whether the school’s decision was revenue-based.
I had previously listened to a longish bit on PRI about this, from the point of view of an instructor (can’t cite source, I was driving the car!).
It seems to me that if you run a revenue-based junior college (sorry, “community college”), you should eschew grading and academic standards. After the student buys enough class hours, the school can issue a certificate that the student/customer registered and paid for X amount of coursework.
But what to do with the “real” students, trying hard to learn and qualify for colleges which issue degrees? Hmmm …. dunno.
As for plagiarism itself, I’m against it.
I’m not against putting material in quotes, and crediting the source, up to a point, but, of course, that does not demonstrate writing skill.
I would like to start by stating that plagiarism is wrong. Very wrong. So very wrong.
Because I recently took a college-level composition class I would like to play devil’s advocate for just a minute, mostly because I would like your opinion.
First, I found in researching that it is difficult to word something you find in research in a way that is completely different than it is written somewhere on the internet. I think the internet is too large and many times the topic your researching has been discussed so much that it’s increasingly difficult to be original. That said, I did it and many people do it. But I think it takes much more skill than it used to.
Second, I would like your opinion on in-text citations. Why isn’t it enough to say “According to O’Mama….blah blah blah…” Why on Earth is it necessary to say “According to O’Mama…blah blah blah.” (O’Mama, p 19) [pardon incorrect citation use, but you get the picture I hope.] I just personally find these types of papers almost un-readable because it’s chock full of damn citations. Why isn’t the Works Cited enough?
Thanks for your insight!
Snob; it IS difficult to paraphrase in such a way that the gist itself is what you take away, but even then, you have to cite sources. I have been telling my students that they can synthesize the material by reading reams of it, and in some cases (and I am not certain where the lines are here) not have to cite paragraphs that are your understanding of the topic. You DO have to cite specific quotes, or to signal to the reader that someone else’s opinion is coming, which you will discuss. Sometimes, text full of citations get clunky, but it’s the best idea to err on the side of caution and cite everything.
Do you read an inherent contradiction? Yup. Still working through all the fine details. here.
How, exactly, did this kid’s dumbassery become YOUR fault? You can’t tell me that he’d never encountered a plagiarism lesson before and that it was ENTIRELY your responsibility to teach this boy how to not steal sources….
Chili, it is entirely possible I didn’t cover my ass enough. That’s all I am responsible for; however, this kid may actually learn something about trying to get away with stealing sources again (swampland, anyone?). I will not be placed in this position again.
I’m so sick of students blaming teachers when they plagiarize and administrations not backing up the teachers. How many lessons on not stealing does it take, for heavens sake?! If only students put as much effort into their work as they do those ridiculous emails they send after the shit hits the fan!
Honestly, his emails are spectacularly bad. He writes terrible, terrible stuff, with no idea about grammar or punctuation or syntax and really, I think he’ll fail all by himself, regardless of whether or not he’s repented his ways (ha).
You know what I think — out on his ass! Too bad your administration didn’t back you up. At least make sure that it goes on his academic record. That way, when he does it again (and he will since he got away with it this time) the admin will know and THEN maybe he’ll get what he deserves.
Oh, another thing. I have my students sign a Memorandum of Understanding at the beginning of the semester. It basically says that they read the syllabus and understand all the rules, reading assignments, consequences, etc. In the syllabus in BOLD lettering is a Zero Tolerance for Plagiarism section. If a student tries to give me any lip about their plagiarism, I just wave their signed copy of the MOU in their face.
When and if I EVER teach this again, I will use that idea and cover my ass ahead of time! So not dealing with this again.
I’m all for giving people second chances but it pisses me off that it became YOUR fault. At the college level, students should not have to be given detailed instruction on how not to plagiarise. In fact, they shouldn’t even have to be told that it’s wrong. I have been teaching my TWELVE year old the proper way to research and write a paper, for pete’s sake! If he can get it, this jackass should. And shame on the administration for misplacing even an ounce of blame!
This is so ridiculous, but the educational society in general not only allows it to happen, but fosters it at lower levels. Everyone wins. Everyone deserves an award. Award mediocrity–or less. I have a post spinning in my head about the flipside of this. I keep thinking I’m making too big a deal of it, but when I read this, I KNOW I’m not. And not only do those who work hard suffer for what ever the hell has advanced Alan this far, but the Alans of this world will suffer one day… when they’re out in the real world. PLEASE tell me they will suffer!
Oh, I liked his spelling skills, too.