I take classes online, and part of the class format is a threaded discussion where we respond to questions posed by the teacher. This counts towards our grade for class participation, and is a fairly large chunk of our grade.
While perusing other students posts and responding to their comments, I read one post that started to sound, a little, well, familiar. Then it hit me – she had copied my posts (almost) word-for-word, only changing a few words here and there! The thing is, though, she did add a few sentences of her own, so it doesn’t exactly match mine. I’m not sure if I’m overreacting here or not. The teacher responded positively to her post, but I don’t think the teacher caught that it was so familiar to mine.
My work:
The other person’s post:
My work:
The other person’s post:
Should I leave it up to the teacher to figure out, or should I e-mail my professor with my concerns? I don’t want to sound like a show-off or a kiss up, but I don’t think this other person should get credit for my words! Did she change it enough to make it original, or is she just a dirty cheat?
I think I would bring it to the teacher’s attention. I don’t think that would make you a “show-off” or “kiss up.” Simply enough, your creative thought has been plaigarized.
Perhaps the other student did not do it consciously, but I still think it should be addressed.
Tell her - this goes beyond paraphasing. And please tell me that the teacher at least caught the comma splice and the typos? (Sorry, must stop proofreading… must stop proofreading…)
It is absolutely plagerism. Changing a few words won’t protect her ass when she’s writing an essay and lifting someone else’s work, and it shouldn’t protect her now either.
There is no doubt that you should report it. The awkwardly phrased first sentences in both cases tell me without a doubt that this is not coincidence. You are clearly a better writer than the other student and they are attempting to piggyback on your work.
i’m a little confused as to why every seems to be counseling XJETGIRLX to tell the other student. why? do you think that she’s just unconsciously parroting things she’s read? if that were the case, i suppose it might make sense. it certainly doesn’t say much about her capacity for original thought, however.
OTOH, if she IS actively plagiarzing others, what does telling her accomplish? she KNOWS she’s stealing others’ words and ideas. all you accomplish is letting her know that you’ve twigged to the theft of your stuff. so maybe she’ll stop taking your stuff… and go off to lift things from someone else.
i would point it out to the professor, myself. getting a little “chat” about plagiarism is likely to carry a bit more heft if it comes from Those Who Grade. plus, it should encourage the prof keep an eye on her for suspiciously familar offerings in the future.
Update: I emailed the professor and got a response back fairly quickly. She’s already aware of the matter and is investigating it, but didn’t want to involve me in it until she was done investigating. She’s glad I e-mailed her though.
Thanks for your comments, I wasn’t sure whether I was overreacting or not.
I hope serious action is taken. The fact that she’s “investigating” makes me wonder if she’s being democratic or being lenient.
Plagiarism is a big deal, even when you’re not taking from a copyrighted or published work. I recall an incident from high school where a student didn’t graduate because a large part of his research paper was taken from his older brother’s paper from when he was a senior. Failing grade on large senior research paper = failing grade in senior English = no diploma for him. There was a big controversy then, but I still agree with the punishment.
At least it’s a message board and it’s obvious who said what first!
Personally I’d bypass the student. They showed no respect for you when they stole your work, and they don’t deserve a warning. Anyone completing their tertiary education should be acutely aware that plagiarism is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Personally, I’d detour around the student. They showed no regard for you when they pilfered your work, and they are not deserving of a warning. Anyone completing their third education should be highly aware that plagiarism is incorrect, incorrect, incorrect.
I’m thinking that the teacher is probably going over everything the girl has submitted with a fine tooth comb and is checking to see whether her other works were also “borrowed”. If I were a teacher and had a student who did something like this, I would invetigate all of that student’s work to see how far the plagiarism extended.
why is everyone being so punitive? what kind of class is it? english? the girl do not appear to be a native english speaker and a good teacher should be able to (and actively look out for) detect plagiarism; especially with the inconsistent grammar with regards to the poe’s ‘tail’. :rolleyes: she should then take note and mark her accordingly, while adjusting her teaching towards that student, including telling said student to use her own words in her essays.
and i agree that she might not even understand what ‘plagiarism’ means…
Actually, shijinn it’s an American Literature course, and the purpose of the assignment is to display our own understanding of the works. I’m working on my degree in eCommerce at a private two year university.
And you’re definitely not overreacting.