# When college students write about abortion... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 10, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356 "2009-10-10T23:15:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/61 "2009-10-13T19:21:28Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > I can’t believe kids still do this! I mean, I don’t condone cheating, but get a little creative. Jeesh. I just caught another one: it was supposed to be an analysis of a short story–and it was. But the whole thing was lifted verbatim from a Cliffs Notes website. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/62 "2009-10-13T19:39:46Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You have to assume the conclusion three times to make this argument work. That’s a dead giveaway that the argument sucks. I don’t think **Markxxx** was defending the kid’s argument, just trying to fathom his/her reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/63 "2009-10-13T20:07:14Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > “At that time colonist forced punishments against laborers than white descent servants. There were laws very limited to protect any Negro slave but was required.” I’m pretty sure I get email from this person! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/64 "2009-10-13T20:11:34Z")
I’m pretty sure I get email from people this person has taught (his version of) English to! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/65 "2009-10-13T20:17:13Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Teachers regularly ask me to sub for them, even in subjects that I never took. That settles it. You _are_ the Most Interesting Man in the World[sup]TM[/sup]! Unless you’re a woman, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/66 "2009-10-13T20:41:39Z")
IIRC, **M,I,S!** is, in fact, female. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/67 "2009-10-13T20:51:59Z")
> [@velvetjones](#): > > I wonder if one of the reasons there seems to be a decline in writing skills is that young people are reading for pleasure less. In my casual observation it seems like people who read often have, in general, better written grammar and spelling than those who only read what they have to read. I have believed for a long time that this is the case. My students seem to not have any familiarity at all with the structure of a coherent sentence. It’s almost as if they’ve never seen one. > [@vivalostwages](#): > > Today’s RYS post happens to fit this thread: > > [http://rateyourstudents.blogspot.com/2009/10/early-thirsty-what-we-love-on-exams.html](http://rateyourstudents.blogspot.com/2009/10/early-thirsty-what-we-love-on-exams.html) Rate Your Students saves my sanity sometimes, and other times it makes me want to punch something. > [@vivalostwages](#): > > I just caught another one: it was supposed to be an analysis of a short story–and it was. But the whole thing was lifted verbatim from a Cliffs Notes website. > :smack: [Turnitin.com](http://Turnitin.com) is a godsend for me. Do you use it? ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/68 "2009-10-13T21:13:57Z")
My roommate teaches a media and society course. One assignment was to watch _Crash_ (2005) and write a synopsis of it. Which one student did. He had plagiarized the synopsis _off the back of the DVD case._ Oh yes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/69 "2009-10-13T21:27:46Z")
I went to Shoreline Community College and was repeatedly surprised by how special my basic communication abilities were. I would generally write papers the day before they were due, if not the exact day that they were due, and get a near-perfect grade. What’s more, professors would act as though I was some sort of special, brilliant student just because I was interested in the course and asked straightforward, relevant questions about the topic being discussed. A year and a half ago I transferred to the UW. I’m not treated as a genius here as much, but I still occasionally have instructors who act as though I’m some sort of special student - and I don’t do anything amazing. I just ask questions in class and write decent essays. One professor, an amazing guy named Paul Remley, told me that I was “one of the best”. * * * I’m not an amazing writer. I just ask decent questions and phrase arguments reasonably. When I write papers, I try to come up with some sort of point I need to make and defend it. This is how you write a good paper: 1. Decide what your point is. 2. Defend it. This is all I do. What I’m beginning to grasp is that this basic skill of mine is actually exceptional among students. Most students don’t really seem all that able to do this. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/70 "2009-10-13T21:35:19Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > IIRC, **M,I,S!** is, in fact, female. Well, it REALLY does take being “the most interesting man in the world” to actually be a female while being so 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/71 "2009-10-13T21:41:17Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > …This is how you write a good paper: > > 1. Decide what your point is. > 2. Defend it. If I may: 1. Decide what your point is 1a. Decide if the facts support your point 2. Defend it or come up with a different point, as appropriate Oh, and of course: 3. _ **Prof it!** _ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/72 "2009-10-13T21:48:24Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > If I may: > > 1. Decide what your point is > 1a. Decide if the facts support your point > > 2. Defend it or come up with a different point, as appropriate > Oh, and of course: > > 3. _ **Prof it!** _ Just run spell-checker and you’ll eliminate most problems. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/73 "2009-10-13T21:56:09Z")
No, I think you still have to turn **it** in to the **prof**. Geddit? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/74 "2009-10-13T22:34:38Z")
Always proof when there’s a prof involved. **Kolga** : The college doesn’t subscribe to Turnitin, but I never bothered with it because Google takes care of the situation just fine. It’s pretty easy to find stolen material since the plagiarists don’t even bother to change the wording of the original. Also, I agree re: the reading factor. This would account for a large number of the horrific assessment essays we receive. People who read tend to have a better grasp of what a sentence looks like, how it should be put together, when it should end, what needs to be capitalized, where punctuation goes, when to start a new paragraph, etc. It shows in their writing. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/75 "2009-10-13T23:09:21Z")
it was a joke on: 3) Profit! except also a pun for prof-it, meaning to turn it in to the prof. oh nevermind… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/76 "2009-10-13T23:17:12Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > it was a joke on: 3) Profit! except also a pun for prof-it, meaning to turn it in to the prof. > > oh nevermind… Sorry, I didn’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/77 "2009-10-14T01:57:18Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > The college doesn’t subscribe to Turnitin, but I never bothered with it because Google takes care of the situation just fine. I used to Google everything that sounded suspicious, but Turnitin is fabulous in that I can bulk upload an entire class’ worth of papers at once, and check all of them. I now require my students to submit an electronic copy and a hard copy, and just automatically dump them all (7 classes X 30 students per class, and each class has multiple written assignments every semester) into a zip file that gets uploaded. In fact, I convinced the school to subscribe to Turnitin after I paid for a personal subscription for one semester. Saves me a ton of time. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/78 "2009-10-14T02:30:57Z")
But do souls HAVE feelings? Really? So souls can feel anger? I don’t think souls have feelings. I think they can be damaged by strong feelings that lead to actions that wound (spiritually or whatever), but they don’t have feelings that can be hurt as we experience hurt feelings. Christ do I need to get out more. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/79 "2009-10-14T02:48:41Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > What’s more, professors would act as though I was some sort of special, brilliant student just because I was interested in the course and asked straightforward, relevant questions about the topic being discussed. I flunked out of a very academically intense Air Force training program and got dumped into a very much less academically intense program. The sergeants in that training squadron thought I was the greatest thing ever, because I could figure out how to fill out a form by following the directions printed on the back of said form. They were further impressed that I could follow spoken directions. And I’m pretty sure they had to be a little bit impressed that I could dress myself in the morning. I was in that squadron for five weeks. During that time, the squadron awarded me Airman of the Month. The airman who _flunked out of his first tech school_ won Airman of the Month. Think about the high standard I set that just about every other airman in the squadron had to have fallen short of. Man, I don’t miss Sheppard AFB at all :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356/80 "2009-10-14T02:55:44Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > This is how you write a good paper: > > 1. Decide what your point is. > 2. Defend it. > > This is all I do. I can write, but I struggled with this sometimes at college: I’d put off an assignment until the last minute, and then write my paper while sorting out my thoughts in my head. It made for a jumble at times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-college-students-write-about-abortion/513356.md?page=5)