Albert's term paper
Scenario 11 (Property)
Albert finds a site on the Internet that is a repository of old term papers. He downloads one on ancient Greece, changes the title, and submits it as his own.
Questions:
- What is the property?
- Who is its owner?
- What danger or discomfort might the unethical action cause?
- How might teachers change assignments to make them less likely to be found on term paper Internet sites?
- Is there a parallel in the physical world to this scenario?
- Can you think of other incidents that would fall into this category?
Comments:
Academic work is increasingly available for sale or download from the Internet from a number of sites. Schools Sucks <www.schoolsucks.com> is probably one of the oldest and best know. Online services now offer help in writing “personal” essays requested for college admissions offices. How are such services alike or unlike ghostwritten biographies and speeches of celebrities and politicians?
One way teachers can help defeat the use of such sites is to ask for papers that call for original thoughts and conclusions. Does your child’s teacher ask for papers that call for creativity? See also Plagiarism-Proofing Assignments.
Doug Johnson
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Reader Comments (5)
What a cheater!
This is not as uncommon as we may think. The only thing we as educators can do is stress the importance of owning thier work. Let the students know that creativity is a big part of the grade, I let all of my students know that I can tell when the work is theirs or if they got it from someone else. Awareness is the key.We need to take a stand and let the students know that this is unexceptable behavior and will not be tolerated.
Unfortunately, I think students are not encouraged in other areas outside of school to be creative and use their imagination. They don't have to think for themselves anymore. I think that this also hurts them in school because when asked for their original thoughts, they have trouble putting them into words on paper, thus making them turn to these websites where they can purchase answers on old term papers. It always surprised me that students would do this, not thinking that their teacher had seen enough of their work all year to decipher between original work and copied work. I agree that they need to understand that they will be accountable for their OWN work and will get points deducted for using someone else's thoughts.
As a teacher of learning disabled students, I can see how this would be an easy way out from having to do a term paper especially when some students have a lot of difficulty with being creative in written assignment. Even so, we as teachers have a responsibility to try to instill creativity in all students. All students need to know that it is not acceptable to copy someone elses work and claim it as their own. We need to continue to encourage our students to just do their best and praise them for their efforts.
Once again, the importance of being original is in danger. Students need to be aware of how important it is to be the sole proprietor of their own thoughts. No one has the right to claim something that it is not their own.
Teaching students that plagiarism is the same thing as stealing will help them realize the importance of following the law. Teaching them early in their lives will also result in more college successes and less career failures.