So, I caught three students plagiarizing this week - two on their final research paper and one on an essay that he rewrote that I just got around to grading. I have encountered cheating in my class before, but this particular set of cheaters really got me riled up and just downright angry. Most of my past cheaters have owned up to it, rewritten their assignment for half credit, and either gotten a lot better at it or given it up altogether. I respect these students. I mean, yes, they cheated, but at least when confronted, they admitted their wrongdoing and suffered the consequences like mature adults. One of my cheaters from first semester even signed up for my class again, earned an A this time, and then wrote me a really nice e-mail about how he appreciated me putting up with him and not holding that incident against him. The group of cheaters I just apprehended are not acting like this. They are not only cheaters, but liars as well. Here are their stories:
A - A basically slept through my class this semester. He constantly turned in assignments late and before the cheating incident had a very low C. The plagiarism detection website we use discovered that he had copied passages from two different "Free Online Research Papers" websites for his 2nd essay of the semester. When I asked him to explain it, he replied, "I didn't use those websites and I cited all my sources too." Strangely, so did the online essays! I asked him to explain how the wording and structure of his paper were identical to the online ones and he wrote me a long e-mail about how "it was a very broad topic and people can come up with the same ideas." Apparently in the exact same words and with the exact same typos. He ended up with a 59.8 in my class, and normally I round up, but I didn't for this one.
B - Five paragraphs from his research paper were copied directly from an online article on his topic. He did not cite the article, and in fact he cited another source instead which had nothing to do with the information he provided. When I asked him about it, he freaked out and was like, "I don't know how this happened! I never saw or read this article! What do I do?" I told him he needed to explain to me how, if he had never seen the article, five paragraphs of it appeared verbatim and uncited in his paper. He said, "I don't know! But this doesn't mean I fail your class, right? I can't afford to fail any classes!" Yes, it does. And I guess you couldn't afford to cheat on your final research paper, then. I told him I had to fail him, but if he could come up with some exonerating evidence, he could request a grade change. Then, he had the audacity to say, "I don't know how to prove it! What evidence is there? Can you help me?" Um, no. I really can't.
C - Four pages of his final research paper were poorly formatted block quotes from news articles. Seriously. Like, he had a two-page quote in there. He might as well have just printed out the articles for me and turned them in instead of his paper. To his credit, though, he did cite them properly. :) When I told him about it, he responded, "Oh, wow. I'm really sorry. I didn't know. I've never written a research paper before and I thought I could do it. What should I do?" I told him he should retake the class, and he very politely said, "Ok. Thank you." The end.
I've come to just expect to discover a few students cheating here and there. It's sad and disturbing, but that's just how it is. If they'll admit it, I will give them a break and not hold it against them later on. But these guys (with the exception of C, who almost made me laugh with his serene acceptance of the situation) are driving me crazy. What do they think they are gaining by continuing to lie? But, then my husband says, "What will they gain by telling the truth?" Nothing. Except my respect for them, I suppose, and they obviously don't care about that.
