I nabbed a plagiarist yesterday.* I have my music appreciation students turn in one-page responses to the listening assignments: general musical observations and touchy-feely "it made me think of a thunderstorm" kinds of stuff. Said student turned in three plagiarized one-page responses at once (playing "catch-up" as a result of "illness"). And a plagiarized research paper.
The sources for the one-page responses were easily found: Wikipedia, YouTube, and so on--you know, the first thing that pops up when you Google "puccini la boheme." I think that's part of what bothers me. If you're going to try to pull something, at least try hard. Teachers are not stupid.
I read the research paper, a biography of J.S. Bach, and responded to the student with the following:
I don't allow composer biographies because they're relatively easy to plagiarize, they're kind of boring to read, and I'd rather these students find a way to tie in music with what they already do (many in the nursing program choose to write about music therapy, for instance). All of the steps listed above are in an effort to reduce the chance of plagiarism.
I read the one-page responses and determined them to be plagiarized. I then revisited the paper and Googled a few key sentences (you know, the ones written in 19th-century British English). Sure enough, it appears that the student may have purchased this paper from an online paper mill, 123helpme.com.
Yes, for the low, low price of $12.95, you too can get out of doing work. And you'll never get caught. I looked around the Frequently Asked Questions on this site a bit and I was disturbed by what I found. Some examples:
The site promotes themselves as a repository of research documents. Why would I go to this site and pay for a research paper of dubious quality that I will properly cite (of course) in my own well thought-out, carefully argued, research paper when I can go to the library and peruse--even check out!--millions of books for free?**
That's good to know, I suppose--a paper mill with a conscience.
Really? I'm not a lazy cheater, and I'm pretty sure that this website is just a resource for lazy cheaters.
To any students reading this: DON'T CHEAT. You will get caught. In most cases, you'll be lucky if you get an F or a zero on the assignment. Failing the class is a distinct possibility. Repeat offenders in most cases can be expelled from school.
Use your $12.95 to buy a few espressos, stay up and write the paper. I promise there's a reason we professor-types make you do that stuff.
*Not at TTU, but at another institution with which I am affiliated.
**The particularly enterprising cheater could simply copy pages from the book and submit that to the professor, thereby saving $12.95. Just be sure you don't copy something from a book or article that the professor wrote (as one of my fellow students did back in the day).
The sources for the one-page responses were easily found: Wikipedia, YouTube, and so on--you know, the first thing that pops up when you Google "puccini la boheme." I think that's part of what bothers me. If you're going to try to pull something, at least try hard. Teachers are not stupid.
I read the research paper, a biography of J.S. Bach, and responded to the student with the following:
As it says in the research paper guidelines, composer biographies are off limits as research paper topics. You need to submit a topic for my approval first, then a bibliography and outline, a rough draft, which I will comment on, then the final paper
I don't allow composer biographies because they're relatively easy to plagiarize, they're kind of boring to read, and I'd rather these students find a way to tie in music with what they already do (many in the nursing program choose to write about music therapy, for instance). All of the steps listed above are in an effort to reduce the chance of plagiarism.
I read the one-page responses and determined them to be plagiarized. I then revisited the paper and Googled a few key sentences (you know, the ones written in 19th-century British English). Sure enough, it appears that the student may have purchased this paper from an online paper mill, 123helpme.com.
Yes, for the low, low price of $12.95, you too can get out of doing work. And you'll never get caught. I looked around the Frequently Asked Questions on this site a bit and I was disturbed by what I found. Some examples:
Can I use information from 123HelpMe to satisfy my course or work requirements?
It is legal and permissable for you to use any information on this website while performing your research. The essays, business case studies, speeches, term papers, and research papers on our website are provided for research use only. Each work must be properly cited as a source in anything that you write. This website neither advocates nor condones any form of whole or partial plagiarism. You should carefully consider the choices you make in life, as the Danish proverb clearly states, "He is most cheated who cheats himself."
The site promotes themselves as a repository of research documents. Why would I go to this site and pay for a research paper of dubious quality that I will properly cite (of course) in my own well thought-out, carefully argued, research paper when I can go to the library and peruse--even check out!--millions of books for free?**
We don't exploit people or nature! Many websites pay people in India pennies per page to perform research and then they sell the same research for $9.95 to $19.95 per page. Learn more about this at www.EssayFraud.org
That's good to know, I suppose--a paper mill with a conscience.
Isn't 123HelpMe just a resource for lazy cheaters?
Stop. Think. Remember the words of Anais Nin - "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."
Really? I'm not a lazy cheater, and I'm pretty sure that this website is just a resource for lazy cheaters.
To any students reading this: DON'T CHEAT. You will get caught. In most cases, you'll be lucky if you get an F or a zero on the assignment. Failing the class is a distinct possibility. Repeat offenders in most cases can be expelled from school.
Use your $12.95 to buy a few espressos, stay up and write the paper. I promise there's a reason we professor-types make you do that stuff.
*Not at TTU, but at another institution with which I am affiliated.
**The particularly enterprising cheater could simply copy pages from the book and submit that to the professor, thereby saving $12.95. Just be sure you don't copy something from a book or article that the professor wrote (as one of my fellow students did back in the day).