Sunday, December 31, 2006
My Friend Copied My Paper
Dear Guidance Guy,
There's this friend who is currently in an advanced composition class that I was in the previous quarter. I got an "A", so she's constantly looking to me for help because she, too, is an "A" student. Great, I'm okay with helping friends, but she asked to look at one of my papers and ended up copying the outline. Some of thesentences were actually the same! Here I am thinking what a nerve she has when we are "friends!"
I don't know what to do. I want to go and tell the teacher, but what would he do about it? I feel that this event should be solved on a more personal level than getting teachers involved.
Thanks,
Sweetheart
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Dear Sweetheart,
Most high schools (I'm assuming that's what you're in) have a published policy on plagarism. Copying any part of someone else's paper, including the outline is just that. You are completely within your rights to tell the teacher what happened, including showing the parts she copied. The teacher should follow the school policy and apply whatever punishment happens. In most cases it's a call home and failing that particular assignment. In some schools this could lead to suspension, which can go on a college application.
The first thing you might want to do is figure out exactly what you hope to have happen. If this other girl handed in the outline already I don't see a way to avoid getting the teacher involved. If she just showed you, there's a chance to handle it just between the two of you. Find your school's plagarism policy (either in a student handbook or on the school's website) and show it to her.
If she already turned in the assignment and you want to make sure your teacher knows it really is yours, you can do this by giving the other student a chance to let the teacher know what happened on her own. It's a good idea to go with her and watch her do it to make sure she doesn't misrepresent what happened. You're letting her take responsibility for her mistake, which could result in a lighter punishment, or even a chance for a "do-over" on her part.
One final point: this was something that shouldn't have happened, but I don't know if she meant to be dishonest. If she showed you her paper with the same information, she might not be aware she did anything wrong. Someone who's trying to hide something probably wouldn't let you see her paper. Maybe you can give her the benefit of the doubt. She made a mistake but your writing was so good she didn't think of any other way to put it!
Thanks for your letter,
The Guidance Guy
There's this friend who is currently in an advanced composition class that I was in the previous quarter. I got an "A", so she's constantly looking to me for help because she, too, is an "A" student. Great, I'm okay with helping friends, but she asked to look at one of my papers and ended up copying the outline. Some of thesentences were actually the same! Here I am thinking what a nerve she has when we are "friends!"
I don't know what to do. I want to go and tell the teacher, but what would he do about it? I feel that this event should be solved on a more personal level than getting teachers involved.
Thanks,
Sweetheart
*** *** ***
Dear Sweetheart,
Most high schools (I'm assuming that's what you're in) have a published policy on plagarism. Copying any part of someone else's paper, including the outline is just that. You are completely within your rights to tell the teacher what happened, including showing the parts she copied. The teacher should follow the school policy and apply whatever punishment happens. In most cases it's a call home and failing that particular assignment. In some schools this could lead to suspension, which can go on a college application.
The first thing you might want to do is figure out exactly what you hope to have happen. If this other girl handed in the outline already I don't see a way to avoid getting the teacher involved. If she just showed you, there's a chance to handle it just between the two of you. Find your school's plagarism policy (either in a student handbook or on the school's website) and show it to her.
If she already turned in the assignment and you want to make sure your teacher knows it really is yours, you can do this by giving the other student a chance to let the teacher know what happened on her own. It's a good idea to go with her and watch her do it to make sure she doesn't misrepresent what happened. You're letting her take responsibility for her mistake, which could result in a lighter punishment, or even a chance for a "do-over" on her part.
One final point: this was something that shouldn't have happened, but I don't know if she meant to be dishonest. If she showed you her paper with the same information, she might not be aware she did anything wrong. Someone who's trying to hide something probably wouldn't let you see her paper. Maybe you can give her the benefit of the doubt. She made a mistake but your writing was so good she didn't think of any other way to put it!
Thanks for your letter,
The Guidance Guy
# posted by Larry Hochman : 12:36 PM
