Accused of plagairism, HELP!

[gravity]

I came home today to a letter from the dean of my college informing me I have violated the college's policy on academic integrity by plagiarizing an assignment.

 

I have been given an F for the class and as such will not be graduating at the end of this semester.

 

I think it is important to say this is for my THESIS for my major and that I never have and never would voluntarily steal someone else's work.

the assignment in question is the annotated bibliography for the paper and presentation due later

 

After receiving the letter, I also got an email from the teachers:

 

Had you handed these in as a draft, we would have caught this in a timely manner and asked you to not do it anymore. Since you did not hand in drafts of your paper and you have done this several times in the paper, we feel we have no choice but to report this to the academic dean. Assuming this is the first time you have been reported for plagiarism, you will get a warning letter from the dean and no note will be made on your permanent academic record. If you are reported for plagiarism more than once, more severe measures such as academic suspension are possible and it will be noted on your academic record.

 

In addition, we are recommending a failing grade for this class as a penalty which includes our consideration of the facts that you have barely attended, only handed in a couple of drafts, and your final paper was heavily plagiarized.

 

I thought I was following the directions of the assignment as given to me by the professors and as such I feel this is a personal attack against me by these professors (I understand this is a serious claim, and don't say it lightly), we've never really been friendly, and I have had previous problems with both of them in a class I took last semester which i pretty much blew off. (stupid i know, i brought this on myself)

 

I will be appealing this decision with the dean ASAP

 

their arguments seem to rest on three points:

1. I have barley attended class

2. I have only handed in a couple of drafts

3. the final paper was heavily plagiarized

 

Which I will now refute:

1. Attendance: this is an independent study class which meets in a computer lab. Attendance is not required on days when there are no assignments due, on the days that they are you can turn in your work and leave. the professors encourage class time to be used as work time/office hours. I have been to about half the classes as I prefer to work in the library, as such I feel i have used class time constructively (even when not attending).

 

2. I have turned in 4 of the possible 6 drafts. drafts are not graded they are more to keep people on schedule, only the final is graded. my final was turned in on time and in its entirety.

 

3. Plagiarism: in none of the 4 drafts I did turn in was this mentioned, only the final. I still have the draft copies in my possession, complete with the professors other comments written all over them. The key point of my argument is that while I did made a mistake in the citations it was not intended to be plagiarism, and should have been caught in at least ONE of the FOUR drafts I submitted.

 

WHAT I PLAN TO DO:

1. Meet with the professors tomorrow and find out exactly what I "plagiarized".

2. Find where they missed it in the drafts

3. Meet with the dean, plead my case with drafts and papers in hand.

 

this is my final semester in 2-year community college, I plan on transferring to a 4 year school in order to get my BA, so getting my AS now is really not that nessissairy, but would be nice. In hindsight I should have planned to transfer after just ONE year of CC instead of staying to get my AS (I really don't like this school, but it's CHEAP!)

 

SO, assuming I do convince the dean of my academic integrity (I think I have a good argument backed up with physical "evidence", lol) I will still have to complete this class with two professors who I don't believe will treat me fairly (and could still fail me, resulting in an F and no degree). I really am disgusted by these two professors behavior, and have no wish to continue this class so long as they are teaching it, unfortunately this is the only section offered.

 

MY QUESTIONS:

 

Is it reasonable to ask to simply be withdrawn from the class (withdrawal deadline has already passed) and accept the fact that I will not get my A.S. but will also not have an F bring down my GPA? or would that hurt my argument with the dean by making me look petty?

 

Do you think I have a solid argument? any suggestions for improving it?

 

thanks

-gravity

[caro33]

Sounds like your approach makes sense, but I honestly just don't get how they can say you heavily plagiarised when we are just talking about some botched citations. What exactly did you do? Did you have entire paragraphs inserted with no reference?

 

Is it reasonable to ask to simply be withdrawn from the class (withdrawal deadline has already passed) and accept the fact that I will not get my A.S. but will also not have an F bring down my GPA? or would that hurt my argument with the dean by making me look petty?

 

Why would you ask this? Because you think you cannot possibly be graded fairly by the professors? If you "win" your case I would think you might instead ask for an independent person to grade your papers. Would that work?

[BeStrongBeHappy]

You could try this, but the problem might be how heavily you plagarized. If you forgot to put one sentence in quotes with a reference, fine, but if you have entire sections of the paper that are plagarized, not quoted, and not referenced, it won't 'matter what draft you bring to the dean.

 

This is kind of like a foul in sports. There are just some things you can't get away with. And if you did 3 fouls (not turning in ALL required drafts, not attending sessions, plagarizing), that is enough to get you thrown out of the game. If you continue, you get thrown out of the season and/or sport.

 

So you can plead your case, but only if the amount of plagarized material is relatively small. There really is no excuse for long passages or multiple sections that are not referenced correctly.

 

I doubt they will retroactively allow you to withdraw. You might try to argue for an incomplete in the course, and when you have re-written the paper and removed the plagarized parts, perhaps get another grade other than failing.

[Roasted Carrots]

You have some strikes against you, and your approach makes sense.

 

But I think there's one thing that could really be your downfall: attitude!

 

Don't go in with a "my teachers hate me" attitude. Be calm, cool, collected, and above all, be reasonable. Don't ever raise your voice or badmouth the teachers.

 

If the dean doesn't agree with you, thank him/her for their time and accept their decision. Be mature.

 

I think how you present all this might be the deciding factor.

[crystal_castles]

hi, i reckon you should consider yourself lucky your not being permanently expelled... i don't think the teachers are ganging upon you, now days universities take plagiarism very seriously, what with there being so much opportunity to plagiarize thanks to the internet... and teachers are under obligation to report it... at my university you would have been chucked out if found guilty...

[crystal_castles]

also it is not up to teachers to check for plagiarism in drafts... and plagiarism is something you cannot afford to be relaxed about i.e. making a mistake with citations

[jenny_mcs]

I agree with Roasted Carrots. Don't mention anything about past grudges, anything to imply that you feel this is personal.

 

If the parts of your paper that they feel are plagiarized are in your previous drafts and were ignored, show the dean those previous drafts.

 

If the problem was incorrectly citing something, perhaps bring the manual that you were using as a reference on how to properly cite things in a paper, and explain how you misunderstood.

 

Make sure you have all the drafts with you, as well as what dates they were submitted and returned.

 

In case the attendance issue comes up, have a copy of the class's syllabus or attendance policy with you, where it outlines the fact that attendance is not mandatory on days when assignments are not due.

 

Good luck.

[gravity]

Some clarification: I forgot to say this paper is the annotated bibliography of my thesis which counts for 1/2 the grade. the second half is a detailed presentation and paper summary.

 

each source used was cited in APA style first, then a structured summary was written.

 

Sources were scholarly articles, which tend to be dry. example "men reported receiving significantly more severe violence than they perpetrated" in each summary I tried to use my own words to explain the findings without changing too much so that I could go back later and find what I was talking about.

 

caro: I hope this clears things up, and yes i don't feel like they will grade me fairly. an independent person is a good idea, but this is a VERY specialized class and these are the only two professors who teach it. I will look into it though, thanks.

 

Be: an incomplete sounds like a better deal than withdrawing completely, but only if someone else will grade it. thanks

 

Carrots: I agree completely, which is why I came to you guys first. I would never tell the dean that the teachers have it in for me unless i had substantial proof but that is only how i feel. thanks

[crystal_castles]

i realize my posting could've sounded a little harsh- not trying to be- only that i have known someone who nearly got expelled from uni for plagiarism- they also said it had been unintentional- if it genuinely was by mistake you must explain yourself really calmy and respectfully, you should go looking really smart and be hugely apologetic, admitting that you can now understand how the problem arose, that it was a complete mistake etc etc and try and appear really hard working and serious about your subject...

[annie24]

having been a TA myself, i think that the 'drafts' along the way were mainly to help you keep on track with the assignment. i've seen far too many people start a 20-page final paper the night before it is due. that's crazy. most of the time, profs assign these 'drafts' to help the student out. these drafts are not read carefully for content, just a general jist, etc.... make sure that the student has chosen an acceptable topic.

 

if a student has missed several drafts, and now suddenly they turn in a paper with many similarities to a published work, the TAs might assume that you worked on this in panic the night before and 'accidentally' used sentences straight out of the paper.

 

as for the final paper, i hear these are now being run through anti-plagarism software on the internet, i don't know if that's what your TAs did, but it seems like there's a match. i realize that there are only so many different ways to say an introductory sentence, but you have to take care not to say it word for word. i don't know what happened to in your case, but i would hear them out, present the evidence, then show your counter-evidence.

[karvala]

Well I'm an academic, and I have to say I'm scratching my head to think how an annotated bibliography could even be plagiarised. Isn't whole point of it to use and cite other people's work? If you're just summarising other people's work in your own words, and all of those people have been cited, then it's pretty much an impossibility to plagiarise it.

 

It would be a fair assumption that pretty much anything in it is not original unless specifically stated, and it's hardly an obvious place to try and pass off someone else's ideas as your own. Obviously it's not possible to judge without knowing the details of the case, but it sounds a rather unlikely charge on the face of it. And let's be clear: plagiarism is the deliberate attempt to pass off someone else's idea, or someone else's words, as your own. Mistaken citations, wrong citation style etc. are not plagiarism in any usual definition.

[gravity]

crystal: not at all, this is a very serious subject for both the school and for myself, i think you are 100% correct. I clearly misunderstood something somewhere and made the mistake(s)

 

Annie sources were turned in along with the annotations. the professors read both in order to ensure we had done the work properly. drafts were also read through throughly (judging by the comments they left) which is why I was so shocked to receive this information about the final being plagiarized. I guess I don't see how there could not be a match seeing as how most of the relevant information was statistical trends drawn from surveys into a meta-analysis which I then read and summarized.

 

Karvala scratching my head to think how an annotated bibliography could even be plagiarized[/i] thank you, I was beginning to think I had been slipped some crazy pills. while summarizing the findings of each individual annotations (in the "summary" section) i did not use quotations but often used "researchers found that" type phrases etc. Bingo, I think that is the issue here. I guess I'm still confused how they could possibly have seen that as me trying to take credit for someone else's work though.

[pacman]

I dont think its right that the professor went directly to the dean without giving you a chance to defend your position on the matter

 

 

I would bring that up in the appeal as well, that you feel this whole thing is a waste of everyones time and that had the professor simply contacted you and given you the opportunity to clarify the parts that they mistook for plagairism none of you would have to be going through all this trouble.

[pacman]

I suspect the professor has some sort of personal grudge against you.

 

The fact that he mentioned you didnt attend class alot of times (which has nothing to do with the accusations of plagerism) shows that he is upset over that at the least. I have had professors call me out in front of everyone in class over missing days, some of them get pissy when you dont go although attendance is not mandatory.

 

Missing class might not make you the most dilligent student, but you cant fail someone for it, especially when attendance isnt mandatory.

[thejigsup]

When you get to the Big Leagues, you never turn in your Thesis, (mine was loooong) with personally meeting with your mentor several times. One little slip up on your part and things like this can happen. I have no advice to give you except to plead your case and hope someone will really listen to you. Also, make yourself visible and likeable to your professors in the future. It will serve you well, trust me. Before I court any friends among fellow students, I make sure I have supporters among the faculty.

[caro33]

I still don't understand this, I really don't. Either there are chunks of someone else's words you have used with no reference, or there are not. It sounds like that's not the case, am I right? Any chance at all of mistaken identity on this matter?

[fragmint]

i would mention at the end of your three points against THEIR points, that none of that has anything to do with whether or not you plagairised.

 

just because you dont attend that means you cheat? i dont think so. i think you should mention this and try to separate the two issues completely to make that point not only invalid (because of the attendance policy of the class) but totally pointless in this argument.

[gravity]

UPDATE: I just met with the professors of the course. things went poorly . . . turns out there WAS a comment on one of the drafts about using quotations in the annotation. I feel so stupid, how could I have missed that?

 

Even though It was an accident, and not a deliberate attempt to claim someone else's work as my own, simply by understanding how to cite correctly and not doing it I have plagaized.

 

So I will be grtting an F in the course, and will not be recieving my AS at the end of the semester. . . all because I failed to quote correctly within an annotation, a job which would have taken all of 30-45 min](*,) and which could have been avoided had I turned in all drafts](*,). I feel so worthless right now, sitting in the middle of the library trying not to cry.

 

But there is some good news, seeing as this is a first offense, it will not be put on my permanent record and will not be sent to schools when I transfer. and besides, I'm done with this school anyways . . . a place where the students are so dumb the majority believe the sun revolves around the earth . . . and I am their King

 

-gravity

[karvala]

Well, you live and learn. Exact quotations should not only be cited of course, but actually put as quotations, and never passed off in the body of the text where they might look like your own words. It sounds as though you just made a mistake, and ideally it would have been brought to your attention more directly, but ultimately it's your responsibility. Nevermind, though; an F is not ideal but it's a whole lot better than having a plagiarism comment on your permanent record, so time to pick yourself up and move on with the new knowledge that you now have.

[gravity]

UPDATE: Things are looking up right now. I got some kind words and advice from a teacher I have a lot of respect for. I also went to speak to my adviser about this situation. It turns out I can actually complete the assignment independently with another professor, who turned out to be her!

 

I'm definitely never going to make that mistake again!:splat:

 

Thanks to everyone who replied to this post, you guys really helped me think about this more logically than I ever would have on my own.

 

-gravity

[annie24]

glad that things have sort of worked out, even if it wasn't with a perfectly clean slate. i think it's great that this other prof will let you work with her, that sounds like a good plan. good luck

[thejigsup]

Always, always, meet with your professors and mentors OFTEN when writing a thesis. Glad to hear you're going to do that in the future. You are going to be more involved in the process this time..right? If you do this, you will be fine and will probably go far. We learn the most from our mistakes, God knows I have.

[savannahohsavannah]

I don't mean to give you a panic attack, but you must get an attorney! I don't think the Academicians are likely to go against each other in this case, and since they have plainly made a charge, and have not withdrawn it as you've spoken with them, if I understand correctly, you are in danger of ruining your academic career. What community college system are you in? It's been my experience with acadamia that they are kind of narcissitic, and they DO have a ton of power over you. THEY HAVE THE POWER! NOT YOU! Understand that and proceed accordingly. Don't threaten to sue, or anything, or they will probably come after your college career with baseball bats, but do hire an attorney to process the matter for you.

 

Know any attorney's?

 

Savannah

[savannahohsavannah]

Sorry, my words were too late. So sorry you have to go through this over a simple oversight.

 

Savannah

[karvala]

I don't mean to give you a panic attack, but you must get an attorney! I don't think the Academicians are likely to go against each other in this case, and since they have plainly made a charge, and have not withdrawn it as you've spoken with them, if I understand correctly, you are in danger of ruining your academic career. What community college system are you in? It's been my experience with acadamia that they are kind of narcissitic, and they DO have a ton of power over you. THEY HAVE THE POWER! NOT YOU! Understand that and proceed accordingly. Don't threaten to sue, or anything, or they will probably come after your college career with baseball bats, but do hire an attorney to process the matter for you.

 

Know any attorney's?

 

Savannah

 

Is this for real?

 

As an academic (there is no such thing as an academician), in academia (acadamia sounds like a fantasy land, and I'll leave you to fill in your own jokes at this point), I have to say you are WAY off base here. Most other academics that I know do not wield power over people beyond the enforcement of agreed academic policies as part of our contractual obligation, and nor do we have any desire to do so, so your broad and offensive generalisation does not reflect reality.

 

In this case in question, it appears that the OP did unwittingly commit plagiarism and missed the warnings about it. As a result, he has got a low mark on this course, but will have an opportunity to rectify that. In addition, the plagiarism itself will not appear on his academic transcript. As such, this is actually a very lenient handling of a potentially serious charge, which reflects the fact that he didn't do it deliberately.

 

However, should one of my students, who I would have probably treated similarly in these circumstances, decided that rather than go along with a lenient handling and all completely in accordance with university regulations that all staff and students are bound by, he would instead to hire an attorney, at that point any academic career he did aspire to would probably take a serious nosedive, as he would have demonstrated an inability to understand what had happened, a refusal to take responsibility for his own academic integrity and a lack of co-operation with other members of the academic community which is essential for a successful career.

 

Sorry, but if you seriously think that the best response to leniently handled plagiarism situation is "get an attorney", you are deeply misguided.