Process Essay - How to Reduce Plagiarism and Cheating
Recent studies have shown that a steadily growing number of students cheat or plagiarize in college -- and the data from high schools suggest that this number will continue to rise. A study by Don McCabe of Rutgers University showed that 74 percent of high school students admitted to one or more instances of serious cheating on tests. Even more disturbing is the way that many students define cheating and plagiarism. For example, they believe that cutting and pasting a few sentences from various Web sources without attribution is not plagiarism.
Before the Web, students certainly plagiarized -- but they had to plan ahead to do so. Fraternities and sororities often had files of term papers, and some high-tech term-paper firms could fax papers to students. Overall, however, plagiarism required forethought.
Online term-paper sites changed all that. Overnight, students could order a term paper, print it out and have it ready for class in the morning -- and still get a good night's sleep. All they needed was a charge card and an Internet connection.
One response to the increase in cheating has been to fight technology with more technology. Plagiarism-checking sites provide a service to screen student papers. They offer a color-coded report on papers and the original sources from which the students might have copied. Colleges qualify for volume discounts, which encourages professors to submit whole classes' worth of papers -- the academic equivalent of mandatory urine testing for athletes.
The technological battle between term-paper mills and anti-plagiarism services will undoubtedly continue to escalate, with each side constructing more elaborate countermeasures...
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...tter grades and more advantages with less effort. Honest students lose grades, scholarships, recommendations and admission to advanced programs. Honest students must create enough peer pressure to dissuade potential cheaters. Ultimately, students must be willing to step forward and confront those who engage in academic dishonesty.
Addressing these issues is not a luxury that can be postponed until a more convenient time. It is a short step from dishonesty in schools and colleges to dishonesty in business. It is doubtful that students who fail to develop habits of integrity and honesty while still in an academic setting are likely to do so once they are out in the "real" world. Nor is it likely that adults will stand up against the dishonesty of others, particularly fellow workers and superiors, if they do not develop the habit of doing so while still in school.
Plagiarism of Electronic material has been very difficult to detect in the past, but new technology has made detecting electronic plagiarism of material such as Internet content, online databases, and e-books possible. Educational institutions are now able to check content submitted by students’ using software such as DupliChecker and Turnitin, which check work against current and archived web pages and databases of previously submitted student work consisting of journals, assignments and essays. Students can also take an active part by checking their work using similar software made available to the public.
The problem of plagiarism has increased drastically over the years with all of the new electronic sources. Now, all that the student has to do is to copy an article, highlight it and paste it into a word processing program. It was not much harder for a student to plagiarize before the Internet. A lazy student could easily copy an entire section out of a book word for word and conveniently “forget” to cite the reference from which it came. It would take the professor forever to find this source especially if it was not well known. With just some quick manipulating of words, professors can be tricked into believing that they are looking at a new original work.
The better educated you are, the better off you are socially, and economically. Having a degree is, in general, a good indicator of your level of education. To get it some students study very hard. Others, on the contrary, prefer to take some shortcuts that seem to be easier for them. Those, not so much interested in acquiring a solid education, simply want to plagiarize to pass their classes, to get that degree. Plagiarism spreads out through any level of our education system. It even extends beyond that limit to reach almost any aspect of our society. With the internet revolution, this problem becomes more acute. “The web has provided global access to an unfathomable cornucopia of term papers, essays, and other scholarly works, right there out in the open for purchase or outright theft” (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 160). This paper will discuss the different types of plagiarism. Before getting deeper into that discussion, we will start by explaining the word plagiarism.
However, this may stem from a lack of enforcement of the rules. Even at the most prestigious schools, such as Harvard University, students are not upholding the rules implemented: “The possibility that 125 Harvard students ‘improperly collaborated’ on an exam in the spring has galvanized … discussion about … honor codes” (Source: C). In this case, people may argue that the only party at fault consists of the students. However, the faculty may be partially guilty as well, as their lack of care towards the rules has created a situation that jeopardizes the school’s integrity. Revision may then seem like the least of the school’s priorities, as they must show they seriously consider educational integrity. Likewise, at the University of Virginia, “157 students have been investigated by their peers in the largest cheating scandal in memory” (Source: D). Again, the school and all those who work there hold at least part of the fault for this ignorance because, theoretically, they should preserve and enforce the rules provided. The fact that the scandal exists means that they were not doing their jobs to their fullest. Although revision may seem simpler to carry out, the school’s staff must show an attempt at intervention within the student lives to keep them on a path towards
The Enlightenment is known as the age of reasons because of its gradual changes or transitions from traditional to modern societies. It was a big change from faith or religion towards science and the intellectual reasoning. Also, many societies or people changed their styles of living and beliefs such as they went from rural to urban, agriculture to commerce, believe to reason, religion to science, and so on. During the Neo-Classical era, many world famous writers such as Jean-Baptiste Poquelin known by Moliere, Jonathan Swift, and Francois-Marie Arouet know by Voltaire wrote some incredible stories, poems, plays and articles about the age of reason. In literature, all of them are well known by the tactics and methods they used in their styles of writing in order to persuade or inform the readers. In the Age of Enlightenment, Moliere, Swift, and Voltaire used the concept of “Satire”, such as verbal, situational, and dramatic irony to depict their message across.
Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher, is one of the most influential ancient thinkers. Epictetus believed the purpose of moral philosophy was to help show people the way to lead better lives. He believed that some things in this world are un-controllable and some things are controllable; some things are up to us and some things are not up to us. Epictetus believed our opinions, impulses, desires, aversions, or whatever is our own doing is up to us; however, our bodies, our possessions, our reputations, or whatever is not our own doing, is not up to us. He also believed that we should not try and control the world, but accept it and make the best out of every situation. Epictetus’ aim was to live well, to secure happiness and to offer different solutions as to how life was to be lived. I will attempt to summarize some of Epictetus’ disciplines in a way that will give a simple view on how one should live their life; and also try to interpret his views into modern day living so that through their application ones life will become simplified and therefore enhanced.
Confucianism started off as a one man show, trying to make a difference in politics and in general, teaching people about morals and good human conduct. As history progressed, through changes of dynasties and different emperors, many new and different feelings about Confucianism emerged. But Confucius never changed what he believed in, no matter how many times his beliefs were rejected. He fought for what he new was right, and in the end didn’t achieve what he wanted to. But to everyone else, he was a brave man, a man who never gave up and a man whose legend is worth remembering.
Tennessee Williams is known to be a Southern playwright of American drama. Williams knew how to show haunting elements like psychological drama, loneliness, and inexcusable violence in his plays. Critics say Williams often depicted women who were suffering from critical downfalls due to his sister Rose Williams. Rose was always fighting with a mental health condition known as schizophrenia all her life. The character Laura in The Glass Menagerie is always compared to Rose, because they were both socially awkward and very quiet girls. This may be true, but one can look at Blanche DuBois from A Street Car Named Desire shadows his sister’s life and characteristics more than Laura did. In the obituary of Rose Williams that was written by Philip Hoare, he says, “She grew up outgoing, using make-up earlier than other girls, and was remembered as “very pretty and a bit standoffish” (Hoare). This parallel sounds remarkably like Blanche and does not sound like Laura’s characteristics. Laura never wore make up and her personality did not keep others distant. She was distant to others, because of her disability. Also Roses down fall is very similar to Blanche DuBois down fall in the play and end result. Laura never has a down fall in The Glass Menagerie. Laura seems to have hope in the end of the play. Laura was a tribute to show Rose’s innocence, but Blanche was to show Rose’s true colors. Tennessee Williams uses elements of appearance, age, gentleman callers, sexuality, and the fear of homosexuality to show his sisters down fall in the character Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Standardized Tests restrict student learning in the classroom (Cole, Hulley, and Quarles 17). The teachers in a classroom cannot teach what they would like to teach, but rather they are forced to teach what will be on the test. Often, when teachers teach what will be on the test, many students will begin to zone out and do other things, rather than listen to the teacher drill them with memorization for the tests (Willis 59) Teachers are graded based on how well their students do on these standardized tests, so they will teach only what is going to be on the test, to keep their jobs, or even get raises. Whenever this happens, students are hurt because they lose out on many opportunities to learn, and they even lose critical thinking skills. The testing curriculum often also places too many goals for students and teachers to reach, which will force them to move more quickly and not properly address every topic (Popham 71). Which, in the long run with further encourage only teaching the test, and nothing else.
More specifically, Stoicism is a moral guide for humans. Though nature is absolute and perfect through God, the human thought is the one and only feature of life that is controlled and changed by people. Humans have the ability to reason and to know that everything in life is determined. For every event that they encounter, humans are able to acknowledge the fact that it is a part of their life plan. Therefore, a person can control whether he/she accepts that the action is unchangeable. Many humans think that they have a choice for all that they do and all that happens to them. But in Stoic reality, natures plan has one path with no possible differences. Thus, good is not defined by what a person does; but, by a per...
He also wants us to know that we should understand what is in our power and what is not. When something is not in our power we should just accept it and move on with our lives. It’s very important that in life we conquer our will and use our “Rational Nature.” (Denise et al., 52). Epictetus believes that we should avoid frustration and disappointment. This goes along side his idea of not taking to heart what is out of our control. We should try to avoid the feelings of frustration and disappointment and instead use our will power to overcome it. Epictetus argues that everything that happens in life is because of the divine beings will for it to be so. We should act logically and just trust that everything happens for a reason. “[ Remember ] that such is, and was, and will be, the nature of the world, nor is it possible that things should be otherwise than they now are.” (Denise et al., 52). It is important that humans just accept everything as is and try their best to fulfill their duty to the city of God. Epictetus warns that a person who chases after pleasures will feel more sorrow than someone
...ina. However, the influence of Confucianism is still deep in Chinese soil even though it is not a dominant one. With the foundation of Neo-Confucianism, which “was the emergence of a new Confucian metaphysics that was influenced by Buddhism and that borrowed freely from Taoist terminology while rejecting both religions” (China), Confucius is still revered as China’s greatest teacher.
In conclusion, the issue of academic integrity does not only affect an individual, but also an institution. Therefore, it is the duty of students and schools to ensure that ethical principles are upheld all the time. Moreover, institutions of higher learning should deal with all reported cases of academic dishonestly severely to deter others. In addition, a culture of academic integrity should be promoted. For students, it is even more important because it helps them to avoid losing a potential career due to misconduct. Moreover, upholding the values of ethics and integrity provides them with intrinsic
Confucianism is currently known as being one of the most famous practices of religion, dating all the way back to 551 B.C.E. Confucius was the founder who followed the Chinese people for more than two millennia. Confucius also had political views about education, and how they reflected his teachings during present modern day. These religious aspects of culture showed value and meaning to Asia and around the world. Due to modern Chinese society, Confucianism had a strong and positive impact during the past and present, due to the substances of learning and education, the source of values and political powers, and the social code of the Chinese that relates with other forms of religion.
“ACADEMIC DISHONESTY, with Internet plagiarism as one of the most common forms, is a concern on college and university campuses more than ever before. A review of the literature validates these concerns. According to a 2003 nationwide research study of 23 public and private colleges and universities, conducted by Donald L. McCabe, Internet plagiarism is on the rise. Thirty-eight percent of the undergraduate students surveyed indicated that they had engaged in Internet plagiarism (as cited in Rimer, 2003); one study states that nearly 49% of students in undergraduate marketing classes admitted cheating in 1988 compared to 100% of the students in an undergraduate management class in 2008 (Brown, Weible, & Olmosk, 2010). Education Week found that 54% of surveyed students admitted to Internet plagiarism, and 76% admitted to cheating; and the Center for Academic Integrity found almost 80% of the college students surveyed admitted to cheating at least once (“Facts About Plagiarism,” 2011)” (Jones, 2011). The overwhelming increase in academic dishonesty, cheating, and plagiarism within student bodies across the country have created a concern for the morality and discernment of those inside the field of academia. It has created a rise in question of whether or not students these days have the capabilities to ethically choose the correct decisions, not just in academics, but also throughout life.