What's Wrong With Cheating?

957 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on academic dishonesty

In a poll taken at Iowa State University, 53% of the upper-class students cheated on a test or plagiarized a paper while at Iowa State, 91% know someone who has, and 18% know someone who has been punished for cheating. (Bishop) What is driving this increase in academic dishonesty, and what are the effects of an academic career that thrives on cheating? There are numerous reasons why people cheat, but, regardless of whether they get caught or not, there are negative consequences.

The motives students have for cheating are varied. No matter what the individual reason for someone to be tempted to cheat, their motives can generally be categorized as either based on a fear of failure or pressure to perform. Whether the student simply forgot to study and still desires a good grade, is afraid that they aren’t intelligent enough to pass without cheating, or is too lazy to do the work required to succeed, the underlying cause is a fear of failure or from pressure to perform.

Once the line is crossed, and temptations become actions, there are other factors that come into play. In our current society, strong ethics are not highly valued. There is a prevalent attitude that claims: everybody is doing it, it doesn’t hurt anybody, and this material isn’t really important to me. These people don’t possess a profound and thorough understanding of how cheating will harm them. We are consumed with the concept of instant gratification. Our society is near-sighted. Technology makes cheating so easy and convenient, but we often can’t perceive what the long term effects will be if that line between working for your grade and taking the easy way out is crossed.

Most people believe that the consequences of cheating are co...

... middle of paper ...

..., fear of receiving a low grade, or pure laziness, the results of cheating are severe. Even though getting caught and corrected may seem like the most obvious consequence of cheating, it almost seems insignificant when compared to the alternative. In reality, ramifications of getting away with repeated cheating are even more daunting. Maybe if students understood all the implications of cheating then it would not be considered as an option.

Works Cited

What's wrong with cheating? Professor Michael Bishop

Chair of the Iowa State University Department of Philosophy and Religion http://dsa.csupomona.edu/judicialaffairs/whatswrong.asp

What are the causes and effects of cheating on an exam? https://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=14078

Cause and Effect Essay - Plagiarism and Cheating

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080218113757AAxt2cx

Show More
Related

  • Colleen Wenke's Too Much Pressure

    1517 Words  | 4 Pages

    If a teacher is unfamiliar with current advancements in the digital world, it is possible that they will miss the most obvious of cheaters. Because the student is never punished or caught, they assume the teacher does not consider it cheating. In some cases, schools are responsible for the rise in cheating because of the way curriculum is presented. In an article written by the Atlantic, a teacher received an anonymous letter from a successful college student stating that he had cheated all throughout high school. He told the author he cheated “because the grade [he]would have otherwise been given was not reflective of [his] true learning” (Lahey). In other words, he felt the teachers were giving him exams that were not accurate representations of the material he had learned. If students are giving themselves excuses for their cheating, that feeling of guilt will subside, and they will not view the action as wrong. Many think they are not at fault if they do not get caught or because they are just trying to keep up with their classmates who are cheating as well. These are the students that contribute to the statistics, the ones who are adding to

    Read More

  • Cheating in School

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cheating is not only unfair to the student cheating, it also affects the student they are cheating off of. Some students put a lot of effort into their work and when people cheat, it may make honest students feel like their work is undervalued. This may make them feel like there is no point in working hard to earn the education they deserve. Students are devaluing the hard work of others and themselves. Cheating shows a lack of integrity in that student. They have cruised through life never really learning anything. Some may cheat their way through high school, then college, and eventually cheat through life. This could eventual...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Who's Cheating Whom By Alfie Kohn

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Situations of cheating have seemed to become more and more commonplace when the student is bored by the subject material, poor teaching and or feels they have no use for the knowledge. Kohn even states in his article, “cheating is more common when students experience the academic tasks they’ve been given as boring, irrelevant, or overwhelming.” This infers that if a student were attending a school interested in learning about art, the student maybe more inclined to cheat in a business accounting class due to the fact the student would find the subject material irrelevant to them and their future. Students seem to be less inclined to cheat and it “is relatively rare in classrooms where the learning is genuinely engaging and meaningful to students and where a commitment to exploring significant ideas hasn’t been eclipsed by a single-minded emphasis on “rigor”” (Kohn). To simplify everything mentioned above; students are inclined to cheat in school when they are disinterested in the subject material and or are overwhelmed by in assignment or finally the result in a poor teacher. Everyone who has attended school can relate to this in some way or another, most people do not want to retain knowledge they have no interest in or use for in their

    Read More

  • Cheating In College Essay

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cheating is a big issue that has reached the most competitive campuses around the United States. It is increasing more and more with the new technology that we have in the 21st century because students have easy access to many sources of information. Cheating is something all students have done at some point in their lives, but as they reach a higher academic level, they are faced with more rigorous consequences that can affect their futures in many different ways. Cheating might be seen as an easy way to obtain a good grade, get into a good college, or maintain scholarships or financial aid, but the consequences could affect the life and the future of the student.

    Read More

  • Why Cheating Is Wrong

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many kids take this as more pressure added onto them, causing them to cheat. Once a student has cheated, they lose a great amount of their honesty, lowering their character. Not only are kids to blame for cheating, but partial blame should be directed at educators and

    Read More

  • Is Cheating Wrong

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cheating in sports will do much but bring you nothing but consequences. Being a cheating politician will bring you nothing but media controversy and losing your job. When a student cheats on a test they think it’s the right thing to do. But in reality, they’re just hurting themselves mentally because they’re not learning anything.

    Read More

  • Why We Should Not Get Pay For Grades

    1615 Words  | 4 Pages

    Instead of trying in an honest and industrious manner to acquire a good grade, some students may take the dishonest path of cheating on tests or other school assignments with the intent of receiving money for their resultantly better grades. While they really would still be harming themselves in the long run when they do this, most of the students would not see it that way. In their eyes, they would be

    Read More

  • Why Cheating Is Wrong

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    The definitions of cheating per Merriam-Webster and the online dictionary are as follows: “to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud; to influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice; to elude or thwart by or as if by outwitting; to practice fraud or trickery; to violate rules dishonestly.” Like plagiarism, academic cheating is the most commonly known form. The Conversation released an article detailing why students

    Read More

  • Why Is Cheating Wrong

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ever justified to cheat? Our upbringing, values, and morals that are instilled by our parents helps us determine right from wrong. However, ultimately as we grow older we are held accountable for our own decisions.

    Read More

  • Using Technology to Cheat in School

    1537 Words  | 4 Pages

    But one question that is being asked is why students get to that point of risking everything that they have worked for. What can be a way of preventing students from using technology to cheat? Some reasons that can be mentions for the cause of a student having to cheat are: getting a good grade, lack of time to do the assignments, not being able to study on time and or just being lazy and not willing to put fort the effort.

    Read More

  • Why Cheating Is Wrong

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    If it is education or just real life, there is still no good or right reason for anyone to do that. Cheating off another person in an educational environment is wrong. School is testing your knowledge to see if you are ready to take on the next level and eventually college. Cheating off someone to get better grades is rude to them but also doesn’t help you in the long run when it comes to independent activities and exams. When you are required to complete an individual task after you have cheated, you probably won’t have good recall for the material.

    Read More

  • Why Students Cheat

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    Misunderstanding, pressure, and laziness are not good reasons to cheat and the effect of the consequences are not worth it. You can end up with an F, in detention, written up, kicked out of school, and with marks on your permanent record. There is no way to justify cheating, no matter how hard people try to. No matter what happens, students will continue to cheat, it is inevitable.

    Read More

  • Academic Dishonesty: Applying Technology To Cheat

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    Modern students face many pressures for academic success. They are often unwilling to disappoint their parents or spouses. Some fear that not cheating will weaken a student’s ability to compete with their peers. They rationalize their unethical behavior, unwilling to accept a poor grade, consequently justifying cheating as the only means to that end.

    Read More

  • Cheating is an unfair and Unethical Thing to Do

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cheating has grown more and more of a big problem. Schools need to crack down on it. Its only going to get worse. If the punishments are raised and teacher look for cheating more it will help this problem severely. Cheating is an unfair, disgraceful, and unethical thing to do. It needs to be fixed. The Simple solution can go a long way.

    Read More

  • Cheating In Exam Essay

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ions in which cheating is common, they face problems in the job or college search. Since many students with high marks from the institution prove uninformed in their field, employers and admissions committee are unable to verify which students do not know the information, and those who know the information. Therefore, they will have a negative effect of any student from that particular institution.

    Read More

More about What's Wrong With Cheating?

Open Document