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Plagiarism Don't Do It! by John of AllFaith, October 2007 |
Plagiarism is a crime
Plagiarism can end careers, lead to expulsion from school and the loss of financial aid, and can even result in fines and imprisonment in some cases. Its not worth it!
Despite this a small percentage of those who ask questions at AllExperts, Yahoo Answers etc. copy and paste our answers as their own. This is plagiarism. Its not worth it!
Understand that if you plagiarize you are cheating your instructors, you co-workers, everyone who respects you... and yourself. Its not worth it!
We all know that one can google a school homework question and in many cases find an easy response, but so can your teachers! Many teachers are aware of that some students do this and catch their cheating students. Following is one of a couple such letters I have received. Its from a teacher at a respectable institution of learning and my response.
"E" wrote:Dear John-
I appreciate your contribution to the well of religious knowledge. I am a faculty member at [deleted].
I do, however, have a request--would you please remove answer to student's questions such as:
1. Considering that Hinduism lacks a uniting belief system, what makes up the Hindu religion?
2.What are the cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated?
3. Explain the desire for liberation from earthly existence.
The reason for my request is that my HUM 130 Religions of the World students are copying your answer and inserting them into their Hinduism paper and most of them are not giving you credit which is considered plagiarism, and it prevents the students from doing their own research to discover the answers to these questions.
I know that your intentions are good, however, it is too easy for students to copy and paste. I have had over 20 students copy your work in the past 3 months, which is the very thing that I see you try to discourage, but if the tempation is not there for these specific questions, then it will help the academic community at large.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this request.
Shalom,
EMy reply:
Hi "E",
A few months ago I received a similar request from a teacher, that I not answer such questions for precisely this reason. Against my better judgment since that time I have been declining all such questions. We have an option that says: Declined: I believe this is a homework question. This is the option I have been using on all such questions. Declining to answer has produced some interesting responses as to the motives of some of these students however, for instance:
Thank you very much for your insight. You are right, it is a question I must incorporate in my paper, however, I did not ask this question to use this info in my paper, I needed someone elses view point to make sure I was on the right track. This religion is a very hard one to follow. Thanks again, Tammy
And again from another questioner:
Follow-up by Katrina:
The text book that I'm working with from is Living Religious,Sixth Edition. what I'm finding difficult is that I'm suppose to have at least 700 words on these three questions and I don't see how.
Thank you.
I replied, offering insights into how to make these studies more relevant etc. and then she wrote back:
Thank you very much. I will take your advice. I like learning different things and you have taught me a better way of understanding this religion.
This is my difficulty. I can not imagine being a student and plagiarizing someone else's work, but I understand some students apparently do. But then there are students like Tammy and Katrina above who take classes to gain deeper insights into diverse topics and the more input they have the more they can process and learn. The majority of my questioners are similarly seeking deeper insight not trying to cheat, although I must acknowledge that some apparently are.
As I consider myself both an interfaith minister and a teacher I find it difficult not assist those who request my help. If I decline to answer questions or remove them from the Internet I am cutting off the possibility of helping those students who sincerely wish to learn in order to appease/restrict those who do not. This is "cutting off the nose despite the face" as they saying goes. As I have shown above, not all students who ask these questions are looking to cheat or plagiarize. They are letting me know what they are currently studying and are seeking added insight and direction. I am here for such students.
Then there is the question you mark as number one:
Considering that Hinduism lacks a uniting belief system, what makes up the Hindu religion?
This inaccurate question is based on a false and misleading premise and set of assumptions. I can not fathom why anyone knowledgeable about Hindu religion would pose it. A LOT of students have no idea how to answer it. I get this question a lot. With such questions I seek to clarify what Hinduism actually is and the very solid and uniting belief system shared by Hindus and known as the Sanatana Dharma for those students who honestly wish to understand the religion. Again, this is why I'm on line and as for those who are seeking to cheat, they are not my concern. I am interested in helping those students who genuinely want to understand.
While I can appreciate your concerns, I believe my responses help those are who are genuinely seeking to learn and they are my primary concern with this service.
The way the AllExpert site works the questioners chose to have their questions and answers made public or private. If they choose public they will appear on the site. The experts have no say on this matter either way.
In order to address your very understandable concerns without cutting off those who write me for sincere help, I will anomalously post your note and this response to my domain's Q & A section [here] as a clear statement that I do not support plagiarism or cheating of any kind. I will also note that many teachers are aware that some students do this and that such students will normally find the attempt unsuccessful as their teachers can easily discover the deception.
This is the best I can offer. Write back if you have further thoughts or concerns, ~John of AllFaith
Personally, I am not concerned with grades, college courses etc. My concern is that everyone who feels so led grows spiritually. Those who cheat and who do not seriously seek the answers to such fundamental questions of life, in the end, only harm themselves.
Seek and you will find.
Cheat and you will fail.
I invite your questions.
