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Professor accused me of plagiarism; best response?
 

Some Unknown's picture
(Baboon, 106
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 4:00am
plagiarism.jpg

Please understand that this isn't a question like "Help me lie about my GPA." The only reason I am coming on here is because I have legitimately been falsely accused and want to know if anyone else has ever had to deal with this and how they successfully proved their innocence.

I have a class this semester that's largely discussion based. Each week we turn in a short response paper to some prompt in the syllabus. A couple weeks ago I turned in a prompt that drew heavily on a short piece published online. I explicitly cited the web source in the footer. Author name, website, and publishing date.

Received an email from the professor asking me to come in and meet with the Dean regarding a violation of the student code. From the language of the email (that included their entire exchange discussing strategy) it looks as if they've already set their mind. What do you advise?

Tags:
CallThatBond's picture

You're in deep shit. You

(Monkey, 64
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 8:25pm

You're in deep shit. You have to cite it every time you draw from it, not just once. I hope they go easy on you, but it looks like your prof has already involved your school's administration...

EDIT: To be helpful, claim that there was no intent. It's typically not an accepted excuse, but you can point to the fact that you did cite the source in your response paper. You can argue that the way you cited it suggests that you were going to continue to draw from it throughout your paper.

Sorry I can't be any more helpful. By the book, this is a blatant honor code violation, even though you probably didn't mean to do anything wrong.

Some Unknown's picture

CallThatBond: You're in deep

(Baboon, 106
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 8:28pm
CallThatBond:

You're in deep shit. You have to cite it every time you draw from it, not just once. I hope they go easy on you, but it looks like your prof has already involved your school's administration...

This seems absurd to me. There were literally no guidelines given for these papers, it's one of those entrepreneurship sort of classes taught by a guy who isn't a career academic so the syllabus is very fluid and focused on experiential learning. Never specifies a citation style or requirements, just an intentionally broad and ambiguous question and a desired length.

It never required in-text or parenthetical citations, so I made very clear reference to the sources but did not embed them in the paper. I feel like there's a very clear explanation here but I don't want to get railroaded.

CallThatBond's picture

If your school is like mine,

(Monkey, 64
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 8:36pm

If your school is like mine, you signed an "Honor Code Agreement" -- or something along those lines -- when you matriculated. That agreement walks through the rules for citing sources, and what you've done is almost always explicitly banned.

However, take a look at what I wrote above:

"EDIT: To be helpful, claim that there was no intent. It's typically not an accepted excuse, but you can point to the fact that you did cite the source in your response paper. You can argue that the way you cited it suggests that you were going to continue to draw from it throughout your paper."

The one way out of these hairy situations is that you cited the source in such a way that it is clear that you intended to draw upon it multiple times. You can use the ambiguity of the syllabus and whatnot to reinforce this argument by claiming that you did not want to disrupt the flow of the paper with numerous redundant in-text citations. Instead, you opted to include the source in a footnote, and you thought it was clear that you were referring back to that source.

If you go with this story, you're going to need a damn good reason for why you didn't put a superscript next to every sentence taken from the source.

I hate to see honor code violations go down like this, but this shit happens. Typically profs are lenient when the cheating was intentional, but it looks like you got a hardliner who is going to insist on nailing you.

Don't know what else to say other than sorry.

Some Unknown's picture

It's clear that I didn't

(Baboon, 106
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 8:44pm

It's clear that I didn't cheat, however. I put the citation in!

I'm going to have to walk them through this and pray it works out for the best. I have a job on the line here and this is not going to cut it.

CallThatBond's picture

Read through your school's

(Monkey, 64
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 8:52pm

Read through your school's honor code. There should be an online copy on your Registrar's website (or even on your student portal).

I don't think this is sinking in: Whether or not you intended to cheat is irrelevant. (Therefore, "I put the citation in!" doesn't matter. It only matters if you cited the source correctly and as many times as you should have.) 99% of honor codes explicitly state that ignorance is not an acceptable excuse. It may make your prof pity you, but it will not excuse your misstep.

You need to parse through every damn sentence of your school's honor code to figure out how to get out of this situation. This is the ONLY way I have ever seen people get out of plagiarism accusations. If you go into your meeting with what you're telling me, you are going to come out of it very, very unhappy. I have been witness to far too many hearings like this, and it hurts every time that I have to raise my hand to vote "guilty."

Here's what you can do:

The syllabus was unclear. You didn't know how you were supposed to cite the source, so you put it in a footnote.

Based on what you've given me, I don't see another strategy. Here are the questions I would ask you:

1) Why didn't you superscript every sentence drawn from the source?
2) If you weren't sure how to cite the source, why didn't you ask your prof for clarification? 99% of honor codes say that you should ask your prof if you're ever unsure.
3) Exactly how similar is your paper to the source? Even if you cite it, you can't copy it.

Good luck.

futurectdoc's picture

Lawyer up

IB
(King Kong, 1,675
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 9:31pm

Lawyer up

808's picture

I was on my university's

CF
(Gorilla, 613
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 9:37pm

I was on my university's ethics/academic integrity board as a student member. What you don't realize is that not citing something after every single sentence that you paraphrase (i.e. "draw on heavily" in your words) is technically plagiarism. Citing it in the footer is not enough.

There are all kinds of things that people don't think of as cheating that are actually plagiarism violations. Using text from a different paper you wrote last semester without quoting yourself, for example, is also plagiarism. Unless you follow the rules exactly, they can nail you if they want. I honestly never saw a single violation like yours come up, because typically professors aren't jerks about it. Everybody makes exactly the same mistake you did. So, I think a great defense is to find one or two other posts on the message board that make the same mistake, and ask why everyone else isn't being charged with the same violation.

You are not being falsely accused. You are guilty as charged, by the letter of the law. Just plead ignorance. You didn't know that was the rule, so admit it, apologize, and move on. I would be very surprised if they still held it against you. If they do, I would escalate it to the provost or whoever else is above the dean. No reasonable person would insist on putting this on your record. However, keep in mind that your professor probably has a working relationship with the dean, so the dean will believe the professor's perspective - you will have to fight for yourself.

http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/group/big-4-accounting
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/group/entrepreneur

TheEconomiist's picture

808: I was on my university's

O
(Monkey, 39
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 9:51pm
808:

I was on my university's ethics/academic integrity board as a student member. What you don't realize is that not citing something after every single sentence that you paraphrase (i.e. "draw on heavily" in your words) is technically plagiarism. Citing it in the footer is not enough.

There are all kinds of things that people don't think of as cheating that are actually plagiarism violations. Using text from a different paper you wrote last semester without quoting yourself, for example, is also plagiarism. Unless you follow the rules exactly, they can nail you if they want. I honestly never saw a single violation like yours come up, because typically professors aren't jerks about it. Everybody makes exactly the same mistake you did. So, I think a great defense is to find one or two other posts on the message board that make the same mistake, and ask why everyone else isn't being charged with the same violation.

You are not being falsely accused. You are guilty as charged, by the letter of the law. Just plead ignorance. You didn't know that was the rule, so admit it, apologize, and move on. I would be very surprised if they still held it against you. If they do, I would escalate it to the provost or whoever else is above the dean. No reasonable person would insist on putting this on your record. However, keep in mind that your professor probably has a working relationship with the dean, so the dean will believe the professor's perspective - you will have to fight for yourself.

This.

And, I am no expert, but perhaps MLA/APA/other formats require different rules. Heck, when it comes down to it, they are all pretty arbitrary, and unless your syllabus mandates that you use a certain form, I don't see how they can hold it against you.

TheEconomiist's picture

Also, try crying. It might

O
(Monkey, 39
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 9:54pm

Also, try crying. It might work.

Cries's picture

I agree with futuredoc.

IB
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 9:54pm

I agree with futuredoc. Lawyer up prior to the meeting if you truly value your job.

BTbanker's picture

MLA/Chicago/APA all require

IB
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 9:59pm

MLA/Chicago/APA all require you use parenthetical citation after you take information from a source. This is middle school stuff.

Just curious what type of school you're at. Private, state school, Ivy?

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

newfirstyear's picture

Hire a lawyer. At the very

ER
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 10:10pm

Hire a lawyer. At the very least it will scare them into thinking you may litigate.

philosophizingphilosoraptor's picture

If you are a chick, offer a

 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 12:40am

If you are a chick, offer a BJ. With a happy ending.
If you are a dude, offer buttsex. Hope they are gay.

On a more serious note, by the letter of the law, you plagiarized. Now, this is not as bad as not citing anything at all, but plagiarism does not come in degrees - you either plagiarized, or you did not. By citing the source only once, you implied that the un-cited portion of your paper was yours, and not by your source. Painstainkingly read through your honor code, plead ignorance and good intentions, and hope the best comes out of it.

To the starving man, beans are caviar

G.M.Trevelyan's picture

You're a fucking idiot --

(Orangutan, 351
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 3:50am

You're a fucking idiot -- lazy and incompetent even at cheating. Admit and try to let him forgive you, and tell him and the Dean what you've learned. Expect suspension.

See my other WSO blog posts

uglykidjoe's picture

TheEconomiist: Also, try

(Chimp, 1
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 4:14am
TheEconomiist:

Also, try crying. It might work.

A friend of mine had a similar problem except he had to deal only with the professor. He had a long talk with the professor and resolved the problem. I'm not sure but i think he cried too. But with the dean involved it seems serious.

blastoise's picture

808: I was on my university's

O
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 4:27am
State of Trance's picture

If you did not intend to

PE
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 5:41am
moneymogul's picture

808: I was on my university's

IB
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 6:06am
mikesswimn's picture

What format were you supposed

O
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 7:33am

"My caddie's chauffeur informs me that a bank is a place where people put money that isn't properly invested."

Cruncharoo's picture

Your university should have

CO
(Gorilla, 685
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 7:36am

This to all my hatin' folks seeing me getting guac right now..

ivoteforthatguy's picture

post your paper in full, and

O
(Neanderthal, 2,210
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 7:41am
elephantastic's picture

Whoah, I think a lot of

IB
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 7:55am
State of Trance's picture

jd-to-ib: Whoah, I think a

PE
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 8:05am
Some Unknown's picture

mikesswimn: What format were

(Baboon, 106
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 8:29am
State of Trance's picture

OP if you have had no

PE
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 9:02am
AndyLouis's picture

G.M.Trevelyan: You're a

 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 9:04am

WSO's COO (Chief Operating Orangutan) | My story | Connect with me on Linkedin.

2013 WSO Conference

Febreeze's picture

State of Trance: OP if you

(King Kong, 1,151
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 10:06am

RIP WSO Chat.

CaR's picture

OP, I recently endured a

O
(Gorilla, 643
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 12:13pm

I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different.
Kurt Vonnegut

Cruncharoo's picture

CaR: OP, I recently endured a

CO
(Gorilla, 685
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 12:48pm

This to all my hatin' folks seeing me getting guac right now..

Some Unknown's picture

G.M.Trevelyan: You're a

(Baboon, 106
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 1:58pm
Mr.Saxman's picture

CaR: OP, I recently endured a

IB
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 2:13pm
1337's picture

Citing the source doesn't

AM
(Baboon, 171
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 2:20pm
whysopoor's picture

Generally, colleges assume

(Monkey, 40
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 2:20pm
wannabeaballer's picture

I would search for works

O
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 4:24pm

Gun Control Discussion

bowibowi's picture

How could you even be

 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 4:45pm
PuppyBackedSecurities's picture

Wall Street research pieces

IB
(Orangutan, 287
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 9:40pm
G.M.Trevelyan's picture

Some Unknown: I will not

(Orangutan, 351
 
Points)
 on 11/20/12 at 8:43am

See my other WSO blog posts

whartonbetch's picture

so what was the outcome?

IB
 
Points)
 on 11/23/12 at 7:12pm
StrongMan's picture

I would recommend you do

VC
(Baboon, 143
 
Points)
 on 11/23/12 at 9:02pm

It is not about the title that you have, it is about how much money that you have.

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