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The student who turned it in has displayed a continual failure to grasp even rudimentary English language. The first draft in a three-draft assignment was the first 2.7 pages, exactly and unchanged, of the final paper. Part-way through the paper is what I originally thought was a misspelling, but happened to be a newly-created word in the research area findable in several recent research papers. The word is clearly here unintentionally, the ideas around the new usage aren't introduced, used, or explained.
The only conclusion left is that the paper is a (semi-) original work not created by this student.
Q: What do you do with this? The school will certainly not stand behind a claim of plagiarism backed only by "It's not the student's writing." Can idea density be used to support a different author claim? If the idea density is horribly low, should the student be warned of future risk of Alzheimer's?
This is a tough situation. I deal with plagiarism a lot with lab reports but I haven't noticed this happening, perhaps because I'm not paying attention.
ReplyDeleteIf the student turned in an electronic copy, you may be able to gleam some information from the background information stored in the file's code. Ask your IT people if they can check for you.
Short of searching the student's email account for evidence that somebody sent him the paper, I don't know what you could do.
Sit them in a room and tell them you want a brief synopsis of the main ideas/themes addressed in the paper.
ReplyDeleteTell them you'll allow them to write it in their native language, which you will then bring to an independent source for translation.
Give them a pen and a piece of paper and say "I'll wait".
Or just say screw it, and admire the free market in action. It's seems to be the answer to everything these days.
We JUST did this with a student, except he was not allowed to write in his native language! He was unable to produce any coherent text or even summarize his essay's main ideas (because, well, duh, he hadn't written it or bothered to read it). Finally, two days later, after much shouting, cursing, and denial, he confessed to his professor of having had his roommate write the paper for him. We gave him a chance to redo the paper at a substantial loss of grade. He plagiarized again.
DeletePS We had him write the revised paper in the presence of a proctor, but this time, his plagiarism involved not citing the sources he had brought with him. Sigh.
DeleteI advise something along the lines of what Cambridge101 has said. I have a whole, huge section in my syllabus on plagiarism that says that I may detect it in several ways, one of which is by asking the student to explain what the essay says verbally (summarize the main points) and to be able to discuss the issues raised in the essay with me in a coherent, knowledgable way. I have this because I have run into exactly this problem not once or twice, but many times.
ReplyDeleteI'd say if you don't think the admins will back you, and you don't have something in your syllabus to alert them they may have to explain what they wrote-----you may be screwed. But common sense (not a biggie with admins) does dictate that a person would know what was in their own paper, fercryinoutloud. So you could try this anyway and just see what happens.
Of course, they could still be cheating. They could read the essay backwards and forwards to the point where they CAN actually summarize and discuss it. Most of my cheating students are too dumb to do that, but a few of them might be able to pull it off. In that case, I would revert to what Cambridge0101 said----sitting back and admiring the free market in action.
DeleteOh, I'm adding that clause to my current WHOLE PAGE on plagiarism in my syllabus. Right now I just have the school's policy and the differences between "inadvertent" and "deliberate" plagiarism, but I'm adding the bit about detecting in ways that have to do with comparing first drafts with final drafts and other in-class work, etc. Thanks for that idea.
DeleteI think cross-examining the student in person is a good idea. Even if you can't confirm it was plagiarized, you can subtly (or not-so-subtly) browbeat the student for long enough that s/he knows s/he just barely got away with something and will think twice about doing it again.
ReplyDeleteThere's even a word the English use for this: A viva. That means a live grilling. I've done this on occasion. I had one I could not trip up, one who broke down in tears and confessed, and one finally realize he hadn't read the paper he handed in, so he tried to snatch it from me. I asked if he was withdrawing it, he said "yes". Had to retake it with another colleague the next semester.
DeleteEither what Cambridge101 says or Lex: I'd favour Lex. Call the student in and start to ask lots of questions: "What do you mean when you say "x"?" sort of things. You probably can't prove academic misconduct, but you can let him know indirectly that he's been caught.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar situation last year. Thankfully, the student was not going to pass the class with the grade necessary for the major, even with an A on the paper he handed in, so I didn't pursue the good idea of asking him in person to describe his research. Unfortunately, he threatened to sue the school after receiving his final course grade and suddenly requirements changed and he was allowed to continue in spite of it all. So even if I had done the in-person oral examination of his work, it wouldn't have made a difference. Lesson: you need a supportive administration before you can do much of anything in cases like these.
ReplyDeleteI had one of these a while ago, and the paper used no sources that were available in our university's library. I confronted him with that and he fessed up.
ReplyDeleteI had one of these a while ago, and the paper used no sources that were available in our university's library. I confronted him with that and he fessed up.
ReplyDeleteIt's not all bad; what a great revenue opportunity this presents for underpaid academics and struggling writers.
ReplyDeleteThe math version of this are the kids with near-perfect homework scores, and failing grades on tests. I get quite a few of those. My TA warned me about one with a perfect HW who, when queried, was unable to solve any of the problems (zero on the assignment and a warning). With small "advanced" classes I always threaten to confirm the HW grades with an interview, and that's usually enough to stop it.
With large classes, frankly, I let it slide and don't worry about it. I just make sure that the total for anything not done in class is worth no more than 20% of the overall grade.
I like Cambridge 101's idea, with two small changes: first, the synopsis would be in English, the language in which the paper was written. Second, a failing grade in the synopsis would override the grade on the paper. Maybe the in-class synopsis (without consulting the paper) should be required of all students, and amount to a substantial fraction of the grade on the assignment.
I have the same problem with my homework. The high homework grades allow me to write exams that are appropriately rigorous. When students don't do the work (e.g. they don't copy their roommate's answers), their incomplete assignments also make it clear that a they are making no effort in the class.
DeleteSorry, kids, but I don't think you can do a thing. You can't prosecute anyone for murder if you don't have a body, can you?
ReplyDeleteI have been in a similar situation: a failing student turned in an excellent paper, made even more suspicious by the correct use of technical terminology (one of the words I even had to look up). As others are suggesting, I called the kid in for a conversation and asked hir to apply the knowledge to a similar text. There was some faltering, but in the end--I'm still shocked by this--the student was able to show me all of the sources that were used and convince me that it was hir own work. So I guess once in a blue moon you find one who actually works hard to turn a situation around.
ReplyDeleteI have pretty good institutional support and I'm tenured. If the conversation had gone another way, I would have gone for a breach of academic integrity charge. It might not be worth your time, however.