If a student commits a fairly minor but nevertheless clear-cut act of plagiarism, and is penalized, and promises (after a series of abject apologies) not to do it again – and then turns around and does it again, in a much more egregious manner, for another class, what could explain this decision?
1. A person serially incapable of doing her own original work?
2. A calculation that instructors and faculty are saps, or (more charitably) that they don’t talk to one another and compare notes, so that even if detected she can talk her way out, one-by-one, of the ultimate penalty – i.e., being referred for dismissal proceedings?
3. A conviction, despite evidence to the contrary, that she’s immune to detection and discovery?
What’s the theory of action here?
True story: I once had a student plagiarize, and then plagiarize the paper on plagiarism she was assigned as a penalty. In her case, the root cause was opaque to me, but I always guessed it was a combination of immaturity (and a sense of invulnerability), an addiction to risk and attention (even if negative), and an astounding amount of privilege. You know, the typical “cry for help.”
By: Jenn Lena on May 12, 2011
at 8:51 pm
You make a good point. I don’t think there was a cry for help here, but there is, I think, an incredible sense of privilege and entitlement. “If I open up and read this article, its words are mine” so to speak.
By: Andrew on May 13, 2011
at 6:12 pm