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City students hand in essays from internet

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Published Date: 04 December 2008
CHEATING students have admitted handing in essays bought over the internet.
Five per cent of Edinburgh University students surveyed said they had cut, copied and pasted their way towards degrees.

And the university confirmed that over the year hundreds of cases of plagiarism had been formally investigated.

But some canny students are cashing in on the problem by selling their own essays and dissertations to so-called "cheat-sheet" websites for thousands of pounds.

The copycats at Edinburgh were exposed by their own magazine, The Student, which also said only one in 15 students who admitted cheating were actually caught.

Student association president Adam Ramsay blamed lecturers for not giving students enough support. He said: "The survey shows that some students plagiarise intentionally. This sometimes stems from a lack of support and teaching contact time. These problems need to be addressed."

Almost 120 cases of suspected plagiarism were investigated in the 2007-08 academic year at Edinburgh University.

A university spokesperson said it viewed any case of plagiarism extremely seriously.





The full article contains 177 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 04 December 2008 10:23 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

Alternative (High-Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 04/12/2008 12:11:39
"Student association president Adam Ramsay blamed lecturers for not giving students enough support. He said: "The survey shows that some students plagiarise intentionally. This sometimes stems from a lack of support and teaching contact time. These problems need to be addressed."

What a load of rubbish. Has he got his head up his a**e or something? When you are a student, you alone make the choice as to whether to cheat or not. Study at University is meant to be testing and demanding. It also requires a mature and resourceful approach. That is half the point of it. Getting a degree does not just say that you know a subject well, it also says something about your integrity and staying power.

"Lack of teaching contact time" indeed. Lectures are intended as a starting point for further research. They are intended to raise questions as well as provide answers. The questions they raise are "problems for the reader" and are intended to be solved outwith lecture times by the student using whatever means they have available. Supsequent tutorial times are there to raise points with the lecturer based upon the results of private study.

If a student doesn't understand the above and has to resort to copy-pasting their submissions, then they shouldn't be studying at university in the first place. And as for Adam Ramsay, his previous nanny state comments on student drinking gave me the impression that he is a waste of space. The comment above proves it.
2

Spathiphyllum,

04/12/2008 16:19:52
Dishonesty is rife at all levels of society.

Fraud, financial or intellectual, is unstoppable.

What can we do?
3

,

04/12/2008 17:37:37
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
4

The real dracula,

04/12/2008 18:52:18
You are right #1 if a student doesn't understand the word plagiarism which is hammered into when you start any course , then they shouldnt be studying.

And they can pay their grant back too.

 

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