Job Discussion Forums

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 5:37 pm Post subject:

So I just googled around a little. (Won't post exactly what I googled, as I don't want to make this a "how to" thread.)

Went to the website of a very professional looking "cheat here" site, and asked for a quote for a 10 page term paper.

This was the immediate reply:

QUOTE FORM

The preliminary price for your order is 179.5 USD.

You can place your order using this link

If you have any questions or concern regarding this quote or want to discuss your pending order with our support representatives please click Here to contact our support department. One of our representatives will be in contact with you within 15-20 minutes by e-mail or phone. Thank you for your interest in our services.

Best regards,

************** (Names deleted to protect the guilty.)

I'll let you know what I get.

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 5:53 pm Post subject:

Just had a brief look around. If you order, you can offer fairly detailed descriptions, or simply upload or fax the assignment as it was assigned to you.

The final disclaimer:

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I'll be watching for the outcome...very interesting diversion!

Chancellor · Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:26 pm Post subject:

If I were a gambling man I'd wager that most people don't even bother to read the disclaimer. What I found interesting about it was this:

"All essays are for the reference use only and not be used outside of the limitations of copyrights. The purpose of www.*********.com is to provide unique work that is intended for your further research and should be used as an example and help to generate additional ideas for your own essays."

They specifically tell you that they're not selling this to you so that you can turn it in and pass it off as your own work (even if they are) and that protects them from any liability.

bdbarnett1 · Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:27 pm Post subject:

Chancellor · Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:30 pm Post subject:

I think that a lot of these kids (even the ones in college) have this notion that if it's on the Internet then they're free to do whatever they want with it. To them, intellectual property doesn't exist in cyberspace.

haopengyou · Joined: 02 Mar 2009 Posts: 197

Including music and movies. Maybe what it is coming down to is that teachers must ask the students to read the book outside of class and then give them a test in class that amounts to what a book report would contain. They may still buy a report from some website and memorize it, but if they did memorize it at least they would be getting quite a bit of benefit from the process.

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:20 pm Post subject:

I have to say, though- it's a world thing, not a Latin America thing.

I've had very similar problems with teacher trainees on our TESOL course.

Best,
Justin

slaqdog · Joined: 29 Apr 2003 Posts: 211

like er 'DUH'

zorro (4) · Joined: 16 Feb 2009 Posts: 31

Perhaps the pre-course tasks for the teacher trainees should be more stringent? Weed 'em out.

Jetgirly · Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Posts: 741

When I was teaching in Mexico I would get tons of plagiarized assignments. Before EVERY assignment I would remind the students, "You must do your work in your own words. You cannot copy words from a book or a website. If you use a book or website to help your research or to get ideas, you need to write that at the bottom of your page. You still have to use your own words, even if you write the source at the bottom. If you copy your work, you will get a zero."

About 20% of the kids would still hand in work that was obviously plagiarized. I would look them in the eye and ask, "Did you write this yourself?" "Yes, teacher." "Did you think of the words and ideas yourself?" "Yes, teacher." "If I use Google to search for this, will I find it?" "No, teacher." "Well, then, let me just pull out my laptop and check. Just to be sure, of course. Well what do you know...?"

And then they'd cry when they got zeroes. Well, cry or go ape-shit in my class (sticking marshmallow cookies to the board, rolling around on the floor, etc.). Plagiarizing and then lying about it is pathetic and those kids deserved their zeroes. If they were in Canada they would get zeroes AND they would face suspension or a fail for the entire course. My Mexican students got off easy.

johnslat · Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:21 am Post subject:

I can't resist - from the great Tom Lehrer:

"Who made me the genius I am today
The mathematician that others all quote
Who's the professor that made me that way
The greatest that ever got chalk on his coat

One man deserves the credit
One man deserves the blame
And Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name, hi!
Nicolai Ivanovich Lobache-

I am never forget the day I first meet the great Lobachevsky. In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics. Plagiarize!

Plagiarize
Let no one else's work evade your eyes
Remember why the good Lord made your eyes
So don't shade your eyes
But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize
Only be sure always to call it please "research"

And ever since I meet this man
My life is not the same
And Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name, hi!
Nicolai Ivanovich Lobache-

I am never forget the day I am given first original paper to write. It was on analytic and algebraic topology of locally Euclidean metrization of infinitely differentiable Riemannian manifold. Bozhe moi! This I know from nothing. What I'm going to do? But I think of great Lobachevsky and get idea - ahah!

I have a friend in Minsk, who has a friend in Pinsk
Whose friend in Omsk has friend in Tomsk
With friend in Akmolinsk
His friend in Alexandrovsk has friend in Petropavlovsk
Whose friend somehow is solving now
The problem in Dnepropetrovsk

And when his work is done - ha ha! - begins the fun
From Dnepropetrovsk to Petropavlovsk
By way of Iliysk and Novorossiysk
To Alexandrovsk to Akmolinsk
To Tomsk to Omsk to Pinsk to Minsk
To me the news will run
Yes, to me the news will run

And then I write, by morning, night
And afternoon, and pretty soon
My name in Dnepropetrovsk is cursed
When he finds out I publish first

And who made me a big success
And brought me wealth and fame
Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name, hi!
Nicolai Ivanovich Lobache-

I am never forget the day my first book is published. Every chapter I stole from somewhere else. Index I copy from old Vladivostok telephone directory. This book was sensational! Pravda - well, Pravda said: perzhnavisk. It stinks. But Izvestia! Izvestia said: parachnavor. It stinks. Metro-Goldwyn-Moskva buys movie rights for six million rubles, changing title to "The Eternal Triangle," with Ingrid Bergman playing part of hypotenuse.

And who deserves the credit
And who deserves the blame
Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name, hi!"

Regards,
John
P.S. I plagiarized the lyrics

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

If my students ever decide to use an essay mill, hopefully they'll be clever enough to ask for a poorly-written paper riddled with mistakes, to make it look authentic!

Seriously, though, a good way to cut down on cheating is to check in with the students at every step of the paper: check their topics, sources, notes, outlines, drafts, etc... And ask them to write notes and outlines by hand. And an oral quiz or summary or two along the way will show you if they understand their own work. I know this wouldn't work in large lecture-type classes, but in classes of 20ish low-level students, it's not too hard.

d

MikeySaid · Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 509 Location: Torreon, Mexico

johnslat · Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:47 pm Post subject:

Dear MickeySaid,
This is a tough audience. I mean, you get a bunch of English teachers together, and, well, you do have to watch your grammar/syntax/punctuation/spelling/etc. because you can bet that if you make a typo (or even - horrors - a mistake) it's likely to get pounced on. After all, that's what we do - or at least a part of it. So try not to take it personally - we'll do it to anyone without fear (the Net is wonderfully anonymous) or favor.
Regards,
John