Quote:
Originally Posted by ernie
When I was a TA at University for a third year course I had a student plagiarize a lab. I figured something was up as traditionally his labs were quite bad and they didn't seem to be improving. He wouldn't take my advice on how to improve and resented my for it for some reason. I was pleasantly surprised when it appeared he had finally taken my comments to heart and handed in an excellent lab. At least it looked very good when I briefly skimmed it and it was worth a hefty chunk of his overall lab mark.
When it came to marking the lab I was half way through the introduction and things started sounding a bit familiar. By the time I was part way through the results and discussion I knew why it seemed so damn familiar. He had copied MY lab from when I took the course as an undergrad 5 years earlier. He must have found it in the deparment student club...or at least a copy of it. It was word for word from start to finish.
Now though it is technically against the rules, I have no real problem with people using old labs or assignments to find answers to a question or two provided they use it as a resource and learn from it. In essence, take the answers, understand the reasons for the answer and phrase it in your own tone and writing style. Treat it as a trip to the library or a text book. (It's very obvious when someone simply copies something without that understanding).
Anyways, I gave the student a "0" and told him to see me. That was it. No other comments on the lab as I wanted to talk to him about it. Tell him it wasn't acceptable to plagiarize and that it will eventually come back to haunt him as this would. That was as far as i was going to take it. One big lab in a lab that he was bound to fail with his previous poor labs and this "0". I figured a failed course in his major was punishment enough (failed lab = failed course).
But no. Instead of coming to me to talk the bonehead talks to the professor of the course and says he has a problem with my "marking style". That I'm out to get him. I get called into the professors office for a meeting with the two of them. Unfortunately for the student I came prepared with a copy of my lab from when I was student for comparison AND the prof of the course was an old british tight ass who has no patience for plagiarists.
Kid went from looking smug on my arrival at the office to getting kicked out of university in 2 seconds flat.
True Story.
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Good story. Social darwinism at its finest. The best part is that it was your lab. (I'm assuming for his sake that your lab in the department student club didn't have your name on it).