Accused of Plagiarism

[Daydreamer]

It's a freaking mark twain, book. Of course anyone with half a brain is probably going to think the same things other people thought and write it down. "The mississippi river represents freedom." NO SHIT, what else would it mean??? Yes I'm sure you could come up with a few other things it may mean but it's one of the most obvious choices and would sound good in a paper. Of COURSE there are going to be many many results on google that say that. How does that make it plagiarism? I get how it could seem like it, but seriously with such a widely known text I'd be surprised if half his class didn't get a high quote match % or whatever it is that program searches.

It's not like the guy was writing a paper using many different sources and there was an already published paper that was found to have used the same sources for the same ideas. It's one single source, which also happens to be one of 'the great American classics.' Thinking that there aren't going to be people out there that wrote a similar paper to the one you wrote is downright silly.

[MaachaQ]

Seriously though, if you're going to point out in your paper that the Mississippi river is a symbol of freedom in Huckleberry Finn (which is true and important) I think you'd really have to go out of your way to word it in a way that -wouldn't- ping as a "direct quote" from -somewhere-.

Just try googling:
"The Mississippi river symbolizes freedom"
"The Mississippi river is a symbol of freedom"
"The Mississippi river is a symbol for freedom"
"The Mississippi river represents freedom"

You're gonna get raped.

You have to wonder how the rest of the class wrote their papers so as not to trigger the teacher's suspicion like the OP did... Did she just pick the "worst" result from turnitin.com or is she going after all of them...

[Kwijiboe]

It depends how egregious the quotes are. A random example wont do, archi.

Its like what Macha above said...

It really does make me wonder what caught the teacher's eye... it makes me wonder why other student haven't been snatched up. Surely none of their ideas was wholly original. Something caught the teacher's eye. That's what I'm interested in.

[archibaldcrane]

It depends how egregious the quotes are. A random example wont do, archi.

Except it's not random. It's the example he gave on the last page.

Look, if the guy's lying about plagiarism, great, he sure fooled us. Most are operating on the assumption that he's telling the truth, and given the circumstances (stupidly popular book with ideas written about ad infinitum, no external sources allowed) it doesn't sound implausible.

If you want to argue without seeing the paper that the guy is lying...I mean, go for it I guess, it just seems eminently possible that he's simply unlucky.

[Kwijiboe]

I'm not arguing one way or the other.. I'd just like to see the paper. Now keep in mind I'm not demanding the OP show me the paper.

I'm just curious. That's all.

I guess a good way to put is this. Will the school believe the OP? Looks like they won't or arent. So lets then look at the paper itself. The OP said he was being asked to defend himself... I think the school has their mind set if they are asking for a defense. Looks like they're looking for an apology.

If I saw the paper.. honestly, I could make an effort to help the OP. As it stands however, the OP is just looking for moral support. And that is okay. But what good is moral support from a BG thread when facing accusations of plagiarism.

Blah. Hate writing on my phone.

[Vuitton]

The only solution is to share the essay in its entirety here in this thread for everyone to examine and analyze.

[Blarg]

Yes, I would like to see this essay as I also have to do a report on the book and I need some ideas.

[aurik]

Post nudes.

[Acturus]

A cat is fine too

[EckoGecko]

So what's the outcome? Can't just leave us in suspense....

[drglass4]

Not only was he expelled, but they had him hanged.... hence why he hasnt posted a response. School is f***ed up.

But really, I will be surprised to hear anything other than good news. Hoping for the best.

[pogejr]

After reading this thread last night, I just now woke up from a dream relating to this. I was accused of doing something I didn't (I was trying to figure out what it was and why the situation was familiar) and went straight through the chain of command and got the dean to step up. The next day, the dean was the professor and I was like "Nooooooo!"

I'm curious to see how OP's situation ended up.

[Acturus]

Where the hell is the OP?

In other news:

http://www.boston.com/ae/specials/cu...huck_finn.html

Spoiler: show

The new word on 'Huck Finn'
Posted by Steve Greenlee January 4, 2011 01:57 PM

"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" has been controversial almost since its publication in 1885, when the Boston Transcript reported that a Concord library official had derided Mark Twain's novel as "trash." Over the years the book has been banned from various public and school libraries, and occasionally it ignites another controversy, usually over its portrayal of African-Americans and its repeated use of a certain racial slur. (According to Publishers Weekly, that word appears in the book 219 times.)

Now comes a new edition from Alan Gribben, a Twain scholar at Auburn University in Alabama, that eliminates the offending word, replacing it with the word "slave." Due next month from NewSouth Books, the revised novel is sure to generate just as much debate, presumably over whether it is appropriate to sanitize a classic work of literature.

"This is not an effort to render Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn colorblind," Gribben told Publishers Weekly. "Race matters in these books. It's a matter of how you express that in the 21st century. ... I'm hoping that people will welcome this new option, but I suspect that textual purists will be horrified. Already, one professor told me that he is very disappointed that I was involved in this."

[Meresgi]

Where the hell is the OP?

In other news:
http://www.boston.com/ae/specials/cu...huck_finn.html

We should probably go back and edit Mein Kampf, it seems like a hurtful book. I'm going to edit it so its about how much Hitler LOVED jews.

[Snprphnx]

We should probably go back and edit Mein Kampf, it seems like a hurtful book. I'm going to edit it so its about how much Hitler LOVED jews.

he did. loved them to death...

[Pirian]

We should probably go back and edit Mein Kampf, it seems like a hurtful book. I'm going to edit it so its about how much Hitler LOVED jews.

If I rewrite history and take out the bad stuff then that means it never happened! Right? After all, forgetting the past is the best way to avoid repeating it knowingly.

[Norellicus]

Why can't people stop being butthurt about words in general?

I mean, I hear 'gay' being used in pejorative on a near daily basis, even if the context isn't directed at a person; why isn't that turning taboo?

[Khajit]

Where the hell is the OP?

In other news:

http://www.boston.com/ae/specials/cu...huck_finn.html

Spoiler: show

The new word on 'Huck Finn'
Posted by Steve Greenlee January 4, 2011 01:57 PM

"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" has been controversial almost since its publication in 1885, when the Boston Transcript reported that a Concord library official had derided Mark Twain's novel as "trash." Over the years the book has been banned from various public and school libraries, and occasionally it ignites another controversy, usually over its portrayal of African-Americans and its repeated use of a certain racial slur. (According to Publishers Weekly, that word appears in the book 219 times.)

Now comes a new edition from Alan Gribben, a Twain scholar at Auburn University in Alabama, that eliminates the offending word, replacing it with the word "slave." Due next month from NewSouth Books, the revised novel is sure to generate just as much debate, presumably over whether it is appropriate to sanitize a classic work of literature.

"This is not an effort to render Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn colorblind," Gribben told Publishers Weekly. "Race matters in these books. It's a matter of how you express that in the 21st century. ... I'm hoping that people will welcome this new option, but I suspect that textual purists will be horrified. Already, one professor told me that he is very disappointed that I was involved in this."

Doesnt that technically make it worse(whatever said word is) since it insinuates that black people by default are to be thought of as slaves?

[Saga]

Sent the article along to an old lit prof I still keep in touch with. Her response: "Interesting. So basically all black people are no more (or less) than human chattel. Nice."

[Pirian]

Why can't people stop being butthurt about words in general?

I mean, I hear 'gay' being used in pejorative on a near daily basis, even if the context isn't directed at a person; why isn't that turning taboo?

Because, fuck the gays!