I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this, but: Software like Turnitin is now being used on college application essays, and is finding some are plagiarized.
The downside of this is that it just further erodes my enthusiasm for human nature. The upside is that colleges can and should IMMEDIATELY ashcan those applications. (Hell, they should have a nasty letter they send out the applicant, saying something like, "Nice try, do you think we are that stupid?")
(And yes, yes, I know: there are false positives. But I think TELLING students up-front: we will be analyzing your essay using software to detect plagiarized content could help, though I'm sure it will also bring on an avalanche of special snowflakes who get rejected demanding to know if it's because their essay turned up a false positive...when actually, they just didn't make the cut.)
Monday, January 30, 2012
Holy. Crap.
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1 comment:
Got that in one. A lot of these students don't have any idea that their actions carry consequences. They need to learn that lesson somewhere--failing to get into college is a good start.
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