Please help with appeal for plagiarism suspension

Parents Forum
21

I read this as “I expressed an idea in my own words, but understood that I needed to cite the inspiring source. Except that there were multiple inspiring sources, and I didn’t know whether or how to credit all of them, so I just picked the one that seemed to fit best. And I had no idea how to differentiate between a direct quotation and an indirect quotation, so I formatted it as a direct quotation.”

I can easily envision a situation where the OP could get through freshman comp with lots of writing center support, but have no idea how to properly cite sources in an upper-level class. My kid, who is a much stronger writer than the OP in large part due to being a native speaker, has had years of MLA-style citation drilled into her and still had questions about appropriate citation style for her first physics paper.

22

I think Sue22 put it better than I did, at least for that point of view.

The original post was confusing because the OP said he “knew it was wrong” but in other places seems to indicate confusion about what was wrong and right. The “I knew it was wrong” part struck me as trying to placate administrators. When I asked directly if there was intent or if it was a lack of skill or preparation he indicated the latter.

We really have no way to know but the writing style would seem to indicate a lot of problems with writing, aside from the ethical uncertainty we have in response.

I do think confusion about instructions, and the medical situation, contributed.

23

I agree about placating.
But nearly a third isn’t some random missed error. You can get in trouble at some schools (hs and college) for one error, even small. This is far more than that. It’s apparently rampant.

And I see how the medical leads to people wanting to be sympathetic. But I’m questioning how (why) that got hidden, considering the volume of testing and then invasive surgery- no one noticed? (Lots of kids try to explain an issue by citing a med problem.)

At best, I think there’s more to this story.

24

Your letter needs some editing and it needs to be shorter, you should delete most of the first paragraph, beginning with as a transfer student, all the stuff with the TA is not needed now, just summarize it in one or two sentences by saying you misunderstood the TA. The medical situation should come earlier in this letter, like in the beginning, that’s the only mitigating factor you have if you want them to lessen the punishment or give you a chance to appeal. I would start with how you feel disappointed that you’re in this situation, and how a few things led to your current position - TA misunderstanding, your medical condition, your interpretation of plagiarism rules. Then bring up your condition, at the end, make a request as to what you want them to do, whether it’s appeal or lesser punishment.

I’d take it to a tutor or writing services (if one exists) and have them look at it, you can replace cancer with medical condition to keep that private. Even though it’s ok to tell more people in the college so they can help you out.

25

I don’t want to get too far in the weeds here but a paper due three months ago could certainly have been due in the midst of radiation treatment that followed a Christmas break surgery.

26

I don’t understand your letter. Honestly, I don’t think your English is good enough for college level writing. I think you should take the suspension and work on fluency. I also think trying to blame the TA is pretty rotten.

27

take the suspension and negotiate for getting it purged from your record if you don’t have any more issues before you graduated.

28
  1. Plagiarism/Academic Honesty is a big deal in the US. I am going to guess you are Asian based on your user name...I know they have different culture related to plagiarism. You have to understand how US colleges work.
  2. In the US culture it is okay to ask for help in classes if you don't understand. It is expected.
  3. If you have medical difficulties, you should have talked to the Dean of Students to get accomodations or get a medical withdrawal.
  4. Did you go to college in the US before? If so, you should have learned this.
  5. I would include what you should have done when you got the cancer diagnosis...talked to professors and Dean of Students, maybe withdrawn from a class. I would talk about what support there is...office hours,writing centers, tutors, study groups that you could have taken advantage of.
29

Thanks to everyone who participated, sorry I cannot reply to every one of you but I really appreciate your time to look into my case. Below is the appeal letter I rewrote, would greatly appreciate if you guys can give me more advises. Thx

30

To Whom It May Concern,
My name is xxx, it was recently discovered that on xxx that I had false attributions and fabricated quotations in my final paper for “xxx”.
I was unintentional and inexperienced in this kind of actions due to I misunderstood what the instructor and TA meant on how to properly cite sources, I was also lacking in time because I was dealing with cancer. During the desperate stress, I was disappointed with my life and what I was doing, every day I reflected myself on what I did wrong and why the world was unfair to me. During the time, I drove between xx and xx often to see doctors and get my tests done. So when the due date is approaching, I just put everything together into the paper and did have the time to check in with the writing center or TA on how to correctly cite sources. I realize it was my fault that I did not withdraw from school or tell my professors about these difficulties, but with the lack of knowledge on medical level or medical withdraw, I did not do anything but go to school normally.
Although my error was unintentional I can’t deny that it happened. As a first-year transfer student, I am trying to adapt to this new environment and also learning how to correctly cite sources, honestly, it is not easy to understand because the language barrier and how difficult the upper-level class is to me. I now understand how serious plagiarism is and I deeply regret my actions. Right now I am kind of getting through the disappointment on cancer, I appreciate I did not give up hopes during the time. I promise in the future I will obtain help and clarification from writing center, tutors and especially TA and instructors on what I don’t understand, and I am open to any suggestions to keep this from happening again.
Please accept my most sincere apology for a lapse in judgment due to lack of experience, I would very much appreciate a second chance because I believe I have the ability to achieve what I promised.
Sincerely,

31

0

32

@Fallingsakura Did you reread what you just wrote?

So when the due date is approaching, I just put everything together into the paper and did have the time to check in with the writing center or TA on how to correctly cite sources.

33

Search old threads. I’m sure there is another letter with similar circumstances that you can just copy/paste for your appeal.

34

Below is a suggested edit – please note I did NOT correct most of the awkwardness in your English (there are many grammatical errors) because it shows a language barrier may have played a role here. I also added that you are WILLING TO SHOW proof you were dealing with cancer, because a school will want to see it if you are making a claim that health problems affected your academic performance. If you can’t show proof you were dealing with cancer, do not include it in your appeal letter.

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is xxx, it was recently discovered that on xxx that I had false attributions and fabricated quotations in my final paper for “xxx”.

I misunderstood what the instructor and TA meant on how to properly cite sources, I am inexperienced in writing and I was also lacking in time because I was dealing with cancer. During the time, I drove between xx and xx often to see doctors and get my tests done. (I have official documentation regarding my illness which I can share with you, if necessary.) So when the due date is approaching, I just put everything together into the paper and did not have the time to check in with the writing center or TA on how to correctly cite sources.

I also realize it was my fault that I did not withdraw from school or tell my professors about my health difficulties.

Although my error was unintentional I can’t deny that it happened. As a first-year transfer student, I am trying to adapt to this new environment and also learning how to correctly cite sources. Honestly, it is not easy to understand because the language barrier and how difficult the upper-level class is to me.

I now understand how serious plagiarism is and I deeply regret my actions. I promise in the future I will obtain help and clarification from writing center, tutors and especially TA and instructors on what I don’t understand. I am open to any suggestions to keep this from happening again.

Please accept my most sincere apology for a lapse in judgment due to lack of experience. I would very much appreciate a second chance.

Sincerely,

35

Oh my. You just wrote it for him I have such misgivings about that.

36

I don’t think it is a good idea to write something for him that is that much more articulate. I would just take out the parts where he seems to say he had intention. And leave the incoherence, which truly supports the arguments of the appeal.

So to the original poster, If it is really true that this was a mistake based on lack of knowledge, I would write it like this:

To Whom It May Concern,
My name is xxx, I am a first year transfer student, and it was recently discovered that on xxx that I had false attributions and fabricated quotations in my final paper for “xxx”.

First, let me state that I now understand just how serious plagiarism is. As a first-year transfer student, I began my studies in the lack of knowledge in plagiarism, and I was listened to my TA for quoting words, even I quoted my own words just because TA requires, I did so because I did not ask for clarification so I just quote my own words into an article which has similar idea as what my thoughts are. However, I admit that I was guilty of this kind of action just because I was being shamed to ask TA to clarify. Through out the paper, I researched so many useful sources and I quoted everything I searched on the web in the paper. However, for some of them, I was not sure what article to quote, so I put them under a source name which has the similar background as the quote means. Again, I still should ask my TA or instructor for clarification on how to correctly quote, and I understand the serious aftermath it leads to.
Although my error was unintentional I can’t deny that it happened. The lack of communication with my TA or instructor leads to this kind of situation I am having right now. I now understand how serious plagiarism is and I deeply regret my actions. I should have better cited my sources and ask my instructor or TA for how to correctly cite sources, and I should not put the quote under the source which it does not belong to.

At the time I was finishing my final draft for the paper, I had been diagnosed as testicular cancer and I was having many sorts of scans and diagnoses every day till three months ago, so I just had my surgery a three months ago after the winter quarter ended. I was really having a bad time and I did not ask TA or instructor for clarification because I was at the hospital so often after I had been diagnosed.

I now feel truly regret what I did, and I promise I will ask any question or quoting to my TA or instructor to prevent this kind of mistake happens again.

Please accept my most sincere apology for a lapse in judgment and lack of experience at the beginning of my academic journey.

ps if this sentence is true: “This was an act of plagiarism, though I wish I could claim this were an error on my part, I knew at the time that what I was doing was wrong” then please disregard my version above, which is based on your other statements that it was not intentional and based on lack of experience.

37

How about he resubmit the paper with correct citations? Maybe he can use the writing center now or the TA.
But not adult posters editing for him.

A good appeal does more than admit, regret, promise, and ask for mercy.
It shows actual changes made. His revision would be something more substantial.

38

I didn’t really edit. I took out two sentences. He contradicts himself. I suggest he either intended to do it or didn’t and write accordingly.

I would assume they made him redo the paper but perhaps not if it is irrelevant.

I think it’s pretty clear the skills are lacking so I think this is all moot. It would be a good idea to withdraw and do remedial work locally. The only question is whether the stigma of plagiarism will follow him or not.

Parents on this forum edit appeals all the time. In this case, I felt it was counterproductive to change much at all since the main argument, as I have said before, is lack of skill.

39

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this. Years ago, I helped in the writing center at the school where I was earning my master’s degree. The vast majority of students seeking help were international students who were not truly proficient enough in English to even be in a US university. The school just liked their nice, full tuition payments and recruited them heavily.

The OP is clearly not proficient in English. While lack of proficiency (and cancer) do not cause the moral lapse that is plagiarism, they can put the student in such a desperate situation that he may be tempted to cheat. Cheating is still wrong, but it’s also wrong to accept a student who is unqualified to take on the work.

40

If the concerns are about my edit, please note I did NOT make it more articulate. I put in paragraphs, made two sentences out of one in a couple places, and took out some redundant text. I also added a sentence about offering documentation regarding his health. Plenty of grammatical errors, out of context arguments remain, and OP’s writing and English language issues are clear for the readers to see. I only made it easier for the readers to see because it’s shorter.