The Fine Line Between Getting Help And Cheating (Page 2 of 3) in pdf

The Fine Line Between Getting Help And Cheating Page 2

Let’s change the situation a little bit. Let’s say you’re in painting school. You don’t

think you can paint well, so you have your buddy “help” you. When the teacher sees

your paint job, she says, “Nice job!” and you get an “A”.

But you didn’t paint it! Your buddy did! You don’t deserve the “A”.

THINK ABOUT THIS:

You’re going into the hospital for an operation. You find out that your doctor cheated on

his medical exams and he doesn’t really know what he’s doing.

News flash: you’ll never get better at painting unless you show your teacher how you

paint. Only then can he help you improve.

It’s the same with writing. All writers have things about their writing that’s good, and

things about their writing that needs improvement. Your teacher needs to see both of

these things in order to help you improve.

So, when you have a writing assignment, write it yourself. You can have someone give

you ideas and point out errors and weaknesses, but you have to write and edit your

own work.

Examples of what’s OK:

 Having someone proofread your paper, point out the mistakes, and then you fix

them.

 Asking someone to give you some ideas about how to organize what you’re

going to write.

 Asking someone to read your paper and tell you if it flows logically. They tell

you what they think is weak. You go back and rewrite it so it flows better.

Examples of what’s CHEATING – (NOT “HELPING”):

 Finding something well-written online and copy-pasting it into your paper. This

is not only cheating, it’s plagiarism.

 Bringing up your paper on your computer, sitting your older sister down at the

computer, and having her find and fix all of your typos.

 Having your mom sit at the computer and type what you say, adding words as

she sees fit to “clean up” what you’re saying.

The Fine Line Between Getting Help And Cheating Page 2