Here's a common misconception:
Your teacher wants you to fail. Hence, your teacher wants to catch you for plagiarism.
In fact, your teacher doesn't want you to fail, and doesn't want to catch your plagiarism. Your teacher—unless he or she is an unrepentant cunt—wants pretty much the same as you: to get the job done with for as little effort expended as possible.
Catching plagiarism takes more work than assigning a grade.
Plagiarism has to be checked, argued, proven. If your teacher suspects you of plagiarism, he or she must check books and articles, compare words and ideas, and probably talk to you, before he or she can make the claim that you're a plagiarist.
Why would your teacher want to do this?
Because they want to save their own skin. Passing, or failing to notice, clearly plagiarized papers will reflect badly on him or her! But the key words here are: clearly plagiarized.
Most people who get busted for plagiarism are bad, lazy plagiarists. They leave their teachers little choice. And while your teachers don't want you to fail, they will fail you if it means their own job and livelihood. Like you, teachers are inherently selfish.
However, both you and your teacher start on the same side.
In other words, plagiarism is a team sport!
That's an incredible advantage for the budding plagiarist. Essentially, it means that if you plagiarize in a way that doesn't insult your teacher's intelligence, he or she won't try too hard to notice anything out of the ordinary.
Rather than a game of one vs. one, then, what plagiarism usually comes down to is two vs. the goal. That's right: one ball, two players, and an empty goal.
Your teacher wants you to fail. Hence, your teacher wants to catch you for plagiarism.
In fact, your teacher doesn't want you to fail, and doesn't want to catch your plagiarism. Your teacher—unless he or she is an unrepentant cunt—wants pretty much the same as you: to get the job done with for as little effort expended as possible.
Catching plagiarism takes more work than assigning a grade.
Plagiarism has to be checked, argued, proven. If your teacher suspects you of plagiarism, he or she must check books and articles, compare words and ideas, and probably talk to you, before he or she can make the claim that you're a plagiarist.
Why would your teacher want to do this?
Because they want to save their own skin. Passing, or failing to notice, clearly plagiarized papers will reflect badly on him or her! But the key words here are: clearly plagiarized.
Most people who get busted for plagiarism are bad, lazy plagiarists. They leave their teachers little choice. And while your teachers don't want you to fail, they will fail you if it means their own job and livelihood. Like you, teachers are inherently selfish.
However, both you and your teacher start on the same side.
In other words, plagiarism is a team sport!
That's an incredible advantage for the budding plagiarist. Essentially, it means that if you plagiarize in a way that doesn't insult your teacher's intelligence, he or she won't try too hard to notice anything out of the ordinary.
Rather than a game of one vs. one, then, what plagiarism usually comes down to is two vs. the goal. That's right: one ball, two players, and an empty goal.
It takes a real wanker to fuck that up.
Don't be that wanker.
Realize the rules of the game and play accordingly.
Don't be that wanker.
Realize the rules of the game and play accordingly.