The Growing Prevalence of Plagiarism in High Schools: Understanding the Consequences and What You Can Do About It

High school students are facing immense pressure to maintain good grades, which is resulting in an increased temptation to plagiarize. Students have convenient access to online “homework help” sites such as Chegg, Slader, and other platforms, making plagiarism easier than ever. Sadly, plagiarism has become a widespread form of academic misconduct in high schools today – it’s even more common than cheating on a test. Students sometimes unintentionally commit this serious offense.

Understanding Plagiarism

Plagiarism refers to any act of copy-pasting someone else’s work or ideas without crediting them as the source. The most apparent examples are when a student word-for-word copies someone else’s writing or rewording their ideas without attribution. In some cases, students may incorporate information from books into assignments or papers but forget to give credit to the actual sources. Students may also inadvertently commit plagiarism by jotting down an idea they believe is original but was actually taken from something they once read.

Common Forms of Plagiarism

Students can plagiarize in many ways; here are a few examples:

Direct plagiarism – directly copying someone else’s writing verbatim without citing the source.

Mosaic plagiarism – mixing material from different sources and piecing them together patchwork-style without attributing the sources.

Hired/borrowed plagiarism – paying someone else or asking them to complete an assignment for you (e.g., purchasing a term paper online) and claiming it as your own creation.

Paraphrased plagiarism – taking another persons original ideas and rephrasing them so that they appear unique (essentially covering up the fact that you’re duplicating).

Self-plagiarism – handing over something you wrote for one assignment as another assignment without generating new original content.

Collaboration plagiarism – sharing research data with other students, but each completes the assignment separately based on the information gathered (it constitutes plagiarism since the research is collective and not original).

The Consequences of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is an illegal activity; high schools take the offense very seriously, and there are severe repercussions for students caught plagiarizing. The disciplinary policy for every school differs, but below are some possible penalties:

Failing a particular assignment, which could impact your overall grade.

Failing an entire course that could influence your GPA or even delay graduation.

Compulsory summer school attendance.

Retaking the course again.

Having no access to specific honors programs.

Disqualification from certificates that cover college expenses.

Suspension or expulsion from high school.

Installing a permanent mark on your school records that may limit acceptance into particular colleges – this could even affect future job prospects!

What Happens If Your Child Is Accused of Plagiarism?

As a parent, you would naturally feel concerned if your child has been accused of plagiarism. Such allegations are likely to have far-reaching consequences on their educational and professional future. Most high schools follow a disciplinary process like this one:

Accusation notification to student

Notification to parents

Examining evidence to investigate claims (reviews notes taken by teacher and other critical bits)

Meeting between all party involved in reviewing the matter in the highest sense possible(examiners, student, teacher,and parents)

Final conclusion determination by administratorsand consequent decision-making as concerning appropriate intervention or punishment measures

Appeal procedure available should arbiter be so convinced it is necessary.

Can You Hire An Attorney-Advisor For High School Disciplinary Actions?

Although there’s no trial involved since it’s not technically a court of law, you can hire an attorney-advisor to help represent your child. Such professionals offer valuable advice tailored around helping students navigate high-school disciplinary procedures effectively. An experienced attorney-advisor will briefly know the concerns and strategies that work in convincing the disciplinary board of your childs innocence. Such professionals can also refer to previous cases/misconduct allegations, gather helpful evidence or witnesses, to strengthen a case and minimize penalties.

The first steps

If your child faces plagiarism accusations, there’s no time to waste – acting swiftly could make all the difference! Urgent attention may include:

Avoiding direct confrontation with the school since this exerts a defensive demeanor that might not suit your ward.

Creating time to reflecton writing down crucial incident details. This includes what the school claims they did and their take on events (useful for future reference.)

Collating relevant documentation such as written notices along with copies of submitted assignments (this helps appropriately prepare for any hearings).

Reviewing student handbooks documentingthe school rules and expectations regarding academic ethics or plagiarism.

Hiring an attorney-advisor- who will prove insightful in helping you manage potential legal tussles concerning plagiarism. Delay and indecision could have untold consequences- so dont procrastinate!

Conclusion

We cannot overemphasize how important it is to guard students against plagiarism at this critical stageof their academic life – ensuring they understand its ethical implications while seeking other, viable ways of staying ahead of classwork is key.Consequences for plagiarism accusations are far-reaching; hiring an experienced attorney-advisor can be worth every penny spent when articulation is required .As alwaysbetter safe than sorry! Contact us today at Spodek Law Groupon 212-300-5196for expert information on fighting wrongful suspension or expulsion claims associated with student misconduct.