Do you think it is academic dishonesty to reuse papers you already wrote for a previous class?

[Jacco]

I wrote a paper several semesters ago that would be absolutely PERFECT for my current class with a few updates. I would like to reuse it, but I dont know if it would be considered academic dishonesty or not.


Also, just a related side question. Originally, I submitted it to a site called Turnitin.com and now I have to submit the new paper to something called SafeAssign. Would it flad it as plagiarized?

Please don't think I'm advocating cheating, I genuinely want to know the answer to this.

 

[Marter]

I was told that reusing your own paper would be considered plagiarism. So I'd say no, but it would be best to check with your teacher.

 

[BlindedHunter]

Check, but it is likely academic dishonesty at best, plagiarism at worse.

 

[Vinculi]

Well, turnitin would flag you if you resubmitted, but i've never heard of the other one, since I only have to submit with turnitin. I wouldn't risk it since some universities class it as plagiarism, which usually earns you a fail grade for the assessment and maybe the entire subject if you're unlucky.

 

[WeAreStevo]

I wrote a paper several semesters ago that would be absolutely PERFECT for my current class with a few updates. I would like to reuse it, but I dont know if it would be considered academic dishonesty or not.


Also, just a related side question. Originally, I submitted it to a site called Turnitin.com and now I have to submit the new paper to something called SafeAssign. Would it flad it as plagiarized?

Please don't think I'm advocating cheating, I genuinely want to know the answer to this.

It's funny that you say this because I'm in the exact same predicament at this moment (complete with turnitin and everything 0_o)

Long story short, it will flag as plagiarized (mine did at least). Even though I would have loved to reuse my paper (I mean, hell...I wrote it...) I just used it as a reference and re-wrote the entire thing from a different perspective.

In the end, I felt better about it and it didn't flag as plagiarized because I actually saved all my sources in PDF on my computer

If you have the time, just re-write it while using the original to give you a rough outline

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

At my school... yeah, it's defined as academic dishonesty. You should ask your teacher.

 

[Jedoro]

Schools seem to hate it, which I think is crap. If you wrote the damn thing yourself, why can't you use it again?

 

[Jacco]

I wrote a paper several semesters ago that would be absolutely PERFECT for my current class with a few updates. I would like to reuse it, but I dont know if it would be considered academic dishonesty or not.


Also, just a related side question. Originally, I submitted it to a site called Turnitin.com and now I have to submit the new paper to something called SafeAssign. Would it flad it as plagiarized?

Please don't think I'm advocating cheating, I genuinely want to know the answer to this.

It's funny that you say this because I'm in the exact same predicament at this moment (complete with turnitin and everything 0_o)

Long story short, it will flag as plagiarized (mine did at least). Even though I would have loved to reuse my paper (I mean, hell...I wrote it...) I just used it as a reference and re-wrote the entire thing from a different perspective.

In the end, I felt better about it and it didn't flag as plagiarized because I actually saved all my sources in PDF on my computer

If you have the time, just re-write it while using the original to give you a rough outline

Are you saying that SafeAssign will flag it because Turnitin already knew about it? And what do you mean rewrite it from a different perspective?

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

As a college instructor: Using your paper over again is not turning in original work. That is one of the criteria we demand from our students.

Talk to your instructor about it. Most likely they will say what I would - use the basic research and ideas you had for the original paper and rewrite it. Make it a new paper, perhaps with some more research (newer sources, updated information) and rebuild it to be specific for the new class.

 

[FaceFaceFace]

Your assignment says you have to write a paper. If you wrote the paper before you ever got the assignment, then you haven't actually done the assignment. Ergo, it would be academic dishonesty. Just use the same sources, basic ideas and outline, etc. as the other paper. It'll still be tons easier than writing a new one from scratch.

 

[Matthew McDonald]

Could those people who say it's plagiarism please explain to me how you can plagiarise your own work?

Also when I was at university for every assignment I had to hand in there was a cover sheet which I had to sign to say it was all my own work blah, blah, blah... and that it was a piece of work which had not been submitted by myself previously for any other academic purpose.

 

[Normandyfoxtrot]

It's up to teachers digression mostly likely they will say no, but it's probably worth the attempt in asking.

 

[Jacco]

As a college instructor: Using your paper over again is not turning in original work. That is one of the criteria we demand from our students.

Talk to your instructor about it. Most likely they will say what I would - use the basic research and ideas you had for the original paper and rewrite it. Make it a new paper, perhaps with some more research (newer sources, updated information) and rebuild it to be specific for the new class.

Thats about what I thought.

Could you please give me an example of how I could make it a new paper?

 

[crudus]

There is a fine line to this. Let's suppose you write a paper about General George S. Patton Jr. for a history class(choose whatever reason you like). The next semester you you take another history class and just choose to write about Patton again. That would be academic dishonesty. It is also defeating the purpose of school in general. Now if the topics happen to coincide and you updated the sources, you may have a leg to stand on. It will probably be frowned upon.

 

[WeAreStevo]

I wrote a paper several semesters ago that would be absolutely PERFECT for my current class with a few updates. I would like to reuse it, but I dont know if it would be considered academic dishonesty or not.


Also, just a related side question. Originally, I submitted it to a site called Turnitin.com and now I have to submit the new paper to something called SafeAssign. Would it flad it as plagiarized?

Please don't think I'm advocating cheating, I genuinely want to know the answer to this.

It's funny that you say this because I'm in the exact same predicament at this moment (complete with turnitin and everything 0_o)

Long story short, it will flag as plagiarized (mine did at least). Even though I would have loved to reuse my paper (I mean, hell...I wrote it...) I just used it as a reference and re-wrote the entire thing from a different perspective.

In the end, I felt better about it and it didn't flag as plagiarized because I actually saved all my sources in PDF on my computer

If you have the time, just re-write it while using the original to give you a rough outline

Are you saying that SafeAssign will flag it because Turnitin already knew about it? And what do you mean rewrite it from a different perspective?

There's a chance that safeassign will flag it, but I've never used that site so I can't say for sure.

I do know however that my school is super cereal about plagerism and I can get kicked from my masters program for doing so.

For the second part, what I mean is like this:

I am writing a paper for a gerontological counseling class on elder care issues. I wrote a paper for a sexuality studies class on "sexuality in dementia care" where I examined the effects of policy in nursing homes and how it limits the rights of the clients with dementia.

Whereas that would be perfect for my current class, I'm going to keep the topic of sexuality in dementia care, but I will examine the issue from the perspective of how it personally affects the client and their partner as opposed to how I originally wrote the paper.

A lot of the information is the same, but I'm changing the perspective of the paper.

Hopefully that helps.

 

[targren]

Against the rules/"Academic dishonesty"? Most likely.

Plagiarism? Only by lazy/stupid people who don't know what the word means.

 

[WeAreStevo]

Could those people who say it's plagiarism please explain to me how you can plagiarise your own work?

Also when I was at university for every assignment I had to hand in there was a cover sheet which I had to sign to say it was all my own work blah, blah, blah... and that it was a piece of work which had not been submitted by myself previously for any other academic purpose.

It's because once it is submitted to a site like turnitin they save a copy. Even if you reuse portions of the paper from then on, you need to cite your original paper (hence why in major academic textbooks the author will commonly cite their own book when re-using a quote).

If you re-use the same paper, you're essentially plagiarizing yourself. It's stupid, but that's how it works..I think the stance of most universities and professors is that you need to do original work each time, because otherwise you could submit one sociology paper for almost every class because technically it could apply. (replace "sociology" with "_________" and you get the picture).

Again, I think it's a hassle, but I can see the logic.

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

As a college instructor: Using your paper over again is not turning in original work. That is one of the criteria we demand from our students.

Talk to your instructor about it. Most likely they will say what I would - use the basic research and ideas you had for the original paper and rewrite it. Make it a new paper, perhaps with some more research (newer sources, updated information) and rebuild it to be specific for the new class.

Thats about what I thought.

Could you please give me an example of how I could make it a new paper?

Well, without knowing the details of the paper and the class you are currently taking, I can only speak (er, type) in generalities.

Use your original thesis as a starting point and look at from the perspective of your current class. You can use that as your foundation.

Go back to your research and see if any sources have come up in the topic since you did the first paper. Perhaps some of the conclusions have changed. Or perhaps someone else has come up with a new perspective on the problem.

With the updated research and the newly re visioned thesis, you can build a new paper from the building blocks of the old one and make it truly original work.

This fulfills the criteria for not plagiarizing, allows you to create original work, and has the bonus benefit of allowing you to delve a little deeper into the subject matter and understand it even more.

Hopefully helpful

 

[Jacco]

Well, without knowing the details of the paper and the class you are currently taking, I can only speak (er, type) in generalities.

Use your original thesis as a starting point and look at from the perspective of your current class. You can use that as your foundation.

Go back to your research and see if any sources have come up in the topic since you did the first paper. Perhaps some of the conclusions have changed. Or perhaps someone else has come up with a new perspective on the problem.

With the updated research and the newly re visioned thesis, you can build a new paper from the building blocks of the old one and make it truly original work.

This fulfills the criteria for not plagiarizing, allows you to create original work, and has the bonus benefit of allowing you to delve a little deeper into the subject matter and understand it even more.

Hopefully helpful

Well, my problem is this (forgive me for the boring details you dont care about lol)

Three semesters ago I wrote a paper explaining and defending the thesis that Robert E Lee had a heart condition that affected his judgement at Gettysburg and thus caused the Confederacy to lose the battle.

This semester, I am taking a class all about the Civil War (the class is called The American Civil War). You can see why this would be a perfect paper for this specific class.

Any suggestions on how I might be able to apply what you explained?