Could you be accused of plagiarism in an exam?

Basically with my history exams, there is a bunch of good material from various textbooks for which I have committed to memory written well so my thinking is that I can use it to advance my arguments. Unlike coursework, this is copied or pasted but rather me regurgitating stuff, picking and choosing good historical opinions. Is this alright with examiners?

Reply 1

sophiamarni

i memorised 4 exempar essays from a english text book and got an A* in the exam you will be fine

Reply 2

999tigger

Interesting question.

This is from Cambridge
Plagiarism in invigilated examinations
Collusion (perhaps by candidates exchanging notes) is extremely rare in invigilated examinations. This is clearly an offence which would be reported immediately to the Proctors. The most common forms of plagiarism in invigilated exams are:
Reproducing material committed to memory

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Overview: some candidates are able to learn many pages of text by heart. Those brought up with rote learning often don't realise that reproducing such material in a written examination constitutes plagiarism if it is reproduced without attribution. In technical subjects this might be described as 'bookwork' and be perfectly acceptable. In other subjects, Examiners may regard this as plagiarism.

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Suggestions for staff and examiners: local guidance should make it clear that plagiarism can occur in written examinations and explain how candidates should acknowledge sources in such examinations. Examiners are strongly advised to include an appropriate rubric on the front pages of examination papers.

So yes its possible if your memorising and passing someones work off as your own. I think it would be very hard to identify and check though. I cna see how they check coursework if its in electronic format.

Reply 3

Abstract_Prism

Why don't you say something like 'This viewpoint is supported by Historian X, who advocates the claim that XYZ...'?

Reply 4

Matilda_Lo

Oh, yes I was! Once my teacher of the history of the English language decided to make a spot test. It was a kind of mind-terror: firstly, she asked hundreds of questions and then showed each student essay-plagiarism report from Unplag with highlighted text matches. I had 65% and it was my the darkest day. On penalty of being expelled, I had to rewrite all my essays and assignments.