Faked the word count

I know I shouldn't have done it but I had an assignment due and I could not reach the word count, a friend had told me how they had turned a paragraph of letters white to boost their word count, so I did it too (we are in different unis)
I'm in my second year and it has flagged up on Turnitin, will I be kicked out?

Reply 1

Bio 7

21

It will probably just be given some kind of penalty. If so then learn to not do that again, if you get something worse then still learn from it and realise you can’t go lying about academic work anymore, this isn’t school as a child and simple reports and tests.

Reply 2

999tigger

19

Original post by Anonymous

I know I shouldn't have done it but I had an assignment due and I could not reach the word count, a friend had told me how they had turned a paragraph of letters white to boost their word count, so I did it too (we are in different unis)
I'm in my second year and it has flagged up on Turnitin, will I be kicked out?

You didnt have enough so you used invisible words to boost it?

Bonkers. Just how many words did you need and how many did you fake?

Why couldn't you just have waffled or just made a few more points?

I suppose its some sort of fraud, but I would have just been smh at how inept it was.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 3

rHydEn_sLeeP

4

I don't think you will be kicked out, but you may just receive a bad grade? I've had friends do similar things before and they just had their grades lowered from a B to C. They might just penalise you for not reaching the word count instead. But that's just my school tho...In any case, just lean from this and not do it again I guess.

Reply 4

DrawTheLine

22

Original post by Anonymous

I know I shouldn't have done it but I had an assignment due and I could not reach the word count, a friend had told me how they had turned a paragraph of letters white to boost their word count, so I did it too (we are in different unis)
I'm in my second year and it has flagged up on Turnitin, will I be kicked out?

Is the word count a minimum for you instead of a maximum?

Reply 5

Anonymous #2

Original post by rHydEn_sLeeP

I don't think you will be kicked out, but you may just receive a bad grade? I've had friends do similar things before and they just had their grades lowered from a B to C. They might just penalise you for not reaching the word count instead. But that's just my school tho...In any case, just lean from this and not do it again I guess.

This is at uni so the consequences may be more grave.

Reply 6

StriderHort

21

Kicked out? no, but I'd expect to be dismissed as a complete idiot/timewaster, one of those 'Are you sure you're mature enough for this?' convos.

Reply 7

doodle_333

19

Original post by DrawTheLine

Is the word count a minimum for you instead of a maximum?

ours were always 'target' and you got 10% either way, so on a 2000 word essay you had to write 1800-2200 or you'd be penalised

OP you won't get kicked out but you may face a disciplinary and they'll probably reduce your grade as punishment, plus everyone in the department will think you're a cheat/idiot

Reply 8

bloomer36

18

Lol i've done this before and no one noticed. Got a 2.1 on the assignment.

Reply 9

Anonymous #1

OP

do you submit to turnitin?

Reply 10

PhoenixFortune

21

Lecturers are used to seeing assignments of a certain length. If it looks suspiciously short or has ridiculously large line spacing or font, they are going to flag it up. You must not have been thorough enough to meet the minimum word count.

Reply 11

cheesecakelove

20

Original post by Anonymous

I know I shouldn't have done it but I had an assignment due and I could not reach the word count, a friend had told me how they had turned a paragraph of letters white to boost their word count, so I did it too (we are in different unis)
I'm in my second year and it has flagged up on Turnitin, will I be kicked out?

I don't think you will be kicked out, but most likely be penalised marks. It isn't really a sensible thing to do. If you can't make the word count, it probably means you haven't explored enough sources or answered the question sufficiently. In future, rather than blanking out your words, review your essays to make sure they are the best they can be.

Reply 12

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

20

Original post by Anonymous

I know I shouldn't have done it but I had an assignment due and I could not reach the word count, a friend had told me how they had turned a paragraph of letters white to boost their word count, so I did it too (we are in different unis)
I'm in my second year and it has flagged up on Turnitin, will I be kicked out?

Probably wont be kicked out, depends on the lecturer as to what happens next. If they report it to the academic conduct panel, you will probably have a meeting investigation then a written warning and a mark penalty or fail, however this will be a permanent blemish on your academic record. If the lecturer is more laid back he might just dock u a few percentage marks himself and forget... youll just have to wait and find out

Reply 13

StriderHort

21

If I was the lecturer Id just start to mess with you, give everyone normal handouts and you blank sheets :rolleyes:

Reply 14

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader

22

And what advice would you like about Friends, family and work? :holmes:

Reply 15

999tigger

19

Still chuckling that someone was dim enough to do this, even worse getting into truble for it. Takes a special person to do that.
How long was the essay meant to be?
How much did you write?
How many words did you fake?