The Student Room Group

Re writing an essay close to graduation

I may have to re write one of my essays due to plagiarism however I graduate in one month, how will re writing this essay affect this and will I still be able to graduate in a month?
Also has anyone else had an allegation of plagiarism if so any advice for the meeting?,
Thank you
I don't have any experience with plagiarism meetings but I believe if your results are confirmed prior to graduation then it shouldn't have an effect. But if you have to submit it within a resit period you will have to attend a different graduation ceremony.
You will not be graduating in July with your friends. If you submit your resit paper, it can take up to 3 working weeks to be marked. Then you will need to wait for the next exam board meeting - probably in August/Sept before the mark can be approved by the exam board. Thus you will graduate in Nov.

In exceptional circumstances, the Chair of the exam board - the UG programme director - can take 'Chair's action' outside of the exam board but this has to be approved by the external examiner and the department's academic compliance team. Frankly, if you are having to resit the assessment for plagiarism then this would not count as exceptional circumstances. You cheated, you got caught and are having to redo the work. Why should a university bend over backwards and rush its processes just so you can graduate with your mates?
CAN i ask how long you waited to find out you had to resit it?

im on the EXACT same boat - it was my last ever essay ( submitted late march) but i had my dissertation due a week later ( and still had like 3k of it to write) and another essay due the same day as the essay i have been accused of 'plagiarising' .


its been exactly four weeks since i received an email stating that its been under review due to a high percentage on turnitin which has 'indicated potential plagiarism' , got told its been handed over to the head of the departments to review and 'it could take weeks'.

i have heard literally nothing at all since. and now im worrying :/ especially since we are suppose to get our degree results in two weeks!

for the record , i did not plagiarise - i admit to using way more direct citations that i should have but thats cause i was stressed about the diss and the other essay, and the turnitin score was 30%. i have also never ever once been accused of it the whole four years i have been here.

im just hoping that can see that all the citations have caused the high percentage have been accurately cited and came from academic sources directly sourced by me from the library and google scholar.

( sorry for ranting - im just really worried :/)
Reply 4
Original post by therock1234
CAN i ask how long you waited to find out you had to resit it?

imon the EXACT same boat - it was my last ever essay ( submitted late march) but i had my dissertation due a week later ( and still had like 3k of it to write) and another essay due the same day as the essay i have been accused of 'plagiarising' .


its been exactly four weeks since i received an email stating that its been under review due to a high percentage on turnitin which has 'indicated potential plagiarism' , got told its been handed over to the head of the departments to review and 'it could take weeks'.

i have heard literally nothing at all since. and now im worrying :/ especially since we are suppose to get our degree results in two weeks!

for the record , i did not plagiarise - i admit to using way more direct citations that i should have but thats cause i was stressed about the diss and the other essay, and the turnitin score was 30%. i have also never ever once been accused of it the whole four years i have been here.

im just hoping that can see that all the citations have caused the high percentage have been accurately cited and came from academic sources directly sourced by me from the library and google scholar.

( sorry for ranting - im just really worried :/)


Hi,

I’m really sorry this is happening to you as well,
I’m also in the same boat as I have not plagiarised any of my assignment but the turn it in system is shocking,
I haven’t been told as of yet that I need to resist I’m just trying to think ahead in case that’s what they ask of me but I have been told to attend a meeting next week the the head of the module to ‘explain’ myself.

But I’m in exactly the same boat as you that in my whole 4 years I have never been accused of this and I did not plagiarise any of my essay and I just honestly don’t know what to do now, hence asking questions on here but I hope this can be sorted before graduation and results day,

I really hope everything goes well with yours and if you need to talk I’m here
Reply 5
Original post by mike23mike
You will not be graduating in July with your friends. If you submit your resit paper, it can take up to 3 working weeks to be marked. Then you will need to wait for the next exam board meeting - probably in August/Sept before the mark can be approved by the exam board. Thus you will graduate in Nov.

In exceptional circumstances, the Chair of the exam board - the UG programme director - can take 'Chair's action' outside of the exam board but this has to be approved by the external examiner and the department's academic compliance team. Frankly, if you are having to resit the assessment for plagiarism then this would not count as exceptional circumstances. You cheated, you got caught and are having to redo the work. Why should a university bend over backwards and rush its processes just so you can graduate with your mates?


Thank you for your reply, however you really do not know the circumstances or actually what’s happened, so next time can you try to not be so rude and judgemental when you reply to someone on here
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by A-z123
Thank you for your reply, however you really do not know the circumstances or actually what’s happened, so next time can you try to not be so rude and judgemental when you reply to someone on here


You stated, "I may have to re write one of my essays due to plagiarism".
Quoting from Oxford University, "Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement."
Original post by therock1234
CAN i ask how long you waited to find out you had to resit it?

im on the EXACT same boat - it was my last ever essay ( submitted late march) but i had my dissertation due a week later ( and still had like 3k of it to write) and another essay due the same day as the essay i have been accused of 'plagiarising' .


its been exactly four weeks since i received an email stating that its been under review due to a high percentage on turnitin which has 'indicated potential plagiarism' , got told its been handed over to the head of the departments to review and 'it could take weeks'.

i have heard literally nothing at all since. and now im worrying :/ especially since we are suppose to get our degree results in two weeks!

for the record , i did not plagiarise - i admit to using way more direct citations that i should have but thats cause i was stressed about the diss and the other essay, and the turnitin score was 30%. i have also never ever once been accused of it the whole four years i have been here.

im just hoping that can see that all the citations have caused the high percentage have been accurately cited and came from academic sources directly sourced by me from the library and google scholar.

( sorry for ranting - im just really worried :/)

30% is a high Turnitin score. If the check of your work is done - which you can do yourself via Turnitin - and it's seen that you have used lots of quotes BUT referenced the source and put the quote in quotation marks then no further steps will be taken. The Turnitin system will have picked up the direct quotes you used and flagged them.

However, if you have paraphrased other people's work and not acknowledged them as the source then that is considered plagiarism. The penalty could range from a slap on the wrist to getting a zero and having to resubmit. If your mark is capped at 40% then that will impact your overall grade point average.

There is a set system in place at every university for investigating suspected acts of plagiarism - see the policy from Nottingham Uni as an example. Please find the policy document for your uni and read it. Normally, if you have been informed of a suspected act of plagiarism then the uni should interview you within a reasonable time after that - 5-20 days after you have been notified. That date should be shared in advance - you cannot be told to attend a day before the meeting. The uni is required to provide the evidence it has collected that has led the dept to accuse you of plagiarism so that you can 'prepare your case'. Once the evidence is presented, respond in writing since you will be flustered talking about it; better to have your points written down. You are also entitled to bring someone else to the misconduct interview - if it gets to that. Take a friend, they are detached and can make points you may have missed. Better still, take your union rep who can support you.
(edited 1 year ago)
Yes if you correctly cited Everything then it’s not plagiarism.

It may well be poor academic writing as too much h quotes and too little of own ideas but that’s a grading decision, rather than plagiarism.
Original post by mike23mike
You stated, "I may have to re write one of my essays due to plagiarism".
Quoting from Oxford University, "Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement.

‘I may have’ is the key words in that sentence as I have not plagiarised any of my essay as everything in my essay is cited, it’s just the Turnitin system is shocking.
Definitions of plagiarism aside, generally if you have to resubmit an assignment or resit an exam you won't be graduating with others because the results won't be confirmed until later in the summer. Some unis may permit you to attend the graduation and just give you an empty envelope, but I don't know how widespread this practice is (and it may really be limited to certain cases where they believe you will be graduating in the end?).
Suspicion of plagiarism is always investigated, there is a procedure which will take a number of weeks. Even if it is not proven, this will hold up the processing of your final grades as deadlines for summer graduation are pretty strict.
A high Turnitin % is not enough in itself as evidence of plagiarism - each "match" has to be cross-checked. It may be that an essay is over-reliant on long direct quotes but if they are referenced, this is not plagiarism but rather poor academic practice (and your mark would be graded down accordingly). There is also a style of writing essays which integrates lots of short quotes into your argument which can be a very effective academic writing style as it demonstrates engagement with the literature.
I would assume/hope that the tutors marking these assignments have ruled out the non-plagiarism explanation before launching an investigation. If they haven't, you have a strong defence.
Original post by mike23mike
30% is a high Turnitin score. If the check of your work is done - which you can do yourself via Turnitin - and it's seen that you have used lots of quotes BUT referenced the source and put the quote in quotation marks then no further steps will be taken. The Turnitin system will have picked up the direct quotes you used and flagged them.

However, if you have paraphrased other people's work and not acknowledged them as the source then that is considered plagiarism. The penalty could range from a slap on the wrist to getting a zero and having to resubmit. If your mark is capped at 40% then that will impact your overall grade point average.

There is a set system in place at every university for investigating suspected acts of plagiarism - see the policy from Nottingham Uni as an example. Please find the policy document for your uni and read it. Normally, if you have been informed of a suspected act of plagiarism then the uni should interview you within a reasonable time after that - 5-20 days after you have been notified. That date should be shared in advance - you cannot be told to attend a day before the meeting. The uni is required to provide the evidence it has collected that has led the dept to accuse you of plagiarism so that you can 'prepare your case'. Once the evidence is presented, respond in writing since you will be flustered talking about it; better to have your points written down. You are also entitled to bring someone else to the misconduct interview - if it gets to that. Take a friend, they are detached and can make points you may have missed. Better still, take your union rep who can support you.

thats the thing - i havnt been asked to come in? its been over 4 weeks since i received the email about it ( the ONLY email i received about it) and thats it. i did email a reply right away explaining that i didn't do it and explained why the score was high, and the lectured replied it will take weeks and its the heads of the departments doing it so that i will have wait and see the outcome.

my degree results are out the 16th. do you think its a good or bad thing that they haven't contacted me about meeting? like i reread over the essay after the email and its clear i just used more citations that i should have ( and its obvious to me that this isn't plagiarised work) so im hoping they haven't asked me to come in and meet cause they can see the situation and see that i have not plagiarised?

idk its freaking me out now that everyone has been asked to meetings and i have not even had one single email about it in over 4 weeks :/

i wish i contact someone about it at uni to ask for update cause i feel like they have literally forgotten about me lol ( my lecturer made it clear not to contact her about it)
I’d contact your student union to ask for advice on timescales and who to chase for an update.
I would contact your School Administrator and/or Programme Leader for an update on this. Ring them and email.

Also, check the uni regulations, the plagiarism procedure will be set out, including time frames. You should have access to a copy online.
Original post by Anonymous
‘I may have’ is the key words in that sentence as I have not plagiarised any of my essay as everything in my essay is cited, it’s just the Turnitin system is shocking.

In what way is it shocking. At Cambridge, I could run a draft assignment through Turnitin. You can check boxes to exclude bibliography and quotes. With those excluded, your score should drop significantly. Then I used to go into the report and look at where it says it’s similar. If it’s ten sources with 1 or2% similarity, ok. If it’s two sources with maybe 10% you have an issue.
Original post by mike23mike
You will not be graduating in July with your friends. If you submit your resit paper, it can take up to 3 working weeks to be marked. Then you will need to wait for the next exam board meeting - probably in August/Sept before the mark can be approved by the exam board. Thus you will graduate in Nov.

In exceptional circumstances, the Chair of the exam board - the UG programme director - can take 'Chair's action' outside of the exam board but this has to be approved by the external examiner and the department's academic compliance team. Frankly, if you are having to resit the assessment for plagiarism then this would not count as exceptional circumstances. You cheated, you got caught and are having to redo the work. Why should a university bend over backwards and rush its processes just so you can graduate with your mates?

i doubt she cheated, more like they didnt reference it properly

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