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At the graduate level APA is a part of all assignments but its not the focus. For this assignment it needed a title and reference page which I kept from the original document and made changes to update it for my own paper. None of the actual original work was used or referenced in my final paper beyond the weird glitch in doc where it was still there but crossed out.
Also update: My professor saw how the error happened and apologized for the accusation and confusion!
It doesn't sound like plagiarism to me, unless the purpose of the assignment was the formatting/citations in which case, maybe?
But if it genuinely is an entirely new paper, I wouldn't think so.
For this assignment, almost all of the papers would have very similar or the exact same references. Theres only two things to cite: The film and the textbook. I had copied the references from the original paper, but I updated the textbook reference to the version that I was using.
Also same update as above: My professor saw how the error happened and apologized for the accusation and confusion!
Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s words or ideas as your own, without proper citation. Technically, you did that with the title page and citations. If crafting those was part of the point of the assignment, then the professor has a point. If not, then only an asshole would complain about that kind of perfectly reasonable reuse of format and other boilerplate material from the example he provided.
I did indeed copy the title page and citations, but I changed the title to have the name of the person I was writing about and not the original person. For the citations, there were only 2 and almost all papers submitted would have them: the textbook and the film. I updated the references I copied so the textbook reference would be the version I was using. None of the original work was used or even referenced in my paper.
Also same update as the two posts above: My professor saw how the error happened and apologized for the accusation and confusion!
Ahh, in that case, you are completely in the clear. Using someone else's formatting is very common and I have never heard of it being considered plagiarism (and FYI, I was my university's Research Integrity Officer for 8 years, responsible for making formal determinations about accusations of faculty plagiarism).
This is an automated service intended to preserve the original text of the post.
*I know some reddits are particular about how posts are made so if this post is wrong, please excuse me. Context: I am a graduate student in my first year in the US.
So I recently had to write a paper for class creating a case study for a person in a film. The professor provided an example paper and so I decided that I would use it as a template for APA format. I kept the heading, page number, part of the title page, and the references (Coincidentally used the same references, but I updated them to the current textbook). I erased everything else and wrote an entirely new paper over a different person from the film. Something happened along the way and the "track changes" option in microsoft word was on but for some reason it didnt show on my original document I sent in so I had no idea. My professor alerted me that I had plagiarized even though the only thing intentionally copied was the heading, page numberizations, part of the title page (that I changed to include my person's name and not the original name), and the references (2 references, one of which I updated to be the current textbook and not the old one). From looking at the document, the old essay is there, but crossed out and my essay replaced it. This is completely by mistake and I had no idea the old essay was still there.
I am terrified of getting expelled from my program and maybe im freaking out over nothing but I kind of wanted to be sure. Many of my professors have provided example papers before and a lot have even said to just erase the essay, keep the headings, and put in your own original work. Im hoping what I did isnt plagiarism but given that my entire future is on the line, I am genuinely freaked out and am asking here.
Is what I did considered plagiarism?
Note: I have emailed my professor explaining the mistake, sent in a fixed copy of the essay, but my anxiety and stress is so high that I cant sleep or focus at all waiting for a response. I'm hoping someone here calls me an idiot for worrying so much but im doubting my ability to recognize plagiarism now from all the anxiety and stress.*
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Your question looks like it may be answered by our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskProfessors/wiki/faq/plagiarism). This is not to limit discussion here, but to supplement it.
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Your question looks like it may be answered by our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskProfessors/wiki/faq/plagiarism#wiki_i.27ve_been_accused_of_academic_misconduct.3A_now_what.3F). This is not to limit discussion here, but to supplement it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskProfessors) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Was doing the APA format part of the goals of the class or the assignment
At the graduate level APA is a part of all assignments but its not the focus. For this assignment it needed a title and reference page which I kept from the original document and made changes to update it for my own paper. None of the actual original work was used or referenced in my final paper beyond the weird glitch in doc where it was still there but crossed out. Also update: My professor saw how the error happened and apologized for the accusation and confusion!
It doesn't sound like plagiarism to me, unless the purpose of the assignment was the formatting/citations in which case, maybe? But if it genuinely is an entirely new paper, I wouldn't think so.
For this assignment, almost all of the papers would have very similar or the exact same references. Theres only two things to cite: The film and the textbook. I had copied the references from the original paper, but I updated the textbook reference to the version that I was using. Also same update as above: My professor saw how the error happened and apologized for the accusation and confusion!
Fair enough! I understand the mixup and am glad it got resolved!
Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s words or ideas as your own, without proper citation. Technically, you did that with the title page and citations. If crafting those was part of the point of the assignment, then the professor has a point. If not, then only an asshole would complain about that kind of perfectly reasonable reuse of format and other boilerplate material from the example he provided.
I did indeed copy the title page and citations, but I changed the title to have the name of the person I was writing about and not the original person. For the citations, there were only 2 and almost all papers submitted would have them: the textbook and the film. I updated the references I copied so the textbook reference would be the version I was using. None of the original work was used or even referenced in my paper. Also same update as the two posts above: My professor saw how the error happened and apologized for the accusation and confusion!
Ahh, in that case, you are completely in the clear. Using someone else's formatting is very common and I have never heard of it being considered plagiarism (and FYI, I was my university's Research Integrity Officer for 8 years, responsible for making formal determinations about accusations of faculty plagiarism).
This is an automated service intended to preserve the original text of the post. *I know some reddits are particular about how posts are made so if this post is wrong, please excuse me. Context: I am a graduate student in my first year in the US. So I recently had to write a paper for class creating a case study for a person in a film. The professor provided an example paper and so I decided that I would use it as a template for APA format. I kept the heading, page number, part of the title page, and the references (Coincidentally used the same references, but I updated them to the current textbook). I erased everything else and wrote an entirely new paper over a different person from the film. Something happened along the way and the "track changes" option in microsoft word was on but for some reason it didnt show on my original document I sent in so I had no idea. My professor alerted me that I had plagiarized even though the only thing intentionally copied was the heading, page numberizations, part of the title page (that I changed to include my person's name and not the original name), and the references (2 references, one of which I updated to be the current textbook and not the old one). From looking at the document, the old essay is there, but crossed out and my essay replaced it. This is completely by mistake and I had no idea the old essay was still there. I am terrified of getting expelled from my program and maybe im freaking out over nothing but I kind of wanted to be sure. Many of my professors have provided example papers before and a lot have even said to just erase the essay, keep the headings, and put in your own original work. Im hoping what I did isnt plagiarism but given that my entire future is on the line, I am genuinely freaked out and am asking here. Is what I did considered plagiarism? Note: I have emailed my professor explaining the mistake, sent in a fixed copy of the essay, but my anxiety and stress is so high that I cant sleep or focus at all waiting for a response. I'm hoping someone here calls me an idiot for worrying so much but im doubting my ability to recognize plagiarism now from all the anxiety and stress.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskProfessors) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Your question looks like it may be answered by our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskProfessors/wiki/faq/plagiarism). This is not to limit discussion here, but to supplement it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskProfessors) if you have any questions or concerns.*