What's Wrong With Cheating?

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In a poll taken at Iowa State University, 53% of the upper-class students cheated on a test or plagiarized a paper while at Iowa State, 91% know someone who has, and 18% know someone who has been punished for cheating. (Bishop) What is driving this increase in academic dishonesty, and what are the effects of an academic career that thrives on cheating? There are numerous reasons why people cheat, but, regardless of whether they get caught or not, there are negative consequences.

The motives students have for cheating are varied. No matter what the individual reason for someone to be tempted to cheat, their motives can generally be categorized as either based on a fear of failure or pressure to perform. Whether the student simply forgot to study and still desires a good grade, is afraid that they aren’t intelligent enough to pass without cheating, or is too lazy to do the work required to succeed, the underlying cause is a fear of failure or from pressure to perform.

Once the line is crossed, and temptations become actions, there are other factors that come into play. In our current society, strong ethics are not highly valued. There is a prevalent attitude that claims: everybody is doing it, it doesn’t hurt anybody, and this material isn’t really important to me. These people don’t possess a profound and thorough understanding of how cheating will harm them. We are consumed with the concept of instant gratification. Our society is near-sighted. Technology makes cheating so easy and convenient, but we often can’t perceive what the long term effects will be if that line between working for your grade and taking the easy way out is crossed.

Most people believe that the consequences of cheating are co...

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..., fear of receiving a low grade, or pure laziness, the results of cheating are severe. Even though getting caught and corrected may seem like the most obvious consequence of cheating, it almost seems insignificant when compared to the alternative. In reality, ramifications of getting away with repeated cheating are even more daunting. Maybe if students understood all the implications of cheating then it would not be considered as an option.

Works Cited

What's wrong with cheating? Professor Michael Bishop

Chair of the Iowa State University Department of Philosophy and Religion http://dsa.csupomona.edu/judicialaffairs/whatswrong.asp

What are the causes and effects of cheating on an exam? https://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=14078

Cause and Effect Essay - Plagiarism and Cheating

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080218113757AAxt2cx

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