2016-06-09 Writing: opinions about cheating

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk
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Homework: p. 159 - add commas to the four paragraphs.

In a list, it is optional to have a comma before “and” for the last item. This comma is called the Oxford comma or the serial comma.
“My dog hangs his head, drops his tail(,) and looks up at me with sad eyes.”
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What are some examples of cheating at school?
- copying someone else’s homework
- looking at another person’s test (or keeping your notes or phone, etc., out for a test)
- passing papers to other students that include the answers
- changing your test or paper with another student’s
- stealing the answers to a test before taking it
- copying text from another writer and presenting as your own words
	(This is called plagiarism, and you can be kicked out of a university if you do it.)
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p. 165-166 practice 1 - Read the article about how schools should punish cheaters.
Do you think the school’s punishment is reasonable, or too harsh? Why?

Reasonable because:
- it’s the rule and everyone has to follow the rules
- he already knew about the rule and signed an honesty statement
- the school needs to show other students that cheating is not acceptable

Too harsh because:
- it was just homework, not a test or term paper
- the school should give a second chance for the student to improve
	(They should give a warning first, instead of making him drop the class.)
- Other options include making the student take the level again or give him a temporary suspension from school or detention.
- The punishment will make it impossible to get into a top university, which has consequences for the rest of his life.
- It’s unreasonable to punish this student and not the classmate whose homework was copied.
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Homework: read the article on p. 168-169 and answer the 4 questions on p. 169