I was utterly shocked and confused when I received an email from the teacher alleging that I have plagiarized my assignment. I wish to make it clear that I did not plagiarize my assignment. The assignment was done independently by myself and I submitted the same by 10:00pm on October 2nd 2021. However, I believe it was my negligence that created conditions for others to plagiarize my work before the same was evaluated. I will guide you through the events that transpired soon after 10:00pm on October 2nd 2021, which events I truly believe have led to the allegation of plagiarism. All the evidence mentioned below is true, the relevant Chinese evidence has been translated by a third-party translation agency, and the evidence materials marked in parentheses can be found in the folder.
First, I wish to state that rules are there not to restrict, but to grant freedom to what is right. I am an individual who abides by rules and regulations not only in school, but also in my personal life. I do not engage in acts of plagiarism and neither do I contribute to others plagiarizing. This is not good for me or my classmates. Allowing others to easily obtain the fruits of my own labor is a disrespect to efforts in the learning process.
I admit that I shared the code.
As stated above, I independently worked on this assignment. The same was submitted before the deadline set for 10:00pm on October 2nd 2021. After 10:00pm, the very same day I noted the output did not match my expectations. My curiosity got the best of me and I began to contemplate what went wrong and how to fix it. I shared my problem with a fellow classmate and they suggested they might have a solution to the problem. It was proposed that I share the code with them and they will modify the code so as to perfect the output. I thought it was feasible and accepted to share the contents of the assignment (see evidence X for the dialogue record).
I agreed to share the code with my classmate for the following reasons: –
- Both my classmate and I had already submitted our respective assignments and it was well past the deadline to be concerned over potential threats of copying. Plus I was very curious to find a solution to my problem and I was sure that my classmate would help to broaden my understanding of the problem at hand.
- Given the output was slow and imperfect, it was doubtful anyone would be interested in a code that was lacking in quality.
- I have had several opportunities to work in a team with my fellow classmates and the teacher would often allow the team assignments to count as a group cooperation (see chat evidence X). Although it was past the deadline, I believed we could obtain permission from the teacher or teaching assistant to have the perfected code counted as a group effort to get a grade.
In addition to sharing the contents of my assignment, I also shared my notes with my classmates to help them understand the projection of the rotating marble and convex hull. The notes are based on a video lecture provided by the teacher. Although the notes are in Chinese, the content of the notes actually corresponds to the content of the teacher’s lecture. The screenshots used in the notes are also from the teacher’s lecture. I was not aware that sharing notes and assignments (after submission) was forbidden. I believed there was no restriction given that the lecture videos are publicly available for the entire class to enjoy.
Before receiving the email, I had already proactively confirmed and avoided the possibility of plagiarism, and mistakenly thought that these behaviors could protect my code.
After sharing the contents of my code with my classmate, I awaited their response before requesting permission to do a group assignment. On October 8, 2021, I began to grow concerned because I had not received any invitation from my classmates to form a team and set me as a code co-contributor. I was also not notified to make a formal application to the teacher to modify the submitted work. It was unusual behavior because my classmate and I have teamed up in groups many times. This has been most convenient because we are roommates and therefore available to share ideas at any time. Also, it is important to note that my classmate has always been able to gain access to my computer.
The very same day, I came to learn that the commit time of the GitHub code can be manually modified by the person submitting the code. It is a frightening possibility that my classmate may have modified the code I shared, uploaded the modified code which contains remnants of my code, and thereafter modify the time when their work was submitted to github through methods such as git commit –amend –date. Through such manipulation of the system, it is possible to mislead the teachers and teaching assistants that the work was submitted in good time. Thus, work submitted after the deadline does not guarantee it will be rejected.
I believe that as an author, I have the responsibility to protect my work from being plagiarized. This is also the protection of academic rigor. Even if part of it is borrowed, credit for contribution should always be given. I engaged the teaching assistant to confirm whether any assignment were modified to include my work. I pointed out my discoveries with respect to github and that I suspect that the code of my classmate and I will have similarities. I requested the teaching assistant to confirm the original author of the code on GitHub. If there is a situation where my code is used, the classmate should list me as a co-author on his account, that is, set a fork, and I will be shown as a co-submitter on the github website, which also distinguishes my contribution. Unfortunately, my request was denied.（See evidence of chat log X）
The requirements of A4 homework can be either individual homework or group homework. At that time, I thought whether it should be counted as a group homework should depend on whether others have used my results. If others have not used my code, then there is no need to set up a reference, therefore meaning there is no need to inform the teacher that we need to change to group work. Thus, when I confronted my classmate on October 8th, I received a response stating that my code was not used. In further response I mentioned that “I don’t think it is necessary if there is no overlap anyway.” But clearly, I was wrong to think so.
Reflection on this matter
This incident happened more than two months ago, and before receiving the email. I had always been confident in my ability to prepare and submit original and authentic work. However, this incident has dealt a heavy blow to me, and it is only now that I realize my mistake. During this period of time, I reflected extensively on the A4 days. I have read through a lot of materials and also uploaded them hoping to help the school’s investigation of the facts. Given that I am the author of the A4 code, the teacher’s accusation should be due to the convenience of plagiarism for others and not that I myself plagiarized.
I must admit that this matter is a profound lesson for me. I was shocked and sad to receive academic warnings, because in my academic life I never thought that I would never be a victim/perpetrator of plagiarism. Since the teacher found out that I might be plagiarized, this is inseparable from the methods I employed to protect academic creations, but nonetheless this is a lesson I must learn from.
I am a prudent and rule-abiding individual. I work hard to earn my grades and taking shortcuts is not something I entertain as it would stifle my academic growth. Each time I submit an assignment, I take steps to make sure the next assignment will be will be far better. This is my personal method for making progress and growth. I strive to pursue academic excellence and as a consequence I have always maintained good academic track record. For example, in the last semester, I kept the total grade point of full marks; in the two exams of another challenging course CS411 this semester, I got full marks; in 597 every time I work, I seriously take notes and carefully consider the knowledge whenever I review them. I have never once attempted to use another person’s work to earn good academic results. It has all come through my own determined efforts. As I learn this lesson, I realize now that what I have done is not enough. While ensuring that we do not plagiarize, we have the responsibility to ensure that we are not plagiarized by others. We need to maintain the purity of the academic environment.
This is the first time I have come to the United States this semester. I understand the institution’s rules and regulations are there to protect the best interest of the student. I have come to understand that the American style of education strongly encourages mutual cooperation and learning among students. For this reason, I have always believed that communication between students can promote learning and growth instead of often seeking help from teaching assistants. To reflect that spirit, the A4 assignment can be attempted as an individual assignment or as a group assignment.
I naively shared my assignment and code mistakenly believing that a group assignment should be based on someone else using my code, but it never crossed my mind that sharing my code would introduce multiple complications and threats to my academic studies. After receiving my classmate’s response that she did not use my code, I took that to be the absolute truth. I didn’t realize that other people’s responses were not necessarily reflection of the facts. I took it for granted that I could share my thoughts after everyone had handed in their homework, but after studying the school rules and regulations, I regrettably realized that this kind of thinking was wrong.
First of all, this will give students who plagiarize homework an opportunity to present work that is not theirs and therefore hindering the academic growth of others. Also, it will cause unnecessary complications for teachers when grading homework. I now realize that I am responsible for my own predicament, although it was not intended as it has transpired. I sincerely apologize for the unnecessary complications that my behavior caused the teacher and the teaching assistant. I will take the necessary actions to protect my labor results more strictly in the future and avoid the possibility of plagiarism.
I have carefully studied the syllabus and I realize that the best way to handle a similar matter is to first confirm with classmates whether to cooperate and ask each contributor to prepare their own code before sharing our respective codes. Regardless of the time, no matter how good or bad your code is, do not share homework with classmates, nor discuss homework. Whenever I lack clear direction, I will reach out to the teaching assistant and teacher for their experienced guidance. In my previous studies, I did not copy the results of others, but it is equally important to protect my homework from being copied by others. The academic rigor needs to be maintained absolutely.
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