Notes

I disagree with the claim that "students are surprisingly unclear about what constitutes plagiarism or cheating." Students are very familiar with the fine line that constitutes cheating, “but more and more, there are students at the top who cheat to thrive”  because of the pressure put on by family and school to achieve good grades, whether or not they actually gain any knowledge. The constant burden, along with the extensive amount of work and extra curricular activities piled on, creates an environment for the student where cheating is the less stressful, easy way out. Cheating is always wrong because not only is it an inaccurate representation of one's work, but it also takes away from he students who actually it the time and effort into their work. The student who cheats is getting an easy "A", whereas the student who was cheated off of has the same grade, but is not able to excel because they are seen as average now. There is also the fact that some students have the answers beforehand, leaving those who studied the material, rather than the answers, with the lower grades. This issue further condones cheating because those who worked for their grades must cheat in order to become level with those who already cheat.