53% Plagarism thru Turnitin.com is it time to confess

College Majors Science Majors
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<p>I made a horrific mistake, I am a transfer to UCI and I am currently in a 1 unit pass no pass biology writing course. As of late I have been diagnosed with prediabetes. My father passed few years ago due to diabetes. This has affected my academics. I had lost hope for myself, and also my academics. Academically, my ordeal has put me behind in my studies because of the inability to focus. I am currently failing 2 of my other classes because of this. We had a 3rd paper to write, and because of stresses with other classes and also with personal problems I had paraphrased my friend's paper whom took the class last year without his knowing. For example, he logged onto my computer and my computer saved his password. I had submitted the rough draft to turnitin.com and it matched 53% plagiarism. Now, I submitted the paper 3 days ago, and my professor has not contacted me. But, do you think it is wise I meet with her in person and come clean then me waiting for her to see that I have done academic dishonesty? I talked with the TA asking what % is academic dishonesty and she stated 40-50% is considered academic dishonesty. I can provide my professor with my father's death certificate and my lab work results. The reason why I would show my father's death certificate or my lab results is basically for proof. I want to come in with proof to back what I tell her. There is no justifiable excuse as to what I have done. I believe in life we all make mistakes, but it is about how we deal with them that matters and with this particular circumstance it has motivated me to believe in myself and work hard in school and to never give up. This is my first account of academic dishonesty and it certainly will be the last.</p>

<p>Thank you for your time reading this post and helpful responses will be very much appreciated.</p>

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<p>Once you submitted the paper you probably crossed into territory from which there is no escape. Even if the paper is not checked through turnitin, the fact that the paper was submitted for the same course at the same school only a year ago means your chances of it not being recognized and flagged are very low. I really do not think anything can be done about it now to avoid adverse consequences. The time to see your professor was before you submitted the paper. You could have asked for an extension on the due date for the paper and explained why you needed more time and the professor might have been sympathetic. At this point there is really nothing you can do now that you have submitted the paper.</p>

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<p>At this point, it is up to the professor and the school’s policy on plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Since it is a first offense, the consequences may not be severe, but colleges are understandably very strict with this sort of thing, regardless of whether or not it is a first offense.</p>

<p>There is really nothing you can do but wait it out.</p>