Future CMU student here. I am about to graduate from high school, but my foreign language teacher accused me of academic dishonesty–a.k.a. either plagiarism or the use of Google Translate ( not a source we’re supposed to use for direct translation in writing). I am 100% I did not plagiarize on my foreign language essay as I cited all my sources, and even if I did use Google Translate it wasn’t to copy-and-paste an English essay to the language, it was more to find word genders. My teacher said there was a “disruption in narrative flow” with a “voice that is definitely not yours.” I’m not sure what I should do because if this does happen to go through I’m afraid of getting rescinded. I haven’t gotten into any other trouble in school, and my grades are perfectly fine. Even throughout middle school and high school I’ve never been accused of academic dishonesty.
So far I’ve sent her an email and she told me to come in and meet with her. If this situation does happen to go downhill, is there any possibility I could get rescinded?
I’m sure more experienced posters will chime in, but I wanted to say that I think it’s likely that your teacher just wants to talk to you and you will be able to explain yourself. Was this a personal essay or an essay about literature? As a former Spanish teacher, I don’t think beginners in a language have a “voice” or individual style. They sound like Americans speaking/writing in a language other than English. Maybe you used a phrase or vocabulary word that you didn’t know but looked up. If you remember your thought process and what you looked up, that could be helpful so the teacher can understand.
Thanks 3SailAway! I’m not quite sure what he/she were referencing either. I’m in an AP foreign language class and the project was a final project elaborating about an artist, their biography, and an analysis of one of their paintings. The situation actually go resolved today and I don’t think I’ll get reported or anything, so I should be good.
I’m glad it got resolved. Sometimes teachers flag something suspicious and it turns out to be no big deal.
Thank you! I’m very relieved as well 