<p>Last week, I got caught copying my friend's homework for my physics class. But then, before getting caught, i asked him to write my rec letter, and he said he would. I asked him again today if he's uncomfortable writing my rec letter and he said if i still want his rec letter, he will be honest and maybe it's better to find someone else to write my rec letter. The problem is, my physics teacher is the one who knows a LOT about me and I don't want any generic rec letter... But then, now that i got caught cheating, I'm worried if he's gonna write anything negative about me..... What should i do? I heard rec letters usually have little to no effect, but im still worried. Please help me...</p>
<p>Let me get this straight. You want to get a bad recommendation from someone who knows you well and was recently disappointed in you and may even note exactly what the disappointment was, rather than chance that someone who doesn’t know you that well might write a good recommendation or at least a neutral recommendation.</p>
<p>DON’T do it. I had a friend in a similar spot, and he forced it, and the teacher honestly told him "I wrote you a poor recommendation.</p>
<p>Eh letters can have no effect, but a bad letter is uncommon so it would likely have a bad effect. Move on.</p>
<p>The point of a letter of reccomendation is that it highlights your strengths. If they can’t think of good things to write, teachers will flat out refuse to write it. Perhaps it will stop him from writing some of the good things he remembers about you, but if he is still agreeing to write it, he likely has a lot of good things to say. Copying homework is a futile offense. I wouldn’t worry much about it. It doesn’t seem like you are forcing it on him. What I will say is, letters of reccomendation are actually pretty important for a lot of schools. </p>
<p>If you are really scared and still feel this way by the end of the week, I would go ahead and ask someone else.</p>
<p>You’d be crazy to get a LOR from this teacher. It’d be the kiss of death. He already warned you: I’m going to be honest and you should ask someone else – i.e. your integrity situation will be mentioned.</p>
<p>Think about what he’s warning you about. Act accordingly. Save both of you the embarrassment. Move on to plan B</p>
<p>He already told you it would be better to find someone else. That’s not a hint, I would take his advice and move on.</p>
<p>Find someone else. You physics teacher has basically told you that he will not write a glowing recommendation…not only because you cheated, but because he may have thought you were a good student but now that is all in question because how long have you been cheating? </p>
<p>Someone who doesn’t know you well is better than someone who will write a negative letter.</p>
<p>that was the only time actually</p>
<p>@jayjaykk yes, but how is he supposed to know that? He can’t. If you cheated this times, how does he know you didn’t in the past? You’ve lost his trust. </p>
<p>@AnnieBeats I disagree that copying hw is not a big deal, but its personal opinion. I just want to offer an opposing view on it (not saying your view is wrong). </p>
<p>Copying hw suggests that you are worried about your grade and also suggests not learning your material. It also suggests that you may have cheated elsewhere, such as on tests. Also, at many colleges, this could get you expelled. I can’t speak of all honor codes at every college, but at mine, this is an offense that could get you expelled. Same with knowing about cheating and not reporting it. They take it very seriously, no matter how little the offense. If it breaks the honor code or the teacher’s specific rules, you go before the honor council. You get two strikes- first offense has many different possibilities, but if you make a second offense in your time at the school, no matter how small, you are automatically expelled. You need to never get in the habit of cheating on anything, not even hw.</p>
<p>Find someone else to write it.</p>
<p>Great advice. This is a no brainer. Move on to another teacher. The correct way to ask is “Would you write a strong (excellent, great, etc.) letter of recommendation for me?” Better off with no letter than a negative letter of recommendation. Good luck.</p>
<p>The teacher is telling you in not so many words that he will write a bad recommendation letter with information about how you cheated. Thank the teacher for his honesty and ask someone else immediately. A generic letter is far better than a bad one.</p>
<p>OP raised the point that letters often have no effect - and that’s true at your standard formula school like Big State U. In that case, getting a generic letter is better than getting a bad one, as they won’t be looked at very closely and at worst will look like the vast majority of letters. If you’re trying for something elite however, a great recommendation would have been very helpful and OP likely blew it - but as noted above, even in this case, a generic rec is better than a negative one. Move on.</p>
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I am flabbergasted that you still are wondering what to do after a teacher told you directly maybe it’s better to find someone else to write the letter. </p>
<p>NO.</p>
<p>@guineagirl96 Copying a few math problems where the correct answer is the same for everyone is different than copying an essay and calling it yours. Is copying hw in this case any different from having a tutor guide you through the problem and giving you the answer or going online and googling the steps to answer the question? I see your point though, but I still disagree. </p>
<p>Sorry buddy – find another recommendation. This teacher may write a recommendation that is mostly positive about you, but the teacher has already made it clear that he will mention the cheating and you do NOT want that.</p>
<p>@Momof2back2back The teacher didn’t say he would include it. Being honest is different than actually including it. Most teachers find copying hw to be annoying, but not that big of an offense. At least not at the high school level.</p>
<p>AnnieBeats - why do you keep pushing this? The teacher has made it clear that the student should get a recommendation elsewhere. Why risk it that the teacher “might” mean that he is just going to be “honest” (and why wouldn’t that include writing about the cheating?) as opposed to actually mentioning the cheating? And where is the evidence that teachers at the hs level find cheating to be merely annoying?</p>
<p>@AnnieBeats high school teachers don’t just find copying hw to be annoying. It has severe consequences even in high school. Most teachers will give you a zero on the assignment, but some will report you to the administration, which means you will get the same punishment as if you cheated on a quiz or a test. The honor code punishments don’t differentiate between types of cheating usually, just severity.</p>