<p>With the new semester already underway, I'm trying to get rid of some of the junk I've accumulated in the last semester. I've come to find that most of this junk consists of papers. It's easy to toss all of the old fliers/coupons/promos/etc., but when it comes to academic work I'm a bit hesitant. I considered digitizing some documents, but it seems like overkill and too much work. For the math/science courses I know it may be relevant to keep some old tests/quizzes/assignments, but what about everything else? How much/what type of stuff do you hold on to?</p>
<p>i throw them in the trash…especially math papers with calculations on them…</p>
<p>I have filed mine and kept them. It can be quite entertaining to look at the bs I wrote a couple of semesters ago! On one occasion I even had the opportunity to plagiarize myself. 
I will probably toss them out once storage becomes an issue, but for the time being there’s no harm in keeping them around.</p>
<p>Since I’m an engineer, I keep all of my math and physics papers. Usually I file them with my notebooks because it has a folder in it; I save those because I’m gonna need them for reference in the future. As for my other papers, like for writing, I recycled those. I’d like to forget some of my crappy experiences with writing. Same goes for my general education classes.</p>
<p>I keep all of my written papers in a storage bin at school. Plus, they are saved on my computer. Anything like worksheets or random readings that I’ll never use again I recycle. You never know when you might need papers again though :).</p>
<p>I keep class documents that are related to my major.</p>
<p>I keep and reuse them. And if questioned about it (as some schools see it as plagiarizing against yourself), I simply explain that I’m doing my part to save the Earth. </p>
<p>Captain Planet would have wanted it this way.</p>
<p>I throw the paper copies away, since I have electronic copies of various lab reports/papers saved on my laptop. But other than that, I don’t really keep anything.</p>
<p>I filed all my work from last semester in one of those expanding file things and I brought it home with me when I came home for Christmas break. I’ll keep it here.</p>
<p>I have digital copies of papers saved on my computer, and I also keep the physical copies, since they have the grades on them. Even if I’ll never need them again, I’m too paranoid to throw them away. As for science and math classes, I usually throw everything away except for my notes and quizzes/exams. Since I need to take the MCAT at some point, it’ll actually help to go back to my old stuff.</p>
<p>All of my papers for my major classes get filed into binders. All of that information is too useful later to get rid of. Also, most papers that I’ve written are saved on my computer. I refer back to some of that stuff quite often…</p>
<p>Most papers for my gen ed classes end up getting thrown away at the end of a semester or end of the year. They are often still saved on the computer, but I throw them all into one folder.</p>
<p>“On one occasion I even had the opportunity to plagiarize myself.”</p>
<p>The sad thing is, many colleges do consider the reuse of old papers plagiarism.</p>
<p>And yeah, I keep my old papers. I’m extremely narcissistic :)</p>
<p>One of the most satisfying things to do at the end of the semester is dumping all my papers and notes in the recycling bin.</p>
<p>
Supposedly 25% similarity is acceptable. I bet it was below 20%, though highly concentrated in one part of the second paper :)</p>
<p>NonAntiAnarchist, is that really true? So if i use one of my college app essays for some other stuff in the future, that’s plagiarism? Stealing of my own work? I don’t see that’s plagiarizing or ethical, though it is kinda bad to reuse…</p>
<p>anyway i agree with icanread ^_^</p>
<p>Papers for courses in my major I save. I have used them before to remind professors of my best work when they’ve written rec letters for me, and it seems a shame to let the research go to waste. Sometimes I reuse the research to start new papers.</p>
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<p>Yes! This is an awesome feeling. :)</p>
<p>Square,</p>
<p>I’m not sure if reuse of a college app. essay would qualify, but, indeed, many colleges do consider reuse of papers (I assume only for classes taken in the college) plagiarism. </p>
<p>That’s not going to stop me from reusing (albeit with a bit of tweaking) my paper on monetary policy next semester though !</p>
<p>I can understand why the practice <em>could</em> be considered academically dishonest, but to call it plagiarism seems completely illogical.</p>
<p>You can plagiarize yourself in the professional world, too, I believe. Ever notice authors (or scientists) citing another work of theirs in their papers? I imagine it’s the same basic theory.</p>
<p>I never realized that. I tried looking online for the philosophical argument behind it, but I am absent of results. Maybe you know of it?</p>