The Great Plagiarism Scandal!

Should I be outraged that my professor from the English Department repeatedly gave students essay topics taken directly from websites without telling us about it? I discovered this today while I was brainstorming for my argumentative essay and I typed in the words "argumentative essay" on Google. Imagine my surprise when I immediately recognized the third hit on the results page as something I've read before--in class. Turns out, this is a website from a Turkish university, and most of the second half of the webpage was included in a handout we were given two weeks ago, word for word, including the badly written sample at the end about Reiki and health. I thought, Why is my professor taking samples from Google's search results page?

I went back through my "Junior Composition" file and took out all the handouts we were given in class. Referring to those papers, I typed in their key words on Google and clicked on any suspicious results. When I typed in "sample literature review," the first hit was the sample we were given on Tuesday. Our handout included the sample and discussion questions at the top.

Next, I thought I'd try finding the four argumentative essay topics we were given this week, and guess what? They're all taken from the Internet! Well, first I was taken to Yahoo! Answers, where someone included three of our essay topics in his answer list(posted 4 weeks ago). The person gave a link at the bottom of his answer, and when I clicked on it, sure enough I found all four essay questions--on a website named Good Essay Topics.

For your reference, these are the four argumentative essay topics we were given, copied and pasted word for word (from my handout or from Good Essay Topics, take your pick):

1. We are becoming overwhelmingly dependent on computers. Is this dependence on computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their benefits?

2. Technology makes communication easier in today's world. Many people choose to work at home in front of a computer screen. What danger does the society face depending on computer screens rather than face-to-face contact as the main means of communication? Are we the prisoners of the progress?

3. Advertising: Information or Manipulation?

4. Should restrictions be placed on the use of mobile phones in public areas like restaurants and theaters?

By the way, when the professor handed out the essay topics on Tuesday, a classmate pointed out that in Taiwan, there are already restrictions placed on the use of mobile phones in public areas. The professor said he didn't know. Could it be that if he had in fact created his own topics for his students in Taipei, Taiwan, he would have come up with something more relevant and debatable?

I am seriously concerned about this because, first of all, the fact that our English professors are taking essay questions from these websites reveal something about us. Is 'Good Essay Topics' such a prestigious and credible website that our Department endorses using their data word-for-word in teaching and giving class assignments? Or perhaps it reveals something about the educational standard in our university where samples and questions are copied directly from the Internet?

We've all been told over and over again how plagiarism is illegal and how you should always cite your sources. Why is it then that my professor never told us our essay topics were taken from the Internet? I include the page 'Works Cited' at the end of all my essays and papers because we're supposed to give credits where it's due. Why then, does the professor not need to cite his sources as he hands out guidelines and samples week after week? Also, if all the material is online, what's the need to go to class? Just give me the damn topics and I can go figure myself!

This class, by the way, is the composition class required of all juniors in the English Department. No one graduates without taking this class. In other words, the Department thinks good composition skills are so necessary that it's making everyone take this class without exception! Which adds a lot to my bewilderment.

Maybe this explains why most of the samples we've read are really, quite frankly, in bad taste, and also why most students still don't know how to write a proper essay. I don't know if it is an ethical, acceptable practice among university professors, or just a long hidden secret that professors hope no one will ever discover. I wonder what the Department Chair thinks about this. Or perhaps the Ministry of Education. Is this proof that the quality of our university education has hit a new low? I wonder, I wonder, I wonder...