Help please! What to do in this situation

[tachik]

I got an email saying that I have to meet with a professor and someone esle because the prof suspects me of plagiarism (lack of quotation marks). I've asked the prof about the email, and story short, I think I will just go attend the meeting. I'm really scared. This is my first semester of grad school. Could you please provide some advice? I just graduated from undergrad and had no plagiarism issues in the past.

Edited October 23, 2015 by tachik

[Eigen]

Have you recently had a writing assignment in this professors class? Did you quote directly from sources without quotation marks and attribution?

Who is the other person you're meeting with?

I don't think you have any option other than to attend the meeting.

When you go, have materials showing what of the work was yours, and what wasn't.

At this level though, there's not nearly as much tolerance for accidental plagiarism- it's assumed you know better, and know how to work to avoid it.

[tachik]

Thank you for your reply! It actually isn't a formal essay, but an informal handout for classmates when I did a recent presentation. I did not have any assignments before that. I also did add the reference on the handout. Please help!

[TakeruK]

It seems like you have made some mistakes with regard to proper attribution and citations. That sucks, but it's not the end of the world. 

I know it sounds scary but the only thing you can do is to come to the meeting with all of the materials you used to prepare for the handout and the presentation. 

Be prepared to listen and learn about the expectations. It is likely that this will be an educational meeting rather than simply a punishment meeting. You will probably lose points on the assignment and learn more about expectations of your program. 

[tachik]

Thanks so so much! I feel a lot better  I will definitely use your advice. I feel so confused and embarrassed.

Edited October 23, 2015 by tachik

[zipykido]

Most (if not all) schools have a very strict plagiarism policy. Unless you're being sued by an outside entity you'll probably be fine. My guess is that the meeting will be to discuss an event that happened in which material was not properly cited. They'll go over what happened and what to do in the future to prevent it from happening again, but if the second person is internal to the school then it'll be more about protecting the school and its reputation from possible damage in the future. 

[tachik]

I was looking over my classmates' assignments (they gave us handouts) and they have more "plagiarism" than myself. One of them has a page full of sentences straight from an assigned article, but she has not mentioned any trouble with the professor. Why would I be chosen for a meeting then?

[Eigen]

I'm unsure what you're looking for here. None of us can tell you what your professor is thinking, nor do we have access to either of the assignments in question. 

[pro Augustis]

I would strongly recommend focusing on what you did and how to fix it rather than on why everyone else hasn't been called out on this. For all you know, they have, but, more importantly, I think that your professor would rather see you improving your own work rather than targeting that of others. 

[fuzzylogician]

I was looking over my classmates' assignments (they gave us handouts) and they have more "plagiarism" than myself. One of them has a page full of sentences straight from an assigned article, but she has not mentioned any trouble with the professor. Why would I be chosen for a meeting then?

I don't know why "plagiarism" is in quotes there. Maybe we have a definitional problem here, and if so you need to resolve it quickly. Beyond that, I don't think that you are approaching this is a healthy way. Comparing yourself to others isn't the problem. Apparently plagiarism is the problem, and you need to fix it now. You also need to realize that just because a classmate hasn't told you she is in trouble, doesn't mean she isn't. And even if she isn't, that has exactly zero relation to the fact that you are, and for the sound of it, that's as it should be.