What’s worse than translating your essay with Google Translator?

Finding an article in English, translating it with Google Translator, and trying to pass the resulting monstrosity off as your own work.

Plagiarism and Google Translator: why stop at just one offense when you can have two?

But wait. . . there is something that is even worse.

Does anybody wish to venture a guess what that is?

What’s worse is doing all this when your name is Pedro Rodriguez.

Now try topping that! Well, the semester is still young. I’m sure somebody will come up with something even more egregious.

9 responses to “What’s Worse?”

  1. The Rigorist Avatar
    The Rigorist

    Racist!

    Like

  2. The Rigorist Avatar
    The Rigorist

    I’m a white guy. I get to hear that all the time.

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar

      The student is also a white guy. 🙂 And I’m a white gal. 🙂

      Like

      1. The Rigorist Avatar
        The Rigorist

        I see. You have to protect poor Pedro from my harsh humor.

        I knew that.

        Like

        1. bloggerclarissa Avatar

          No, somebody needs to protect me from Pedro and his Google Translator. 🙂

          Like

  3. Spanish Prof Avatar

    Hey, i got somebody who tried to do the same, but instead of a random essay, ze chose an academic article on Ariel Dorfman published by a full professor at Penn State

    Like

  4. lb Avatar
    lb

    My favorite of these is from a colleague: a student turned in one of his (the colleague’s) articles as a paper for his class.

    I have had people turn papers in that were Google translated but to the wrong language. When I pointed this out, they thought it was just a minor mistake — choosing the wrong language.

    I received a paper on the Inca Garcilaso, for a course on colonial Latin American literature, that was actually an article on Garcilaso de la Vega, the Spaniard, and the *graduate* student who did this did not see the problem.

    Like

    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar

      “I have had people turn papers in that were Google translated but to the wrong language. When I pointed this out, they thought it was just a minor mistake — choosing the wrong language.”

      – Oh God. This must be the winner.

      “I received a paper on the Inca Garcilaso, for a course on colonial Latin American literature, that was actually an article on Garcilaso de la Vega, the Spaniard, and the *graduate* student who did this did not see the problem.”

      – But wait. . . this one is even worse.

      Like

  5. Kellen Avatar
    Kellen

    I feel like I could totally be a successful Spanish graduate student if these kids are allowed in…

    Like

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