Another School Paper Due

[Some Kind Of Monster]

So I have another college english paper due but I remembered that I had almost the exact same assignment last semester through a different teacher! I realize that with some minor modification I can simply revamp my old paper to meet the new papers expectations. Is there any way that I can get in trouble for doing this? It's not plagerism if it's my own paper right?

[Roxysnow]

Nope! I did all the time in college. All your courses become similar thus the assignments are similar! If you wrote them then go for it!

[Some Kind Of Monster]

Done deal. That just saved me about 6 hours worth of work and I am in a much better mood. Thanks!

[uvindex]

Is there any way that I can get in trouble for doing this? It's not plagerism if it's my own paper right?
You're correct -- plagiarism, by definition, is presenting the work of another as your own. However (and I'm going to sound like a wet blanket here) by recycling work you are lowering your own academic standards. If you're in school to learn and improve your brain, my advice to you is "Don't recycle old work" and try to get the most out of your educational experience. Also, be sure to check your syllabus (and school policies) as many professors specifically state that all work submitted must have been done for that course.

[Some Kind Of Monster]

I knew this post was coming.
It's alright though, I know where you are coming from, however I have nothing to gain from this paper. Like I said it is almost exactly the same as last semester (Something like pick a movie and two critics reviews and critique the critics critique).. My syllabus says nothing about doing this and I have a big paper due at the end of the semester that I am devoting my time to that I am learning something on. As far as I am concerned I can do this and sleep at night

[mickeyfinn]

I think if you get technical with the definition of plagarism you could actually take it one step further. Plagarism is generally considered to be the "stealing of someone elses work and presenting it as your own". If you and your friends are "sharing" your work from your time at school and you have a similar assignment as your buddy had last year you can pay him a penny for the right to own that work. You can now legitimately claim that your are presenting "your" work. Just have to be careful not to claim to be the original author. I agree with the above post that it does defeat the whole reason for getting an education but if you get in a pinch it might help.

[uvindex]

You can now legitimately claim that your are presenting "your" work. Just have to be careful not to claim to be the original author.Um, I disagree. You cannot legitimately claim that work as your own, even if you paid for it -- we're talking about scholarly work here, not licensing of intellectual property or similar (your example can work when licensing intellectual property). In fact, here's an excerpt from the University of South Florida (where I teach) plagiarism policy: "Only widely known facts and first-hand thoughts and observations original to the student do not require citations." (emphasis added)
I've always gotten a kick out of your avatar, by the way.

[Mrs. casean]

So I have another college english paper due but I remembered that I had almost the exact same assignment last semester through a different teacher! I realize that with some minor modification I can simply revamp my old paper to meet the new papers expectations. Is there any way that I can get in trouble for doing this? It's not plagerism if it's my own paper right?
This past summer I had a professor tell us we could use old papers for a particular assignment... we were all like... ?huh? You are telling us this is alright to do? He said since it is your own words and paper it is not plagerism so why not. So this is what I learn in college

[mickeyfinn]

Um, I disagree. You cannot legitimately claim that work as your own, even if you paid for it -- we're talking about scholarly work here, not licensing of intellectual property or similar (your example can work when licensing intellectual property). In fact, here's an excerpt from the University of South Florida (where I teach) plagiarism policy: "Only widely known facts and first-hand thoughts and observations original to the student do not require citations." (emphasis added)
I've always gotten a kick out of your avatar, by the way.
thanks,
I liked that pic when I saw it so I used it. If you notice in my original post I did say to be careful not to claim authorship. I also pointed out that it defeat the point of education. Also he said that he could sleep at night by recycling his old paper. In my opinion if you are in a class where the instructor is looking for original work and you submit either a recycled paper or a purchased paper it is no different. You can claim either as your own. You just can't claim authorship of the one you purchased.

[uvindex]

thanks,
...did say to be careful not to claim authorship. The point, however, is that when you turn in a paper, you ARE claiming everything not cited otherwise as your own work! The paper has your name on it, and unless you explicitly cite the work of others, you are saying it is your work -- there are lots of students who received F's or got kicked out of school who can attest to this.
I agree that recycling one's own work is not plagiarism, and I immediately got off the original poster's case when he said he could sleep at night doing that.
I'm off to watch the Bucs vs. Raiders now. Should be interesting!