A person can be called many different names based on their personality and behavior. When respected men devote to their religion, they are called reverends. When strangers act differently in seemingly threatening ways to others, they are called witches. When people take other people’s works without giving them credit, they are called cheaters. Though we may not realize, cheaters are everywhere.

In academics, cheating takes place in various ways. The definition of academic cheating is when you deceive others into believing you to be of a higher standard. The most common form of cheating is plagiarism. Plagiarism includes the taking of words or sentence structure by another person or persons without giving them credit. When you take the vocabulary or mechanics used by the original person, you are not putting any effort into thinking how to express the idea, and that makes you a cheater. Copying homework is a specific and common form of plagiarism. During a test, copying answers, looking at notes, changing answers then returning to the teacher to change the grade, or getting a copy of the test before the actual test are all examples of cheating on a test. When working with others, whether formal group work or not, the occurrence of cheating is probable. Discussion will lead the participants to a planned out idea of the assignment. After the discussion, their assignments will probably end up with numerous similarities. This is called collaboration, a form of cheating.

Now that we know more in depth about examples of cheating, let us find out why so many people do it and which groups of people tend to do it more often. High school and college students are the bigger group of cheaters, as the importance of grades increases. One journalist described it like this:

“Ask a high school or college student about cheating, and before you can finish the sentence, the person will blurt out two things: ‘Everybody does it,’ and ‘It’s no big deal.’ Survey statistics back up the first statement, and the lack of serious consequences and lax enforcement of academic integrity policies in schools support the second.”

Many people would expect the cheaters to be the students with poorer academic performances. However, it is the complete opposite. “It’s the kids with a 4.6 grade-point average who are under so much pressure to keep their grades up and get into the best colleges. They’re the ones who are smart enough to figure out how to cheat without getting caught.” When people acknowledge someone as a smarter being, they will feel the pressure of maintaining that, or even becoming better. They will not want to lose in competitions because you feel that you will be embarrassed and humiliated, therefore cheating is aroused as a last resort when their skills are not better. The situation is slightly different in colleges. College students are nervous about being successful for themselves, and they do not want to mess up because they consider it to be a “one chance experience.” The attitude leans more to the individual’s success than the individual’s pride. A college student describes the whole situation, saying:

“Everyone cheats. There is no cushion, so you have to do well; there isn’t a choice. In college, there is no room for error. You cannot fail. You refuse to fail. People become desperate, so they’ll do anything to do well. That’s why people resort to paying others to do their papers. Because you feel: Mess up once and you are screwed. The end.”

Another cause for cheating is the people’s image of it. Consequences for cheating are getting loose compared to the past, making cheating more appealing. A big example of this is copying homework. During the mornings, students rush around the hallways, and most have confessed in surveys that they are up to no good. Some are looking for classmates willing to lend them homework, due that day, to copy; some are looking for others who did not do their homework as well so they can work out a solution somehow; in other cases, some might just be in a hurry. Copying homework has been treated as daily life in school. When asked for homework to copy, students respond like: “Yeah, sure. Whatever.” This attitude is the effect of loose control and regulation of cheaters and the consequences set up to punish them. The administration barely goes out every break to check if the students are copying homework or cheating in other ways. When caught, not all teachers take immediate or any action to punish the students’ misconducts. The habit passes on when students see other students unpunished after cheating. Some people consider letting other students copy their homework to be helping them, not cheating. Would you not pity your friend when he or she is struggling to complete an assignment on the day it is due? The thought of helping is the least that will happen, whether or not you end up taking action. Many will go up and assist their friend. Most students do not consider this cheating, and so they do it all the time to the point that it is considered daily routine. There are occasions when parents know that their child or children are cheating, they are not infuriated. People have started considering achievement to have a higher value than individual character and social morality. The image imprinted in the parents can affect children as the adults teach children their version of the morals, and the attitude from the adults will make children’s sense of judgment contorted, causing some children to cheat.

If cheating is done so much, where do cheaters wind up being? On the outer layer, the cheaters that get punished will leave a stain on their resume forever. Colleges and employers will not accept applicants with resumes that read “have cheated in school.” If they actually do, they could be trying to give people a second chance in life or are having a loose institution. Cheaters are often rejected by employers and schools, depriving them of potential success. Some end up becoming beggars and hobos after being kicked out of school because they cannot find a job. Some just have their hopes hanging on a thread because they can only manage to get jobs in companies with possibilities of becoming bankrupt at any time. For example, the infamous Stephen Glass made up news stories, quotes, and sources during his three years of his stay at The New Republic. He was fired and remained jobless for five years until he wrote a novel based on a character that seems to be him. Similar to Glass, Jayson Blair was a journalist who plagiarized from various sources and created quotes and stories. He was forced to resign when fellow journalists forced him to prove he had interviewed the people whom he quoted in his articles.

Taking shortcuts and rushing in assignments for a grade decreases the actual learning of the student and their potential of success and achievements. Habitual cheating also causes the cheater to get used to doing things through the backdoor, and the habit can lead to bigger troubles later on, including crimes like bribery and stealing. If an individual never gets caught for cheating, then the person is likely to develop a negative set of thinking like: “The world is full of challenges. However, all I need to do to succeed is cheat.” Obviously, this dramatically changes the odds of the person’s life, bending their path of possibilities to the dark side. They will end up in jail time after time and sentenced to death in the end.

However, cheating can be stopped to a certain degree. Here are some methods to stop cheating during tests: Never give out the same test twice, place certain distance limits between kids, emphasize cheating to be unacceptable, ban any electronic devices, turn desks around so notes will not be hidden in the drawers, and punish cheaters with severe consequences. Setting up an integrity code having the students invest in it will force down the temptation to cheat, and up the sense of responsibility goes! Yet, not all cheating can be stopped due to differences in the attitudes of students.

Cheating is misconduct and a double-edged sword. Unless you want to end up nowhere when your life is about to end, stop cheating now! Take responsibility seriously, and you will live a life without woe.